PRE'CIS WRITING

The word PREC’IS is borrowed from French. It is pronounced as ‘pressee’ and it means same as the English word Pre’cise. The Latin root of both “pre’cis” and  ‘pressee’ is ‘pracidere’ which means ‘to cut short’.

In Précis writing  three things that necessary namely are comprehension, condensation and vocabulary. The principal distinguishing marks of  a Précis are brevity, precision, clarity ,compactness and lucidity.

 How to write Pre’cis

1.      Read the passage carefully and get a general idea of the passage.

2.      Read it again to understand the  central theme of the passage.

3.      Under lime the important lines.

4.      Leave out all unnecessary portions.

5.      Make a rough draft on the basis of the points.

6.      Now count the words in your rough draught.

7.      Do not add anything that is not mentioned in the passage.

8.      Do not use interrogative, imperative and exclamatory sentences

9.      Try to write Pre’cis in your own words.

10. Try to write it in plain and simple English.

11. It should be written in indirect speech.

12. Now write the fresh and final passage from the draft.

13. It should be written in one-third words of the given passage.

14. Avoid using second-person singular a  or the first person singular.

15. Precis should be written in past tense.

16. Write a short title or heading expressing the central subject of the passage.

17. Now count the number of words you have used in the final passage  and write it down in the right margin.

18. Avoid spelling repetition, spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and vague expressions. 

SAMPLE PASSAGE:

Sir Philip Sydney, at the battle near Zutphen, was wounded by a masket-ball which broke the bone of his thigh. He was carried to the camp which was about a mile and a half away from there, Being faint with the loss of blood and probably parched with thirst, he called for drink which was immediately brought to him. But as he was putting the vessel to his mouth, a poor wounded soldier who happened at that instant to be carried past him looked up to it with wistful eyes. The gallant  and generous  Sydney took the bottle from his mouth and delivered it to the soldier, saying, "Thy necessity is greater than mine." (114 words)

ESSENTIAL POINTS

(i) Sir Philip Sydney was badly wounded in the battle near Zutphen.

(ii) Exhausted and thirsty, he called for drink.

(iii) Another wounded soldier was looking eagerly at his  bottle.

(iv) Sir Philip Sydney gave it to him with- out drinking it.

Rough Draft

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Pre'cis ( Final)

Title: Sir Philip Sydney's noble self-sacrifice.

Seriously wounded in the battle near Zutphen, completely exhausted and awfully stricken with thirst, Sir Philip Sydney asked for drink which was at once supplied. But as he put the bottle to his mouth, he saw a wounded soldier casting a longing look at it. The brave and noble Sydney at once offered it to him. (56 words)

 

PASSAGES FOR PRACTICE: