Precis Writing

Precis Writing: If you were to describe what happens in ‘The Merchant of Venice’ in 15-20 lines, how would you say it? To describe such a lengthy play of 2000+ sentences, you would specifically talk about the main events or highlights and wrap it up. That’s exactly what Precis writing is. Precis writing is among the common and essential literature writing skills that are applicable in multiple areas and are an important topic for Bank exams, Government Exams, MBA entrance exams, and also in class 8th and 9th syllabus. Let’s understand what precis writing is, its examples with solutions, tips and practice worksheets for you to brush up your writing skills.

What is Precis Writing?

Precis Writing is a summary. It is an exercise of compression. A precis writing is a gist of any passage in as few words as possible. A precis should mention all important details of the original paragraph so that anyone who is reading it can understand the idea of the original passage.

Taking the above example forward, to describe the essential highlights and events that take place in The Merchant of Venice, you will not add your own thoughts and maintain the tone and expressions of the characters. You will also avoid mentioning events that aren’t essential. This is how precis writing works. You express or rewrite a paragraph or any type of writing and make it as concise as possible without having to change the crux of the subject matter.

In precis writing, you must be carefully objective and maintain the theme of the passage without excluding the important points. Comprehend the passage carefully to conclude about what is important in an article or a story. You might take a while to read it the first time, but as you keep reading it, the later times might just be an easy skim over the pages. Precis writing requires a very strong understanding of the story/ text to convey the same message in a miniature form. 

The word Precis comes from the Latin ‘praecisus’ and the old French ‘précis’ which means abrupt, abridged, cut off, or shortened. The word Precis is pronounced with a silent ‘s’ (Pray-see).

Also Read: Story Writing

The Art of Precis Writing: Mastering Conciseness

Precis writing is an essential skill that involves summarizing a lengthy passage into its core ideas without altering its meaning or tone. It emphasizes brevity, clarity, and objectivity, making it a valuable tool for students, professionals, and writers. By stripping away unnecessary details and examples, a precis focuses on the main message, helping readers understand complex information quickly. This skill is particularly beneficial in academic and business settings, such as creating executive summaries, academic abstracts, or exam answers. Regular practice, combined with a keen understanding of the original text, can help you master this art of concise communication.

Key Rules for Writing an Impressive Precis

To write a compelling precis, always begin by reading the original text carefully to identify its main ideas and tone. Maintain objectivity—avoid adding personal views or opinions. Use your own words to rewrite the content, focusing on clarity and coherence. Ensure the precis is significantly shorter, typically one-third the length of the original, and avoid direct quotations unless necessary. Use a neutral tone that aligns with the original text’s style. Finally, revise your work to check for grammatical errors and ensure the summary flows logically, providing an accurate representation of the source material.

Precis Writing Format

There are various ways to structure a precis, leading to different formats. However, certain key elements are essential across all formats. Let’s review the general format outlined below.

Title of the Precis

Introduction of the Text (One-Sentence)

Overview of Main Arguments of the Passage

Brief Statement Concluding the Precis

Must Read: Report Writing

Do’s and Don’ts of Precis Writing

Here are some Do’s listed below which one can follow in Precis Writing:

✔️ Read all the text carefully and identify the main points.
✔️ Focus on the main points of the given text and it is best to avoid adding any irrelevant information.
✔️ Write a concise summary of the text which reflects all the main points of it.

Don’ts to be followed in Precis Writing

❌ Avoid including your personal opinion
❌ Re-write or summarize the entire text
❌ Avoid adding any superfluous details

How to Write a Precis?

Owing to the repeatedly mentioned importance of keeping a precis short, writing a precis requires you to carefully understand the points that will provide the necessary highlights of the content. It might sound easy, but comprehending a text and keeping its theme intact requires strong skills and a lot of brainstorming. Here are the steps that can easily help you compose a clear precis. 

Understand the Text/Narrative

The main and the most crucial point is to read the text multiple times. It is possible that you might have missed some point or not have understood it. Reading it persistently can take you through some overlooked points and explain certain points in a better manner. After perusing the text a few times, you will easily connect through the points and also form a mental outline of the content. 

Highlight and Divide the Text

Divide the text into smaller parts and make sure you use a highlighter to highlight the main details for further reference. Create an order of the texts so that you line up each event and do not muddle up the points. 

Create a Mind Map

Before constructing your precis, have a rough outline or a map with all the points you think are necessary. Read it and compare it to the text. You might want to add/omit certain points to make it more clear. Make sure your outline follows the order of the text.

Writing your Precis

Begin drafting your precis by shortening the text with concise sentences and eliminating any redundant phrases. Keep track of the word count, ensuring it is one-fourth the length of the original text. Here are four key points to consider while creating your precis:

• Add a suitable title for your precis which is in line with the content. 
• It should be written in the third person.
• The text should be in an indirect form. 
• Use appropriate past tense.

