www.iqranotes.com
How to Write Précis - Its Rules
The summary, or Précis,
is an exercise in compression. Its main purpose is to express the gist of a
passage in the smallest number of words. All unnecessary details should be cut
off and removed. We may summarize a paragraph, an essay, a chapter or a book,
we may also turn several documents dealing with one subject into a single Précis.
Whatever be the length and nature of the original document, the method of
procedure always remains the same. But the ability to produce an outstanding
abstract implies that the writer possesses a number of qualities. The most
important being the power of judgment, a good elastic vocabulary,
and above all, the power to write concisely. By conciseness, we do not mean such brevity as almost borders upon ambiguity.
Conciseness is largely
a matter of practice and self-restraint. Journalists and lawyers have a
particular gift of assimilating facts quickly and giving them the most compact
and lucid expression. But the gift can be cultivated by other classes of people
too if they learn to read correctly and understand exactly. In order to make a good,
readable extract, one must possess the knack of arranging matter in a proper
sequence and in due proportion. One must understand the relative importance of
facts mentioned in the original. For conciseness, one must regard words as
precious jewels and employ them with great care. Sometimes the choice of one
word may reduce a long sentence to a happy phrase. For instance, consider the
following:
“Throughout the whole of his life, Iqbal had been filled with the conviction that a great future awaited the
Muslims."
This can be eliminated to a single
expression:
Iqbal was an optimist.
Here, with the use of
four words only, we secure a better result. In the case of longer passages, the
proper choice of words can work greater wonders.
Rules for the compilation of a Précis
There are no hard and fast rules that
may present be followed to produce good Précis. A book that sets out to
present cut-and-dried rules for the compilation of a Précis is either one of
the modern miracle-making gadgets or a huge pretension. However, a few hints
are given here to guide the students in the otherwise difficult task of making
a readable Précis. Rules are good but none of them is half so good as a practice.
A student who spends from 20 to 30 minutes daily in making a Précis can attain
a fair degree of facility in this art.
1. First master the subject-matter of
the passage or document to be summarized. For this purpose read the passage
carefully, if necessary, several times, until you have grasped its main purport
or gist.
2. Note down the principal points. These
form the material for the first draft of the summary. Then prepare a skeleton
or outline Précis which should contain all essential points and omit unessential
ones. Never introduce any detail, feeling or statement which is not contained
in the original.
3. Next, go over your first draft.
Compare it with the original and strike out everything that is not absolutely
essential.
4. If the original contains elaborate
figures of speech or numerous illustrations, simplify them. All quotations
should be avoided, but this does not mean the avoiding of the original words, should
they be the most suitable.
5. You are not bound to follow the
original order of thought of passage if you can express its meaning more
clearly and concisely by changing the sequence of the author's ideas or
arguments. Sometimes an author may arrange his thoughts in an inverted way or make
use of repetitions for dramatic effect. Such inversions and involved
constructions must be avoided in the Précis.
6. If instructions about the length of
the Précis are given, these must be
carefully followed. In the absence of any such instructions, it is a good rule
to reduce a given passage to about one - third of its length.
7. Assign a suitable heading. The opening sentence usually contains the germs of the heading. The heading should
be so comprehensive as will tell the reader at a glance what is the subject of
the narrative. Nothing definite can be said about the length of the title. It
should be brief and comprehensive.
8. The tenses of the verbs used, in a Précis
require careful consideration. As a general rule, they should be in the form of the
Past Tense.
9. Finally, revise your work to make the
whole read as a unity. Précis is essentially a good piece of composition; therefore,
due consideration should be shown to spelling, grammar and punctuation.
10. If the given passage is a long one,
divide it into its component parts and then summarize each part separately.
Each portion of the summary may bear a subtitle.
EXAMPLES
Example # 1
(a) There is an enduring tenderness in
the love of a mother for her son that transcends all other affections of the
heart. It is neither to be chilled by selfishness nor stifled by ingratitude. She
will sacrifice every comfort to his convenience; she will surrender every a pleasure to his enjoyment; she will glory in his fame, and exult in his
prosperity; and, if misfortune overtakes him, he will be the dearer to her for
misfortune; and, if disgrace settles upon his name, she will still love and
cherish him in spite of his disgrace, and if all the world besides casts him
off, she will be all the world to him.
Now let us set the main points of
this argument down.
(b) 1. A mother's love transcends all
other affections.
2. It is not chilled by the son's
selfishness, worthlessness or ingratitude.
3. A mother will gladly sacrifice her
own pleasures and conveniences for the son's sake. She glories in the success
of her son.
4. A mother's love persists even in his
misfortunes and disgrace. She clings to him when the world forsakes him.
The original contains
118 words. The précis should consist therefore of 40 words; in any case not
more than 50 words, or less than 35 words.
(c) First Draft: There
is permanence in the love of a mother and it rises above all other affections
of the heart. Her love is not weakened by selfishness, danger, worthlessness or
ingratitude of her son. She sacrifices her personal comforts and joys for his
comfort. A mother feels proud of her child's prosperity and is grieved at his
misfortunes. She loves him in all circumstances and sticks to him when the
world forsakes him.
This summary is rather
too long. Let us make a second draft omitting all redundancies if there are
any. Some of the ideas expressed in the first draft may be put more concisely.
(d) Final Draft: A
mother's love surpasses all other affections. Neither selfishness, anger,
worthlessness, nor ingratitude on the son’s part can weaken it. She sacrifices
her personal joys and comforts for the sake of her son and feels proud of her
son’s fame and prosperity. Her love stands by him even in his misfortunes when
the world has left him.
Now the final draft is
within the prescribed limits. It has no unimportant details which may otherwise
interfere with the central gist of the original.
(e) Heading:
-MOTHER’S LOVE
Example 2.
(a) In this world of
human affairs, there is no worse nuisance than a boy at the age of fourteen. He
is neither ornamental nor useful. It is impossible to shower affections on him
as on a little boy: and he is always getting in the way. if he talks with childish
lisp he is called a baby, and if he answers in a grown-up manner he is called
impertinent. In fact, any talk at all from him is resented. Then he is at the
unattractive growing age. He grows out of his clothes with indecent haste; his
voice grows hoarse and breaks and quavers; his face grows suddenly angular and
unsightly, It is easy to excuse the shortcomings of early childhood, but it is hard
to tolerate even unavoidable lapses in a boy of fourteen. The lad himself
becomes painfully self-conscious. When he talks with elderly people he is
either unduly forward, or else so unduly shy that he appears ashamed of his
very existence.
Yet it is at this very
age when in his heart of hearts a young lad most craves for recognition and
love, and he becomes the devoted slave of any one who shows him consideration.
But none dare openly love him, for that would be regarded as an undue indulgence, and
therefore bad for the boy. So that with scolding and chiding, he becomes very
much like a stray dog that has lost his master.
For a boy of fourteen, his own home is the only paradise. To live in a strange house with strange
people is little short of torture while the height of bliss is to receive the
kind looks of women, and never to be slighted by them (280 words). ______Rabindranath
Tagore
(b) Outline
Precis:
1. A boy at the age of
fourteen is a nuisance.
2. He is too old to
enjoy affections of the elders and his manners and talk are resented.
3. He grows too
rapidly. He is either, impertinent or shy.
4. He has a strong
yearning for love and feels immensely grateful to those who show him
consideration.
5. He desires to be
loved and respected by the fair sex
(c) First Draft: There
is no worse nuisance than a boy at the age of fourteen. lt 1s.dificult to love
him. He is disliked by his elders who sometimes take him for a child and at
other times for a grown-up man. His growth is rather rapid which makes him unattractive
and too big for his clothes He becomes self-conscious and hence feels
unnecessarily shy or forward. A boy of fourteen secretly yearns for recognition
and feels immensely grateful to anyone who shows him any consideration. His
own home is his only place of refuge and feels awkward among strange people. He
desires to be loved by the members of the fair sex.- (111 words).
(d)
Final Draft: A boy at the age of fourteen is really an unenviable
person. He is disliked and insulted by his elders who sometimes confuse him
with a child and at other times with a grown-up man. It is at this age that he
begins to grow rapidly and his rapid growth makes him unattractive and
ungainly. He is either impertinent or shy when talking to the elders. A boy at
this age secretly yearns for love and feels grateful to those who love him. He keenly
desires to be loved and respected by members of the fair sex. (90 words).
(e) Heading:
-A Boy AT THE AGE OF FOURTEEN.
**********