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Precis writing "A precis is not an outline, but a summary . It is useful as an exercise in grasping the essential ideas of an already completed composition and in stating these ideas in concentrated form. The precis shears away all elaborations of the thought and gives only what is left, in such a way as to make the summary a complete composition.
"The appointment of Precis Writer, which today is virtually equivalent to that of Private Secretary, was first officially recognised during the reign of Queen Anne [1665 - 1714], by which time it was probably realised that the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs could not possibly himself wade through all the original documents with which he was called upon to deal. . . .
"Adopted originally as a time-saving device, it is only recently that the value of precis writing as a means of mental training has come to be recognised."(G. B. Beak, Indexing and Précis Writing. Macmillan, 1908)
The precis should be roughly one-third of the original passage. Always prepare a rough draft first and count the words. If you find that it is too long, shorten it by removing what does not seem essential and by condensing, phraseology. If it turns out to be too short, read the original to see what more can added to the precis.Examples, illustrations, and comparisons should be left out of the precis. Figures of speech should be removed and the ideas expressed in clear, direct language.
Your own comments on the ideas of the precis are absolutely forbidden. Do not express any opinion, favourable or unfavourable, about the ideas in the original passage. Be very careful about the language you write. Mistakes of Grammar and spelling are penalized as much in the precis as in other forms of composition.
See that your precis is a readable piece of English and that its ideas can be understood even by a person who has not gone through original. This is very important. Your precis should be connected whole. As such it should not be divided into paragraphs. ( THIS RULE DOES NOT APPLY TO VERY LONG ORIGINAL PIECES OF WRITING SUCH AS THOSE SET IN COMPETITIVE EXAMINATIONS)..
Don't use the direct form of speech in precis. If the author has written in the first person pronoun using "I" and "my", you should write in the third person pronoun: "he" and "his". The precis may, in such cases begin thus: "The author says.........." or According to the author....." In case of name of the author, Chesterton or Johnson or Macaulay, is given at the end of the passage, the precis should begin thus: " According to Johnson,....." or According to Adil....." or Zia expresses the view.........."
Think of a suitable title for the precis. The title should ordinarily not be a complete sentence. A title must be supplied even though if may not have been asked for. Indicate the number of words in your precis at the end
It does not, therefore, skeletonize the original composition so much as it reduces its scale. Many of the articles in The Reader's Digest are only precis, so skillfully done that the average reader does not know that he is reading a summary. Since the precis says a great deal within a brief space, it is of great service in taking notes on library assignments and general reading."(Donald Davidson, American Composition and Rhetoric. Scribner's, 1968)
