Precis

What is Precis?

The word ‘Precis’ is a French word which means ‘summary. Sometimes we need to write the summary of a story a speech, a report, or an article so that the main idea of the contents can be read within a short period by the reader. In a nutshell, we can say precis is an exercise in which you have to give the main idea of the passage, reducing its length.

What to do before you write precis?

1. Read the passage several times carefully.

2. Don’t express your thoughts about the given topic.

3. Reduce unnecessary words, dialogues, idioms, and phrases in the passage.

4. Write in indirect speech, and use third-person pronouns.

5. Connect one idea to another and convey the main ideas in your language.

How to choose a suitable title for precis?

The title of the precis should be given based on the content, theme, and genre of the passage. It should be a reduced word for the entire passage.

Let’s Practise

1. Make a precis of the following passage and add a title to it.

We all have a passion for winning. This passion teaches us to walk after a few months of our birth. During every phase of life, we meet with failures along with a new lesson. We make a little mistake that teaches us to solve a hard sum. We respect our elders, but sometimes we become quite desperate and learn from our mistakes. We do wrong and right and achieve confidence and an undominated spirit. Gradually we learn to underestimate all who blame us. Our strengths encourage us to look at the ladder of success. We worry about our futures, but we smile with the same passion for winning. We have expectations of qualifying for every examination with flying colors. So we break up so many fences that surround us and separate us from others. We find all the secret keys to open the doors of life and taste each drop of joy in the universe. Passion for winning motivates us always but blames us when we stop in our lives.

2. Make a precis of the following passage and add a title to it.

Literature tells us about our lives, time, and the people who are around us. It informs us of our preferences, dislikes, and delights. It depicts how we cry and laugh every day. It mingles facts with fantasy and takes us to various places we meet new people.

Every day our lives are reflected as a new episode, which comes after another episode. So we all have a story to tell, and various stories to be listened to.

With the help of literature, we can do both. It helps us to see ourselves as an entity of the vast universe as we can separate ourselves from selfish activities, personal desires, and attachments and visualize ourselves as a part of the universe by reading others’ stories.

So, let’s color our lives with the brush of joy and contentment, and squeeze every reason to simile and make others smile with the literature.

3. Make a precis of the following passage and add a title to it.

When nobody restricts you, you get a way to walk. When nothing makes you timid, you can do what your heart dictates. When no boundary bounds you, you fly spreading your wings of mind. But do these happen to us? Truly speaking, these things happen rarely. We sometimes blame our circumstances, challenges, and luck, but this way we can waste our valuable time. We all have shortcomings – to be rectified, so what is the use of identifying others’ shortcomings?

Have courage that nobody can dominate and see how you move forward.Have the strength to face all the Challenges. Have an incessant struggle to reach your destination. Have a playful attitude to accept if you fall. Have a resolution that is too firm to break.