Do’s and Dont’s of Precis Writing

Precis is a short summary of a paragraph. But writing Precis is more than just making the paragraphs short. Writing precis requires skill so that you do not miss out a point and capture all the main essence in one single small paragraph. Therefore, for writing a precis you need to follow a particular set of rules and that is why it is important to understand the Rules of precis writing.

The motive of writing a precis is to make the reader understand the main essence of the paragraph in a shorter format. For precis writing there are certain do’s and dont’s which will guide you into writing a better precis. Below are do’s and dont’s of precis writing.

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Rules of Precis Writing

Do’s of Precis Writing

• Start your precis with the main idea so that reader can quickly understand the essence of the precis.
• He/she will know beforehand as to what should they expect in the written precis.
• While writing a precis, make a suitable environment where all the points can be described and discussed equally.
• As the main idea or the essence is established, you can follow it up with some methods, facts, points, etc.
• As a precis is concise, compress it and make sure that the length is available for you to retain the important data, keywords, and the concept.
• Removing the irrelevant data or sentence is as important as writing the relevant points.
• Thus, identify the superfluous data and facts and keep the core idea of the work only in the precis.
• If you are mentioning anything related to history or any historical data than make sure that it is written in the past tense only.
• Also, remember to put the purpose as to why you are writing a precis in the writing piece.
• This will help the reader understand what you wrote in the precis.

Dont’s of Precis Writing

• A precis writing is a formal way of writing a shorter form of the given paragraph.
• So, even though you have read and understood the Precis well, do not form your own opinions.
• You cannot insert your own remarks and criticism in a precis.
• Always take the fact and data that is given in the paragraph only.
• Also, during a precis writing, you cannot insert a question. If for any reason you need to insert make it in the form of a statement.
• For a precis writing, avoid using contractions and abbreviations.
• Write the full form of any given words only.
• Avoid being jerky. This will show that you have not understood the passage properly and have started writing a precis.

How Good a Precis Can Be?

Now that we have understood what things you should do and what things you shouldn’t while doing a precis, let’s understand what a good precis is? That is to say what things should be included for a good precis? A good one should include this rules of precis writing.

• It should be precise and clear
• A precis writing is not just lifting the words from the original paragraph
• It should be written in a precise manner in your own words
• It should be a summary or a miniature version of the original paragraph
• The precis must be logically connected and should have a good flow of words
• It should be coherent and for this, it can use the linking words such as and, because, therefore, etc.
• A precis should have an appropriate title and the order ideas need to be original
• The details found in the precis must match the details found in the paragraph

When all of these above points are understood and used in a precis, a good precis is bound to be written.

Solved Examples on Rules of Precis Writing

Q. Which of the following points should be avoided while writing a precis?

1. Full forms
2. Abbreviations
3. Historical facts
4. None of the above

Answer. B. Abbreviations

Q. What kind of writing is a precis writing?

1. Formal
2. Informal
3. Both
4. None

Answer. A. Formal