An effective précis retains the logic, development, and argument of the original in much shorter form. A good precis cannot be long and complicated.
A précis is useful when you are dealing with long passages that demand careful attention to the logic and organization of an argument.
***The goal of your precis is to guide people through unfamiliar reading. It means that the voice, opinions of your text must reflect the author’s voice, his thoughts and be understandable for those people who have not read the original text.
Characteristics of a good precis:
1. It is written in a writer's own words and mood.
2. It is always written in the third person.
3. It logically ordered, with all parts of it being connected to each other.
4. It does not contain any additional information or details not mentioned in the original text even if it supports the main idea if the author.
Key steps in writing a précis:
1. Read the passage several times for a full understanding.
2. Note key points. It may, in fact, be helpful to underline these words.
3.Restate each paragraph in one-to-three sentences. In cases where there are very short paragraphs, combine them in your restatement.
4. Make sure that you retain the precise order of the original points, combine the sentences into one or more smooth paragraphs.
5. Check your précis against the original to be sure that it is exact and retains the order, proportions, and relationships of the original.
Goals in Writing a precis:
I. to summarize the authors’ work efficiently and faithfully
a. so that the authors would agree that you have fairly represented their work (imagine that you were required to send your précis to the authors)
b. using the authors’ terms/words/concepts (if the authors write about, say, “caste as a moral calculus” and both “caste” and “moral calculus” are important concepts for the authors, you should introduce—and credit—them precisely, not rephrase them as ‘social hierarchy like class’ or ‘way of comparing the worth of people arithmetically’.)
c. and keeping the balance in your presentation proportional to the authors’ (for example, the author has three equally important main points, then the summarizing portion of your précis should also have three)
A precis follows a structure:
Introduction: here you can give information about the analyzed work and its author;
Text body: this part contains the main ideas and concepts;
Conclusion: explains why the original article is important.
Precis Examples:
a.
In his essay published back in 1936, "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics" J.R.R. Tolkien condemns scholars of his age for mining Beowulf merely for a historical certificate of Anglo-Saxon epoch, instead of valuing the piece as one of the greatest and most inspiring poetry works of all time.
Another good introduction of the rhetorical precis example may be the following.
b.
John Doe's work known as "How to Write a Precis" (2015), argues that any person can learn how to compose a rhetorical precis. He supports this position by outlining the structure, drawing the details of the efficient writing procedure, and offering extra considerations on the shape of precis work. Taking into account the language and voice of the author in this article, John Doe's target reading audience consists of the students and academic staff.
Precis Writing Rubrics
Introduction: here you can give information about the analyzed work and its author;
Text body: this part contains the main ideas and concepts;
Conclusion: explains why the original article is important.
Precis Examples:
a.
In his essay published back in 1936, "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics" J.R.R. Tolkien condemns scholars of his age for mining Beowulf merely for a historical certificate of Anglo-Saxon epoch, instead of valuing the piece as one of the greatest and most inspiring poetry works of all time.
Another good introduction of the rhetorical precis example may be the following.
b.
John Doe's work known as "How to Write a Precis" (2015), argues that any person can learn how to compose a rhetorical precis. He supports this position by outlining the structure, drawing the details of the efficient writing procedure, and offering extra considerations on the shape of precis work. Taking into account the language and voice of the author in this article, John Doe's target reading audience consists of the students and academic staff.
Precis Writing Rubrics
From the lengthy introduction of the article entitled, The Beauty of Japanese Gardens in Kyoto by Roxana Robinson comes this precis:
Roxana Robinson begins her article The Beauty of Japanese Gardens with a story of how she was observing Kyoto, the Kamo River and Mountain Daimonji from the hotel room. She noticed that the city is located on the lower slopes of the mountain, the rest was covered by forest. The goal of her visit was to study gardens and landscape as a part of the Japanese culture. According to Japan's religion Shinto, mountains, rocks, and trees are sacred, this is why building on mountains is prohibited.
