Precis Writing and Paragraph Writing (सारांश एवं अनुच्छेद लेखन)
This domain combines two composition tasks with strict formats: सारांश (precis) of a given passage and an अनुच्छेद (paragraph) on a set topic. Both are marked for content fidelity, structure, and language, and both punish padding. The precis tests compression without distortion; the paragraph tests coherence around a single idea.
Rules for सारांश
- Length: about one-third of the original, counted in words.
- