PRECIS WRITING
The word précis means to be precise. A précis is a summary and précis-
writing means summarizing. It is an exercise of compression. It is writing
the gist or main idea or theme of a passage in as few words as possible
(usually, reducing the original passage to about one-third its length). The
précis should be lucid, succinct and full (including all essential points) so
that anyone reading it would grasp the main points in the original passage.
Précis writing is not paraphrasing. Paraphrasing is reproduction of the
substance with details. Therefore, it is sometimes even longer than the
original passage, but a précis, on the other hand, is very much shorter than
the original. It has to express the main theme shorn of all unimportant
details.
Besides being a good reading exercise, as well as, an exercise that helps
develop writing skills by grasping the main points and training the memory to
retain important points - thus training one to read with the mind as well as
with the eye, précis writing moulds clear, precise and effective expression.
Précis writing is also of practical value, because it helps to grasp what is
read, quickly and accurately and to reproduce it clearly and concisely. For
businessmen, lawyers, government officials, in particular, précis writing is
essential.
Points to remember in précis writing
1. Read the passage thoroughly for the main idea and details
2. Re-model the ideas in your words - do not take chunks off the original
passage.
3. You must produce a connected , complete, self-contained message with
the original meaning.
4. You must write in simple grammatical English.
5. Find a title for the passage that will extract the subject.
6. Write a rough copy before you make the final précis.
7. Write neatly and legibly, including a title.
EXERCISE 92
Write a précis of the following passage summarizing it to about a third.
A great part of Arabia is desert. Here there is nothing but sand and rock.
The sand is so hot that you cannot walk on it with your bare feet in the
daytime. Here and there in the desert are springs of water that come from
deep down under the ground - so deep that the sun cannot dry them up.
These springs are few and far apart but wherever there is one, trees grow
tall and graceful, making a cool, green shady place around the spring. Such a
place is called an oasis.
The Arabs who are not in the cities live in the desert all the year round. They
live in tents that can be put up and taken down very easily and quickly so that
they can move from one oasis to another, seeking grass and water for their
sheep, goats, camels and horses. These desert Arabs eat ripe, sweet figs, and
also the dates that grow upon the palm trees - they dry these dates and use
them as food all the year round.
These Arabs have the finest horses in the world. An Arab is very proud of his
riding horse and loves him almost as much as he loves his wife and children. He
never puts heavy loads upon his horse and often lets him stay in the tent with his
family.
The camel is much more useful to the Arab than his beautiful horse, however,
for he is much larger and stronger. One camel can carry as much as or more than
two horses. The Arab loads the camel with goods and rides him, too, for miles and
miles across the desert - just as if he were really the "ship of the desert", which he is
often called.
EXERCISE 93
Write a précis of the following passage reducing it to about one third in length.
Whatever the type or size of organization, managers must employ three
kinds of skills: technical, human relations and conceptual. But how they use
these skills varies according to management level, the organizations
management system and the individual's personal characteristics.
An upper-level manager, such as a Company President or Board Chairman ,
spends a lot of time analyzing information-say, about industry trends and the
economic climate-making decisions based on that information. In addition, top
managers spend considerable time communicating with people - eliciting
information and conveying decisions. Thus, top managers rely heavily on both
conceptual and human relations skills.
The middle manager serves as a communication conduit between top
management and supervisory management. Planning, decision making and
problem solving are also part of the middle managers efforts to implement
directives from top management and to cope with problems presented by lower-
level supervisors.
The operating or line manager directly supervises and communicates with
employees who are doing the technical work of the organization. For instance,
the shift supervisor of a large restaurant would spend most of her time working
alongside the serving staff and the kitchen staff, showing them what to do,
motivating them and conveying the wishes of the owner (top management)
and manager (middle management). Thus, lower managers rely most heavily on
technical and human relations skills.
Fortunately, although some people may start out with a deficit in one or
more of the three kinds of management skills-technical, human relations or
conceptual, all of these skills can be acquired with a degree of success.
GENERAL ENGLISH 2007
- SUMMARISING (10 marks)
A. Write a summary of the following text. You may use any number of
sentences but do
not use more than thirty-five (35) words. (05 marks)
Badminton is a very popular game. It is a fast game. In the game,
people use rackets and a shuttlecock. Players hit the shuttlecock back
and forth over a net five feet high. They must return it before it hits the
ground. They usually play the game on a court. If there are two players,
we call it a singles game. If there are four persons or two pairs of players
playing badminton, we call it a doubles game. People can play it both
indoors or outdoors. Official tournaments are usually played indoors. But
most people play badminton for enjoyment. They usually play it
outdoors, like at schools, at offices or at home.
B. Write a summary of the following text. You may use any number of
sentences but do not use more than forty (40) words.(05 marks)
An unemployed youth got a new job at the zoo. The gorilla in the zoo had
died. The youth was asked to dress up in a gorilla's skin and pretend to
be a gorilla so that people would keep coming to the zoo.
During his first day on the job, the youth put on the skin and went into
the cage. The people cheered on seeing him. So he began to put up a
show, jumping around and chattering.
The next day, during an acrobatic feat he lost his balance and crashed
through some safety netting and landed in the middle of the lion's cage.
As he lay there stunned, the lion roared.
The youth was terrified and began to scream "Help, Help!"
The lion raced over to him, placed his paws on his chest and hissed,
"Shut up you idiot or we'll both lose our jobs!”
