Précis Writing

A précis is a summary. Précis writing is a very useful exercise. Most of us read

carelessly. Précis-writing gives training in careful reading. Précis–writing is regarded as a
very important kind of composition because it develops one’s capacity to discriminate
between the essential and the inessential.

Write a précis of the following passage

To have a second language at your disposal, even if you only know it enough to read it
with pleasure, is a sensible advantage. Our educationists are too often anxious to teach
children so many different languages that they never get far enough in any one to drive
any use or enjoyment from their study. The boy learns enough Latin to detest it, enough
Greek to pass an examination, enough French to get from Calasis to Paris, enough
German to exhibit a diploma, enough Spanish or Italian to tell which is which, but not
enough of any to secure the enormous boon of access to a second literature.

Choose well, choose wisely and choose one, concentrate upon that one. Do not be content
until you find yourself reading in it with real enjoyment. The process of reading for
pleasure in another language rests the mental muscles; it enlivens the mind by a different
sequence and emphasis of ideas. The mere form of speech excites the activity of separate
brain cells, relieving in the most effective manner the fatigue of those in hackneyed use.
One may imagine that a man who blew the trumpet for his living would be glad to play
the violin for his amusement. So it is with reading in another language than your own.
 Possible Answer

Rough Draft FOR Précis Writing

It is a sensible advance to have a second language enough to

read it with pleasure. But our educationists are anxious to teach
children so many languages. The boy can learn any as second
language. It is not good to press the enormous boon of access to
the second language. The boy can choose well, wisely and
concentrate upon that one. The process of reading should be
made pleasure from that language. One may imagine that a man
who blew the trumpet would be glad to play the violin for his
amusement. So it may be his own choice to choose the second
language for reading.

Choosing Second Language

Fair Draft

It is enough to choose the second language any one. But the

educationalists choose many languages to the children. So it is
very difficult for children to learn more. The boy can choose well
wisely and concentrate upon that one. The process of reading
should be made pleasure from that language choosing the
second language may be the own choice of the student.
Paraphrase, Summary, and Précis

Three writing strategies that will help you understand what you are reading
are the paraphrase, summary, and précis. All three ask you to put the
information that you're reading into your own words.

Paraphrase

When you paraphrase, you are explaining your source's argument,

following its line of reasoning and its sequence of ideas, in your own
words. The paraphrase should give the reader an accurate understanding
of the author's position on the topic. The purpose of a paraphrase is to
convey the meaning of the original message and, in doing so, to prove that
you understand the passage well enough to restate it. Remember, your job
is not to prove yourself correct, but to uncover and explain all the facts and
arguments involved in your subject.

To paraphrase, first substitute synonyms for the passage's more important

terms. These synonyms should be accurate both in denotative and
connotative meaning. It does not matter yet whether you agree or disagree
with the passage; it only matters that you comprehend and show that you
understand what the passage says.

This restatement preserves both the original meaning of the passage and
the author's position on the matter, but it may be difficult to read at some
points. Fine tune the sentence construction, possibly even adding a phrase
here and there to illustrate a point more clearly or show a connection
between two ideas.

The paraphrase alters the wording of the passage without changing its
meaning. It retains the basic logic of the argument, its sequence of ideas,
and even the examples used in the passage. Most importantly, it
accurately conveys the author's meaning and opinion.

Summary
A summary restates only the author's main ideas, omitting all the examples
and evidence used in supporting and illustrating those points. The function
of a summary is to represent the scope and emphasis of a relatively large
amount of material in an efficient and concise form. In your own words,
state the thesis, main arguments and conclusion of the original. In both the
paraphrase and summary, the author's meaning and opinion have been
retained. However, in the case of the summary, examples and illustrative
elements of the passage are omitted. Because they can be used to
encapsulate everything from a long narrative passage of an essay, to a
chapter in a book, to the entire book itself, summaries can be
tremendously helpful.

Précis

The précis (pronounced pray-see) is a type of summarizing that insists on

an exact reproduction of the logic, organization, and emphasis of the
original texts. It is of particular use in situations in which you want to detail
the relative order, proportions, and relationships of the original parts of a
text. An effective précis retains the logic, development, and argument of
the original in much shorter form. Thus, a précis is useful when you are
dealing with lengthy passages that demand careful attention to the logic
and organization of an argument.

To write an effective précis, read the passage several times for a full
understanding. Note key points. It may, in fact, be helpful to underline
these words. Restate each paragraph in one or two sentences. In cases
where there are very short paragraphs, combine them in your restatement.
Make sure that you retain the precise order of the original points, and
combine the sentences into one or more smooth paragraphs. Finally,
check your précis against the original to be sure that it is exact and retains
the order, proportions, and relationships of the original.

Note:

Paraphrase involves putting a passage from source material into your own
words. A paraphrase must also be attributed to the original source.
Paraphrased material is usually shorter than the original passage, taking a
somewhat broader segment of the source and condensing it slightly.

Example:

ORIGINAL:
Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a
result they overuse quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably only
about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted
matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact
transcribing of source materials while taking notes.

PARAPHRASE:

In research papers students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted

material down to a desirable level. Since the problem usually originates
during note taking, it is essential to minimize the material recorded
verbatim

PRECIS:
Students should take just a few notes in direct quotation from sources to
help minimize the amount of quoted material in a research paper

More Resources

1. http://blogs.jccc.edu/pmcqueen/writing-tips/documents/paraphrase-and-summary-
2/

2. http://xiamenwriting.wikispaces.com/Précis+writing

3. http://www.englishgrammar.org/preciswriting/

4. http://www.enableall.org/competitive-quest/English/English_PrecisWriting.html

5. http://www.perfectyourenglish.com/writing/precis-writing.htm

6. http://www.preservearticles.com/201105136549/importance-of-clarity-of-
language-in-precis-writing.html

7. http://member.tokoha-
u.ac.jp/~dixonfdm/Core%20Activities/academic_writing/precis.htm

8. http://theliterarylink.com/closereading.html Explication notes

Example.

Passage précis
"Forty-two horses had taken up their position on the starting line
for the greatest race of the season. The course was extremely
difficult and few horses were expected to finish. All eyes were on
the favourites, College Boy and Sweet Seventeen. Both horses had
won a great many races in the past and they had equal chances of
winning now.

Though the horses got off to a good start, it was not long before
over half of them were out of the race. As was expected, College
Boy and Sweet Seventeen had got well in front with the remaining
horses grouped together some way behind. On a sharp corner, three
of the horses leading the group fell, throwing the riders behind into
great confusion. As the race progressed, the track became full of
horses without riders. Towards the end, there were only three
horses left: College Boy and Sweet Seventeen were still leading
with an unknown horse, Tom Thum, a very long way behind. The
crowd was very disappointed when on the last jump in the race.
The riders of both favorite horses failed to keep the saddle.
Everyone roared with delight when College Boy continued by
himself and “won” the race----without his rider! Tom Thum now
took his time and the crowd cheered and applauded as he crossed
the finishing line without a rival in sight."

Possible answer:
As soon as the race began, the favorites, College Boy and Sweet
Seventeen, went ahead. On a dangerous bend a few riders went
over and most of the horses following fell out of the race. Towards
the end, there were only three left: the favorites and an unknown
horse, Tom Thum. However, the riders of both favorites fell too,
though College Boy continued by himself and “won”. Since Tom
Thumb was now on his own, he became the real winner. (80
words)
What Is an Explication?
Explications are exercises in close reading, one of the primary
skills necessary for literary analysis.

The word "explication" comes from the Latin term explicare,

which means, "to unfold"; accordingly, an explication unfolds or
unpacks the meaning and workings of a literary text. Explications
typically examine a text intensively, line by line, so they are
usually used to interpret either short poems or short passages from
longer works of fiction or drama.

An explication should account for all or most of the lines of the

poem or passage, paying attention to whatever devices
(connotations, allusions, metaphors and similes, symbols, rhythm,
sounds, etc.) seem important. Explain how they relate to each other
and to the overall meaning and/or effect of the work of
literature. Your explication should have a strong thesis, and the
rest of the paper should clearly support that thesis (think of your
thesis statement as answering the question, "What is this poem or
passage about?").

For a sample explication from a student, click here.

See also: http://theliterarylink.com/closereading.html

Sample explications:

http://users.etown.edu/m/martinlf/explication.html

http://druscila7.tripod.com/robertfrost/id2.html