PRÉCIS OF CORRESPONDENCE AND INDEXING

“The more you say, the less people remember. The fewer the words, the greater the profit.”  Fenelon Correspondence:- The object of making a précis of a series of letters or documents is to present briefly and distinctly the substance of the correspondence in the form of a continuous narrative, so that one could master in a short time all the salient points of the original. Hence all the essential points in the original should be presented in a connected and readable shape and expressed as clearly as possible and as concisely as is compatible with distinctness. Before attempting to extract from each letter or document the information necessary for your purpose, go through the whole collection rapidly to form an idea of the general drift. Next re-read slowly and carefully from the beginning, finding out everything that bears so what you have decided to be of prime interest. Mark the important passages. Often a letter supplies a summary of a previous letter. In such a case, the second letter is sufficient by itself, and you can neglect the first. You are not bound to follow the sequence of letters, any one of which may be merely formal for your purpose. If the contents of a letter are months and years anterior to the date of writing, it may require an early place in the narrative. Hence before attempting to make a précis, it is necessary to arrange the letters in their natural order, if they are not already so arranged. In making a précis of evidence given in the courts of law or before a commission, the minutes should be carefully read. The main points to be grasped are – Who is giving the evidence? In what capacity does the witness give evidence? What is the general purport and the conclusion drawn? The answers to these questions should, appear in the narrative form, in the same ways as a précis of a reported speech is written. Avoid the frequent questions and answers given in the original. Abridge the whole in a connected narrative. Avoid using names and titles as far as possible. Market reports, stock exchange reports, and similar topics are treated in a similar manner. Indexing:- For all practical purposes, an index can take the place of a précis. It is to be supplemented by a précis only when the whole matter must be put in a narrative form, as in the case of a report of a correspondence drawn by a secretary for his committees. An index should show at a glance the date of each letter, the names of the correspondent (writer) and the addresses, and the capacity in which they write. It should also indicate briefly the subject of each letter. This is done in a tabular form, which is generally a ruling into four columns, the last of which requires as much space as the first three together, the third being equal to the first and the second. Form or Ruling for Index S. # Date From and to whom Subject 1 2 3 4