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Sania Athar
C& W
NUML

Meaning and Qualities of a Good Precis

In the business world, Precis writing is considered a very important skill. It gives a good
impression of your understanding and if done well lets you shine than other. That is why a good
emphasis should be given to writing a precis. So let’s begin to learn all about it.

What is Precis Writing?

Precis is a French word which is derived from the French word ‘precis’. It means summarizing
while the process of writing it or summarizing it is called precis writing. Thus, any lengthy
passage can be described in a few words without changing its main theme or idea while writing
a precis.

It is the use of abstract and summary words that can be used in place of precis as both these
words contain the same meaning. A summary is a well-presented form of the statements or notes
containing headings and sub-headings which are pointed below them.

While abstract is in the paragraph form that should have the main theme of that passage or the
article. So, in general, we derive that the precis should be brief, clear, and accurate.

The one important rule or aspect that one should always remember is that one should avoid
using their own interpretation of the subject or the comments when it comes to precis writing.
One should avoid refraining from the author’s voice and tone.

For writing style, you must be clear and effective and you should ramble while writing. It is
important that you avoid the use of any unnecessary words or long sentences.

Ultimately, what matters is the coherence of the sentences that are presented in the passage and
how you can relate them in a short format in precis. As the precis does not all the points, shifting
of one point from another should be taken care of.

In the end, it is important that the precis you have written should be logical and make proper
sense.

Qualities for Writing a Good Precis

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A precis is the short form of a passage, but it should not be short on quality. And that is why it is
important to understand what qualities must be there for writing a good precis. It must include
the following points:

Objectivity
One should not ignore this quality instead give it utmost importance. Objectivity means how you
are presenting your facts and views without it being biasing your feelings or personal opinions.
In stricter terms, precis writing should be a summary of the passage or text given to you. It
should not include your personal idea or opinions.

Clarity
A precis is the crisp formation of the passage and it should be as crisp and clear as possible.
Clarity is essentially getting your ideas loud and clear without writing it in depth. It should
convey what the writer is trying to say. We can achieve clarity through the use of simple
structure and simple language.

Coherence
We have covered the importance of coherence above. It clearly means that ideas and views that
you have presented should be logical and the interconnection of the ideas should be proper. You
should well-knit all the ideas that you mention among themselves and you should not leave any
gap in the ideas that you are presenting.

Correctness
Although your precis is a short formation, it is equally important that you do not make any
mistakes while writing it. There are many mistakes that you should avoid while writing a precis.
Many such mistakes include mistakes in figures and dates, the spelling of
words, punctuation mistakes, structure and grammar mistakes, and many more. These mistakes
should be strictly avoided as the precis is very short and the reader wants it to be mistake-proof.

Conciseness
Conciseness means that the precis should contain all the information required while not
mentioning it in depth. It should not be too long either too short and both of these should not
have any impact while writing a precis. Avoid all the unnecessary details and write only the
necessary details. Some points to achieve conciseness should include, eliminating wordy
expressions, the omission of unnecessary details, avoiding the unnecessary repetition, etc.

Completeness
A precis is a short form of the passage, but this does not mean that it should be incomplete. It
should include as many things as possible and more importantly the facts. In fact, a good one
should be able to produce all the facts while being short. A short precis does not mean avoiding
important facts. Also, the important thing that you should remember is it should be a summary
and not a short description of the passage.
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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.

Rules of Precis Writing

Do’s and Dont’s 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.
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 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.

Precis Writing Procedure

Precis writing can be considered as an art. It is a subtle way of writing the long passages into
crisp and cohesive short paragraph. And that is why it is very important to know the basics of
precis. More so if you are in the field of communication where precis writing is done almost
daily. A better precis can be written with more and more practice. Search for some
precis writing examples for that.
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Here our main focus will be on precis from the business correspondence and reporting point of
view. There are essential points that you need to keep in mind while writing a precis and we will
start with this one.

Before writing a precis, it is important that you take care of a few essential points. The main
thing that you need to remember is that before writing a precis, read the passage carefully.

Only then you will be able to truly understand the essence of the passage and write it down more
concisely. The one thing that you need to convey clearly is the main idea of the paragraph.

For precis, we short down the paragraph and sometimes forget to convey the main idea. But in
precis, the general idea should not be forgotten. Also, make sure that all the important points of
the passage are conveyed in the precis. Focus on language and try and make it as clear, crisp,
and concise as possible.

There is no fixed pattern to write a precis. But we must follow certain rules and procedure so
that the precis can be more effective. Follow the right diction and you will be able to write
a good precis.

For a Good Precis, follow this Procedure:

 Start by reading the paragraph thoroughly and then understand the central theme or the
idea. It is important that you identify the idea so that you incorporate that in the required
precision.

 Check whether the total number of words is given or not. If it not given than count out
the total words in the paragraph.

 If you have not understood the precis in one go then give it a couple more reads. Make
sure you are clear with the meaning of the paragraph.

 While reading the paragraph highlight the main points and make notes of it. Try to find
which information is irrelevant for your precis.

 The heading is very critical, so give it a good thought before finalizing it

 The notes or the points that you have highlighted is very important in precis

 As the precis should follow the logical order, arrange these points in the same

 For officials, you need to provide titles and designations rather than names. If nothing
is provided then you go with the personal name, but make sure that you follow the same
pattern throughout your writing.

 Before submitting your draft, review it properly as the precis is already in a short
format error should be avoided
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 Have a final glance at the paragraph to make sure that you have missed out on
anything. A good practice would be to count the number of words in the precis and put it
in a bracket at the end of precis.