how we can write a good precis

Q : what are qualities/essentials/ characteristics/features of a good précis?

INTRODUCTION:

                                        Précis is a French word which means a summary and précis writing means summarizing. A précis is the main theme of a passage expressed in as few words as possible. It should have the main theme with all the essential points. The basic purpose of a précis is to give the main and general effect of the passage to the reader. A précis must be always be much shorter than the original.

DEFINITION:

                                “It is a short version of a speech or a piece of writing that gives the main points of ideas.”

                                                                        (ACCORDING TO OXFORD DICTIONARY)

                                “Prices is a short form of the text which briefly gives only the important parts.”

                                                                        (ACCORDING TO CAMBRIDGE DICTIONARY)

QUALITIES OF A GOOD PRECIS

Following are the some important qualities of a good précis.

1.CONCISENESS:

                        This is the quality which gives the précis its name because précis is written for the purpose of conciseness. The writer should compress the main message in the fewest possible words without any vagueness.

2.CLEARNESS

                        A good précis is always easy to understand. Therefore the writer should write it simple and clear words. The basic aim of the précis writing is to convey the main theme of the passage across the reader so in order to achieve this aim the writer should read the passage twice and thrice for clear  and vivid understanding .

3 COHERENCE:

                                There is coherence in a good précis. It means that each part must be related to the other part. In order to achieve the quality of coherence words are combined with the help of however, similarly, finaly

4. COMPLETENESS:

                                An uncompleted passage could not be called as précis.a good précis contains all the important points. The writer should ensure if all the important ideas are included   in the précis.

5. CORRECTNESS:

                                A good précis is correct in every respect. Error of any type just like grammar, punctuation, and spelling is not including in a good précis.

6. FAITHFUL PRESENTATION:

                                An excellent précis is always the reflection of the original idea. The writer does not include his own thoughts or ideas in it.

7. LENGTH:

                        A good précis is almost one third of the original passage. Therefore the writer excludes all the unnecessary details from his précis.

8. OUT DATED WORDS:

                                In a good précis there is no place for outdated words and phrases .the writer takes maximum care to use current vocabulary.

9. WRITER’S OWN WORD:

                                The writer of a précis does not borrow words from the original passage. He expresses every thing by using his own words and idioms to short it .

10. GRAMMAR:

                                A good précis passage is always written in indirect speech. There is no mistake of grammar. The passage may bi written in present or past tense. The use of idioms is also very useful.

11. PUNCTUATION:

                                The use of punctuation marks makes the précis easy to understand.

Q. Describe the rules or method of making précis?

INTRODUCTION:

                                        Précis is a French word which means a summary and précis writing means summarizing. A précis is the main theme of a passage expressed in as few words as possible. It should have the main theme with all the essential points. The basic purpose of a précis is to give the main and general effect of the passage to the reader. A précis must be always  much shorter than the original.

DEFINITION:

                                “It is a short version of a speech or a piece of writing that gives the main points of ideas.”

                                                                        (ACCORDING TO OXFORD DICTIONARY)

                                “Prices is a short form of the text which briefly gives only the important parts.”

                                                                        (ACCORDING TO CAMBRIDGE DICTIONARY)

RULES OF PRECIS WRITING

Following are the rules of précis writing.

1.CAREFUL READING

                                The first step towards making a précis is to read the original passage very carefully, of course, reading the passage once is not enough. A second reading will give you a clear idea of what is required to be summarized.

2.UNDERLINE MAIN POINTS

                                The reader should underline all important ideas or key sentences in the passage and omit all the rest. Remember only important ideas are to be underline: all details examples and data are to be left out.

3.MAKE A ROUGH DRAFT

                                Write all these important ideas in a sequence. It will become the first rough draft of your précis. This means that all important points of the passage should be turned into notes.

4. ORDER CAN BE CHANGED:

                                                                The order of the main idea can be changed. It is permissible to re-arrange the ideas in the order that the writer thinks better.

5. SIMPLE AND CLEAR WORDS

                                In order to make prices easy to understand the writer should use easy and simple words.

6. INDIRECT NARRATION

                                A précis should write only in indirect narration .the entire passage is written in past tense. The use of idioms is also very helpful. All first pronoun should be changed in the third person pronoun .if you use a direct narration it will be wrong.

7. FAITHFUL PRESENTATION:

                                A good précis passage should present the original idea. The writer should not include his own thoughts or ideas in it.  If there is a change in the meanings, it will make the prices incorrect.

8. LENGTH

                                A good précis is almost one third of the original passage. Therefore the writer should exclude the all unnecessary details from his précis.

9.ONE PARAGRAPH

                                A précis is written in the shape of paragraph not loose sentences.

10.YOUR OWN WORDS.

                                A précis should be written in writer’s own words .writer should also avoid borrowing the key words from the original passage.

11. AVOID GIVING OPINION

                                While writing a summary, writer should avoid including his own opinion in the summary comments is also not allowed

12.PUNCTUATION

                                The use of punctuation marks makes a précis easy to understand. Therefore the writer of a précis should use these wherever necessary.

13.FINAL DRAFT

In the end you should re-read and check if there is anything missing. If the précis exceeds its limit, you should revise it and exclude the unimportant points.