Topic: Precise Writing

GROUP MEMBER:

 ATIF EJAZ ROLLNO# 38

 Numan Taswir ROLL NO# 31
 HUSSNAIN HAIDER ROLLNO# 17
 HASSAN MUJTABA ROLL NO# 55
  PRÉCIS WRITING
 The word précis is derived from French that means
summary and précis writing means the art of summarizing.
Précis writing is one of the most useful skills you can
acquire for your work both as a student and as a
professional. Précis writing involves summarizing a
document to extract the maximum amount of information,
then conveying this information to a reader in minimum
words.
 Definition: A précis is a clear, compact logical summary of
a passage. It preserves only the essential or important ideas
of the original
  QUALITIES OF A GOOD PRÉCIS
 A good précis shows the writing skills of a person. It must
have the following qualities.
 1. Clarity
 Clarity means getting your message across so that the
receiver can understand what the writer is trying to convey.
It is the basic and essential need of a précis. The ideas
should be clear and understandable. There should not be
any ambiguity in your writing. The writer can achieve
clarity by using simple language and simple structure. If
your précis is not understandable to the reader it will lose
its importance and meanings for the reader.
 . Correctness
 Mistakes in your writings always irritate the reader. Of
course mistakes are never intentional; even so there is no
excuse for them. At the time of writing or composing a
précis the writer must ensure that the facts and figures are
correct. Structure of sentences and spellings of words must
be correct because a single mistake in structure and
spelling may spoil the message. We may consider the
mistakes under the following headings:
 Misspelled words
 Mistakes in figures and dates
 Mistakes in punctuation
 Mistakes of grammar and structure
 3. Objectivity
 Objectivity means the ability to present or view facts
uncolored by feelings, opinions and personal bias. While
making a précis, the writer should adopt an objective
approach. He should not give and add his personal opinion
and ideas in a précis. A précis should be purely a summary of
the original text without any addition.
 4. Coherence
 Coherence means the logical and clear interconnection of
ideas in a written piece of work. A good précis should be
coherent. The ideas which are presented in a précis must have
a logical connection and they all should be interrelated. In
short we may say that the ideas should be well knitted so that
the writer may not be confused and lose his interest
 6. Conciseness
 Conciseness is a desirable quality of a good précis.
Conciseness means to say all that needs to be said and no
more. The writer should write what is necessary and avoid
writing unnecessary details. A concise piece of work
conveys the message in the fewest possible words. But one
point must be kept in mind that the writer should not omit
some basic and essential facts to achieve conciseness. To
achieve conciseness, notice the following suggestions:
 Omitting unnecessary details
 Eliminate wordy expressions
 Include only relevant material
 Avoid unnecessary repetition
 RULES OF MAKING A PRÉCIS
 A well written précis should be a serviceable substitute for
the original work. The goal of a précis is to preserve the
core essence of the work in a manner that is both clear and
concise. While writing a précis, the writer should follow the
below given rules to make it an effective piece of work.
 Read Carefully
 First read the passage twice or thrice carefully to
summarize it. This will enable you to understand the main
theme of the passage.
 Underlining
 Underline and mark the important ideas and essential
points from the original text.
 Outline
 With the help of underlined ideas, draw the outline of your
précis.
 Omission
 Omit all the unnecessary information or the long phrases which
could be replaced by one word. All the adjectives and the adverbs
can also be omitted in order to make a good précis.
 Don’t Omit
 While making a précis, the writer should never omit the
important points and ideas which are essential to be described.
 Size
 Keep the fact in your mind that the length of the précis should
be the one third of the original passage.
 Indirect Speech
 A précis should be written in indirect speech. If there is
direct speech in the passage, it should be changed into
indirect speech.
 Tense and Person
 It should be written in the third person and past tense. In
the case of universal truth the present tense should be
used.
 Own Words
 A précis should be written in your own words and the
writer should abstain from borrowing words from the
original passage
 Précis of a Dialogue
 The précis of a dialogue or conversation should always be expressed in form of
narrative.
 Objective Approach
 A précis writer should adopt an objective approach. He should not add his
personal ideas to a précis. Put all the important points and ideas in a logical
order.
 One Paragraph
 There could be two or more paragraphs in the original text. While making the
précis, try to write all the ideas in one paragraph.
 Rough Draft
 After omitting all the unnecessary ideas, the writer should prepare a rough
draft to finalize it.
 Final Draft
 Having read the rough draft and pointed out some mistakes which may be
found in the rough draft, the writer can prepare the final draft
 SOLVED EXCERCISE
 Passage
 Read the following passage and answer the question given at the
end:
 A life of action and danger moderates the dread of death. It not only
gives us fortitude to bear pain, but teaches us at every step the
precarious tenure on which we hold our present being. Sedentary and
studious men are the most apprehensive on this score. Dr. Johnson was
an instance in point. A few years seemed to him soon over, compared
with those sweeping contemplations on time and infinity with which
he had been used to pose himself. In the still life of a man of letters
there was no obvious reason for a change. He might sit in an arm chair
and pour out cups of tea to all eternity would it had been possible for
him to do so. The most rational cure after all for the inordinate fear of
death is to set a just value on life. If we mere wish to continue on the
scene to indulge our head-strong humour and tormenting passions, we
had better be gone at once,; and if we only cherish a fondness for
existence according to the good we desire from it, the pang we feel at
parting which it will not be very server.
 Questions:
 Suggest a suitable title for the passage.
 What type of people are afraid of death and why?
 How can we get rid of the fear of death?
 What idea do you form about Dr. Johnson from this
passage?
 Explain the meanings of the words written in bold
types.
 Make a précis of the passage.
 SOLUTION
 i) Suitable Title: The fear if death.
 ii) People who spend much time sitting and studying are
the most afraid of death. Because they lead a peaceful life
and want no change.
 iii) The most sensible way of getting rid of the fear if death
is to value life properly. We should know that our hold
upon life is very risky and that we may die any moment.
 iv) From this passage we learn that Dr. Johnson was afraid
of death. He led a peaceful life and wanted no change. He
was fond of tea.
 ) Explanation of the meanings of words;
 Precarious Tenure — Uncertain period, life
 Inordinate fear — Unreasonable fear, fear of death.
 vi) Summary or précis.
 If we lead an active life facing dangers, we will less fear
death. People, who lead a lazy and peaceful life, are
the most afraid of death. The most sensible way of
getting rid of the fear of death is to value life properly.
If we do not give unnecessary importance to our life,
we will not feel the pang of death.