ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND
PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES E. When writing about history, use past tense of
WEEK 5:
HOW TO WRITE PRЀCIS
PRЀCIS
 A concise summary of essential
points, statements or facts
SUMMARY VS. PRЀCIS
A summary and a precis are both ways
of condensing a text into a shorter version.
However, a summary is a brief
overview that includes the main points,
while a precis is a more detailed
summary that focuses on the structure,
logic, tone, and content of the text.
TECHNIQUES IN PRЀCIS WRITING:
1. Reading the text (reread always)
2. Writing your draft
3. Revision until you come up with final
output.
DO’S & DONT’S IN PRECIS WRITING
A. Start your precis by creating context
(setting) and stating the main idea of the
piece.
B. Remember your thesis statement.
C. Always state the name of the author, and
the source (book, article, encyclopedia etc.)
D. Do not use these expressions such as, “in
this article”, “this paragraph means”.
Instead use this example, “Sigmund Freud
argue that the most significant contribution
of learning was ……”
a verb.
F. Do not use abbreviations and contractions.
G. When looking at primary sources, you should
make note of the origin, purpose, value, and
limitations of the documents.
H. Avoid words such as big, good, bad, little and
a lot.
Example: “This article is good”
Also, do not use the phrase, “throughout the
history”. This is cliché.
Do not use too much ands.
WHAT TO REMEMBER IN WRITING A
PRECIS?
 Before writing, first count the total
number of all words in a paragraph and
divide it by 3.
Example:
You have paragraph with 150 words divide it
into 3.
So if the original text has 150 words, your
precis should be 50 words only.
 A precis is always written in a reported
speech. The passage given may be a
speech made by a person in Direct
speech, but the precis is to be in
Reported or Third person or in the Past
tense)
Example: (Reported Speech)
I like to write. (Direct speech)
He said that he liked to write. (Reported
Speech)
ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND
PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES E. When writing about history, use past tense of
WEEK 5:
HOW TO WRITE PRЀCIS
PRЀCIS
 A concise summary of essential
points, statements or facts
SUMMARY VS. PRЀCIS
A summary and a precis are both ways
of condensing a text into a shorter version.
However, a summary is a brief
overview that includes the main points,
while a precis is a more detailed
summary that focuses on the structure,
logic, tone, and content of the text.
TECHNIQUES IN PRЀCIS WRITING:
1. Reading the text (reread always)
2. Writing your draft
3. Revision until you come up with final
output.
DO’S & DONT’S IN PRECIS WRITING
A. Start your precis by creating context
(setting) and stating the main idea of the
piece.
B. Remember your thesis statement.
C. Always state the name of the author, and
the source (book, article, encyclopedia etc.)
D. Do not use these expressions such as, “in
this article”, “this paragraph means”.
Instead use this example, “Sigmund Freud
argue that the most significant contribution
of learning was ……”
a verb.
F. Do not use abbreviations and contractions.
G. When looking at primary sources, you should
make note of the origin, purpose, value, and
limitations of the documents.
H. Avoid words such as big, good, bad, little and
a lot.
Example: “This article is good”
Also, do not use the phrase, “throughout the
history”. This is cliché.
Do not use too much ands.
WHAT TO REMEMBER IN WRITING A
PRECIS?
 Before writing, first count the total
number of all words in a paragraph and
divide it by 3.
Example:
You have paragraph with 150 words divide it
into 3.
So if the original text has 150 words, your
precis should be 50 words only.
 A precis is always written in a reported
speech. The passage given may be a
speech made by a person in Direct
speech, but the precis is to be in
Reported or Third person or in the Past
tense)
Example: (Reported Speech)
I like to write. (Direct speech)
He said that he liked to write. (Reported
Speech)