College life can be fun until the bubble of happiness bursts out due to the academic workload. Writing an impressive precis is also a part of that workload, and writing it is no easy task. A precis is a summary of a text. It is about writing the gist of a written text in as few words as possible, and this is exactly where the problems start arising. Summarising the text of someone else in your own words and summarising it effectively is a very challenging task. So, keeping this in mind, today’s post is all about explaining the steps for writing an impressive precis. There will be a mention of all the steps involved in writing this text. So, let’s start with the definition of a precis.
What is Precis Writing?
The word “precis” comes from the French word “précis.” The literal meaning of this word is concise, clear, and up to a point. Precis writing is defined as the practice of writing a text which is focused on one point, clear, and concise. In simple words, its meaning pertains to a summary of any written text. The original written text can be a book, an article, or a novel. Writing an impressive precis requires mentioning all the key points discussed in the original text so that anyone who reads it gets a complete understanding of the original text.
Key steps to remember when writing an impressive precis
Writing a precis is an impossible task if you do not know the steps involved in its writing. However, with proper hints and knowledge of the steps, you cannot only write an effective precis but can write an award-winning summary of the original text. So, what are those steps that you must know? A brief description of all the steps is as follows:
1. Understand the text fully
When attempting to write a precis, the first and the most crucial step you need to take is going through the original text and developing a complete understanding of the topic. Reading the text persistently and constantly helps you develop a thorough understanding of the issue at hand. To do this, you can employ the technique of divide and rule. It includes dividing the text into several components and reading them one by one. After doing this a few times, you will feel the creation of an outline of the text in your mind.
2. Create a mind map
Before crafting the precis, ensure to create a mind map. A mind map helps you in writing an impressive precis by allowing you to create a rough outline of your writing. It allows you to map all the points that are necessary to discuss in the precis. To create the mind map, all you need to do is identify the main points and give them the shape of a mind map. You can do so in software or manually. Our recommendation is that you should make the mind map in software so that you can edit and add something when required.
3. Condense each section
In your precis, you need to talk about each section of the original text. As you cannot expand on each section, therefore, it is mandatory to condense each section’s information into a few lines prior to writing the precis. For example, when writing the precis of a climate change document, you should condense the factual information mainly. There is no room for detailing the causes of such a change in the precis.
4. Start writing the precis
After performing the steps mentioned above, start writing the precis as early as possible. When writing the text, make sure that you compress each idea discussed in the original writing separately. As discussed earlier, a precis is the shorter version of the original text, so you must keep a check on your word count, too. Remember the following points when writing an impressive precis:
- Add a suitable title in line with the content
- Write it in the third person
- The text must be in an indirect form
- Use past tense when writing it
5. Revise and proofread the precis
Lastly, after writing a precis, you must revise and proofread it. It is necessary because the first draft of your precis is not always the final draft. There are still many mistakes that need to be rectified and corrected. Therefore, proofread the document to get rid of all kinds of grammatical and contextual mistakes in your precis and make it effective. Many students face problems in revising and proofreading the precis. If you are one of them, you can consider getting coursework help.
Conclusion
Hope, after reading the above steps, you are now well prepared for writing an impressive precis. When writing this kind of text, always keep the sentences short and use the appropriate past tense because you are summarising the content of someone else. Hence, read all the steps mentioned above and write the precis accordingly.