Precis Writing Made Easy - Precis Writing Tips.

Précis writing is an art. It should be a pragmatic substitute for the original. The basic concept behind it is to cut short the length of original work without spoiling the main spirit of the work.

 This is the only book of its kind where all out efforts are made to cover all the topics relating to précis writing. This book is helpful for those whose mother tongue is English and also fulfill the needs of the students who study English as a foreign language.

Besides giving the reader all the essentials of precise-writing, this book provides large collection of one word substitution, which may help the students a great deal in writing précis in a sophisticated manner.

CHAPTER I

Précis – Its definition and Importance

          “Let thy words be few.”

1.1          Précis:

          “Précis” is a word of French origin, and is pronounced in English as pres. Its literal meaning is ‘an abridged statement’.

          A précis is, therefore, an abridgment of a given passage, briefly expressing its précis meaning. It is general defined as a summary of a given passage, but it is something more dignified, more definitely literary.  It is never merely a summary. A summary may consist of disconnected facts but a précis should be connected and well-knitted piece of narrative, possessing all the qualities of an independent original composition. It should be free from inelegance of diction and style. It should be couched in the writer’s own words. We can, therefore, say that a précis is a summary of any piece of printed, written, or spoken matter, containing all the essential points of the given piece and possessing nearly all the qualities of a piece of original composition, viz (a) systematic development of through, (b) absence of jarring and dissonant elements, and (c) smoothness and elegance of style.

          We may be asked to make a précis of a paragraph, a series of paragraphs, a chapter, a book, an essay, a letter, a series of letters or other documents dealing with one subject.

1.2     The Importance of Précis-Writing:

          Précis is indeed a very important part of English Composition. Its importance cannot be over-estimated. For those who want to acquire proficiency in the art of writing, frequent practice in précis writing is indispensable.

1.2.1  A Government Official:

          The ability to write a satisfactory précis is very essential for many purposes in practical life. Consciously or unconsciously we are always making a précis. A person who attends a certain lecture or a sermon is unknowingly making a précis while relating its substance to a friend. A person is making a précis when he is narrating to his friend the gist of an article from a daily, which he has just read. A person sees an interesting play. He is asked to describe what he saw. While doing it, he is unconsciously making a précis of it. If we tell a story of a child, we are making a précis of it. If a student gives to his teacher a brief account of a certain historical event he makes a précis.

          Government officers, when deciding cases, have to study many documents. Sometimes, a series of correspondence s to be gone through; but an officer generally has not enough time to go through every document himself. He, therefore, cannot but call for a précis. His assistant or the office head-clerk puts up before him a précis of all the documents in question. This how he can know quickly the substance of a long document or a series of documents. Hence a close and careful training in the art of précis writing is of utmost importance in government offices.

1.2.2          Judicial system: -

         

          The art of précis writing is of invaluable aid to the lawyers, barristers and judges, for they are required to assimilate every day a lot of written material, which can be done quickly only with the help of a good précis.

1.2.3          Student: -

          When a student, taking a higher examination, has to answer a question about which he has read many books, he cannot but give the briefest possible digest of all that he has studied. He is, then, making a précis – not of a chapter or a book but of many books.

1.2.4          Journalist:

          Journalists and the editors of papers have to give accounts of many events. The best account is of that editor or a journalist who knows and knows well the art of making a good précis.

1.3          Impression on the reader:

          The capacity to make a précis varies in individuals; and the greater the proficiency a person possesses the deeper the impression he can create among the reading public.