Precis Writing
Compressing a passage to about a third of its length in your own words while keeping the order of ideas: the rules, a five-step method, a fully worked passage with marked core points and a model precis, and what to cut versus keep.
What you will be able to do
- State the rules of a precis: about one-third length, same order of ideas, own words, third person, a title, no examples or rhetoric.
- Apply a five-step method: read twice, mark core points, draft, cut to the ratio, check.
- Separate a passage's main ideas from its supporting detail, illustration and repetition.
- Compute the target length of a precis from the passage length.
What is inside this lesson
- 1What a precis is
- 2The rules
- 3Five steps
- 4Cut versus keep
- 5Worked example
- 6Common faults
- 7Quick revision
- 8Practice
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What a precis is
A precis is a faithful miniature of a given passage. It carries every main idea, in the same order, in your own words, at about one-third of the original length, with a title.
It is not a comment on the passage and not a selection of the bits you found interesting. If the passage argues something you disagree with, the precis still reports that argument straight. The skill being marked is disciplined reading and compression, not opinion.
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