Review your Precis

Reread your precis multiple times and check for errors or grammatical mistakes. Compare it with the original text and check if both the compositions exhibit the same themes and convey the exact message. In the end, add the number of words used in your precis in a bracket.

Check Out: Story Writing Format

Qualities of a Good Precis 🎯

What are the parameters to judge precis writing? The following are some attributes that describe a good precis.

🎯 Accurate and Precise
🎯 Clear and coherent
🎯 Well connected
🎯 Original
🎯 A suitable title

Also Read: Famous Books by Rabindranath Tagore

Uses of Precis Writing

Individuals frequently seek to review the key points of books, movies, meetings, articles, reports, news, and more. This is where precis writing becomes valuable, as it presents the main ideas to the audience without altering the content’s proportion, tone, or theme. Precis writing is particularly important in the following areas:

• Precis writing can be used to describe a chapter so that students get the gist of the basics.
• Precis writing is also used in companies for job descriptions, meeting highlights, etc.
• The use of precis writing is also seen in movies to describe the main events or plot of the film.
• Precis writing is also used in scientific reports and research to give the gist of its content. 

Also Read: Article Writing

Essential Rules for Good Precis Writing 

After understanding how to write a precis, let’s look at a few tips that can help you ace your precis.

✏️ Keep the text terse and up to the point. 
✏️ Use shorter words. For example, use ‘because’ instead of ‘owing to’, use ‘although’ instead of ‘in spite of the fact that, etc.
✏️ Make sure your text is lucid to understand. Avoid using jargon and complex sentences. 
✏️ Retain the core of the text.
✏️ Your text should be a miniature reflection of the original text and should state the correct facts and figures. 

Sample of Precis Writing

Here is an example of precis writing with a solution:

Sample 1

“The internet has revolutionized the way we communicate and access information. With the click of a button, we can connect with people around the world, share ideas, and stay informed about current events. This instant access to vast amounts of information has both positive and negative implications. On the positive side, it allows for unprecedented global connectivity and the democratization of knowledge. However, it also raises concerns about privacy, misinformation, and the potential for online abuse. As we navigate this digital age, it is essential to strike a balance between the benefits and challenges posed by the internet.”

Precis

“The internet’s transformative impact on communication and information retrieval is evident. Instant global connectivity and knowledge democratization are positive outcomes, yet concerns arise regarding privacy, misinformation, and online abuse. Striking a balance between the benefits and challenges of the digital age becomes crucial.”

Passage 2

The basic core of evolution – survival, and reproduction- has been proven over and over through our various behavioural patterns. Let’s retrograde and explore what are some exciting concepts that have been performed by humans before us and how did it occur. 

Almost every organism has the tendency to react to certain stimuli for survival. This reaction to each and every situation has an evolutionary basis of adaptation.  The study of human emotions dates back to the 19th century and psychologists have discovered many reasons for every emotion, yet these are just theories. The arousal of emotions and their assumed structures is said to occur due to repeated encounters with a situation followed by the adaptation of the encounter. Human emotions have been linked to adaptively regulate emotion-gathering mechanisms. The emotion of fear which is associated with ancient parts of the brain has presumably evolved among our pre-mammal ancestors while the emotion of a mother’s love called the ‘filial emotion’ has seen to evolve among early mammals. Various emotions work as manipulative strategies that favour survival. Feigning emotions by an accused person may help him be saved from the punishment. An exaggerated display of anger is also associated with manipulating or threatening someone. 

Despite there being several emotions for various events, ironically the most interesting emotion is the emotion of disgust. Disgust is aroused when the body senses a danger to the immunity or the physiology of the human. The disgusted memory is associated with alerting the brain of a potentially dangerous substance. A few studies have shown that the encoding triggered in adaptive memory for problems is stronger than any other behaviour. This makes us instantly have a disgusted expression at the sight of something that makes us uncomfortable or uneasy. These expressions are also closely linked to self-protective communication. 

Precis

Points to Avoid for Precis Writing 

Precis writing can be complicated since you need to cut down all points that aren’t important. While keeping the tips in mind, avoid making the following mistakes while writing a precis.

• Do not elaborate a lot on a single point.
• Do not use your own interpretation, criticism,  or assumption about the text.
• Do not copy sentences from the original text or use abbreviations. 
• Do not break the flow of events and keep the text well connected. 

Also Know: What is the Difference Between an Author and a Writer?

FAQs

Hope you are now well prepared to prepare a well-composed precis. Make sure you keep practicing which will help you learn new skills and help you become confident while writing. If you wish to learn creative writing, reach out to our experts at Leverage Edu who will find the best course that can equip you with the knowledge and skills. Sign up for a free session. You can call our Leverage Edu experts on 1800 572 000 to find out how the application process can be fast-tracked and streamlined!