Original text from the article:
I was having breakfast on the 17th floor of the Hotel Okura. One long wall of the restaurant is window, so I was overlooking half of Kyoto. Below was the Kamo River, flowing between old stone terraced banks. Beyond this was a patchwork of single-story buildings, interspersed with a few swooping orange temple roofs. The city spreads on to climb the lower slopes of Mount Daimonji, then stops abruptly, giving way to forest. This rises to an elegant skyline: a long, wooded mountain ridge, lightly brushed with soft clouds, drifting silver mist.
I was in Kyoto to look at gardens. I’m interested in the way different cultures respond to landscape, and in the fundamental question of what a garden is. In Japan, a deep connection to landscape is part of the culture. Shinto, Japan’s oldest religion, considers certain natural forms—rocks, trees, groves, or mountains—to be sacred, representing the kami, ancestral spirits or deities, who inhabit them. Shinto is still widely practiced, coexisting peacefully with Buddhism; a profound engagement with nature is central to both religions. Mountains are sacred spaces, and building on them was long prohibited, except for shrines or temples. That’s why this beautiful forested mountain, scarved with clouds, was still untouched, dreaming silently above the city.
WRITING OUTPUT
Directions:
Write a precis based on the transcript of Angela Lee Duckworth's speech for TED Talk Education. Refer to the criteria below as your guide. Your precis must be printed in a short bond paper following the standard format (font: Arial/ Times New Roman, font-size: 12, justified).
Precis Writing Criteria:
40- Content
30 - Relevance (to the author's purpose)
20 - Organization
10- Mechanics
100/100 - total score
Roxana Robinson begins her article The Beauty of Japanese Gardens with a story of how she was observing Kyoto, the Kamo River and Mountain Daimonji from the hotel room. She noticed that the city is located on the lower slopes of the mountain, the rest was covered by forest. The goal of her visit was to study gardens and landscape as a part of the Japanese culture. According to Japan's religion Shinto, mountains, rocks, and trees are sacred, this is why building on mountains is prohibited.
Original text from the article:
I was having breakfast on the 17th floor of the Hotel Okura. One long wall of the restaurant is window, so I was overlooking half of Kyoto. Below was the Kamo River, flowing between old stone terraced banks. Beyond this was a patchwork of single-story buildings, interspersed with a few swooping orange temple roofs. The city spreads on to climb the lower slopes of Mount Daimonji, then stops abruptly, giving way to forest. This rises to an elegant skyline: a long, wooded mountain ridge, lightly brushed with soft clouds, drifting silver mist.
I was in Kyoto to look at gardens. I’m interested in the way different cultures respond to landscape, and in the fundamental question of what a garden is. In Japan, a deep connection to landscape is part of the culture. Shinto, Japan’s oldest religion, considers certain natural forms—rocks, trees, groves, or mountains—to be sacred, representing the kami, ancestral spirits or deities, who inhabit them. Shinto is still widely practiced, coexisting peacefully with Buddhism; a profound engagement with nature is central to both religions. Mountains are sacred spaces, and building on them was long prohibited, except for shrines or temples. That’s why this beautiful forested mountain, scarved with clouds, was still untouched, dreaming silently above the city.
WRITING OUTPUT
Directions:
Write a precis based on the transcript of Angela Lee Duckworth's speech for TED Talk Education. Refer to the criteria below as your guide. Your precis must be printed in a short bond paper following the standard format (font: Arial/ Times New Roman, font-size: 12, justified).
Precis Writing Criteria:
40- Content
30 - Relevance (to the author's purpose)
20 - Organization
10- Mechanics
100/100 - total score
Sources:
https://writemyessay4me.org/blog/critical-precis
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pr%C3%A9cis
https://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/the-beauty-of-japanese-gardens-in-kyoto
https://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/the-beauty-of-japanese-gardens-in-kyoto
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