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What is a prcis?
A prcis is a concise and clear statement of the substance of a longer passage in a connected and
readable
shape.
A
prcis
must
be
accurate,
brief
and
clear.
A prcis is in the prcis writer's own word and it is about one-third of the original.
Summary and abstract are two other words that convey the same idea as prcis.
Why Do We Need A Prcis?
These days, people have a variety of jobs to attend to, and they do not have enough
time to go into all the details. They just want to know the essential facts of a
situation as briefly and clearly as possible. To take some examples, a superior might
like to know the main points of an article published in a trade journal or a trade
union leader may have to report what happened at a trade union meeting. Each of
these situations needs making a prcis.
Ten Golden Rules For Writing A Good Prcis:
1. Determine the theme if the passage very carefully: It is very important to find out the
central idea or the theme of the passage. Soon you will be analyzing the passage to separate the
major points from the minor ones, and the various points become major only in relation to the
central or main theme of the passage.
2. Precis is not the reproduction of important sentences: Don't from your precis by
reproducing a few sentences and deleting others. Precis writing is not the art of selection and
deletion, it is the art of remodelling.
3. Brevity is good but not at the cost of clarity: Brevity is the soul of precis writing. But
brevity is not to be achieved at the cost of clarity. If the addition or retention of a few words adds
to the clarity of your precis, they should be included by all means. Excessive economy, leading
to ambiguity or obscurity, must be avoided.
4. Your precis ought to be intelligible even to a person who has not read the original
passage: This is extremely important. He who is familiar with the original passage, of course,
enjoys an additional advantage. He is in a position to compare the two versions and find out how
far you have faithfully reproduced the facts or preserved the spirit of the original passage. But he
who has not read the original passage has to judge your performance only from what you have
written.
5. Use your own language: Precis has to be written, as far as possible, in your own words.