Things to Remember while Making a Precis

Conceptual Preparation

Ideally you’re supposed to take the following course:

-          Read the whole passage once just to have an overall view. After reading, you must be able to have a general impression of

.   What it is about?

.   The purpose of writing it?

.   Who would be the readers?

-          Read the passage The Second Time, to scan it thoroughly.  Remember this is laborious reading. You have to concentrate not only on the details but more importantly on the development of paragraphs.

.   Try to guess why the passage is divided into different paragraphs. However, if there’s only one paragraph, you’ll have to divide it into different sections with the shift of meanings.

.   Underline the key sentence of each paragraphs, if u can’t, write down a sentence of your own to describe it.

.   Identify the statistical data, examples and details to separate them from the central idea. Try to see how the paragraphs look without them.

-          Do Third and final reading to make a flow chart of the passage how the thought develops, identifying the twists in the thought by concentrating on the conjunctions used in it.

(note: Conjunctions are the words like “and, with, however, similarly, in contrast etc.” which link, harmonize, and sometimes shape and modify the thought.)

Now you can think of writing a Precis

Steps of Writing

Ask yourself..!!

Do you understand the central idea of the whole passage? What is the thesis statent here? This sentence ought to be based on the central idea of different paragraphs.

-          Write the thesis statement on a rough page.

-          Guess if you can begin your Précis with this statement, to prove it with the relevant points given in the passage, or you’ll give it in the end.

-          Take a special care of making it coherent by using Conjunctions.

-          Make a rough draft before putting down neatly.

NOTE: Practice this method during preparation without caring about the amount of time you spend on each passage, though it be hours. Your time will reduce accordingly very soon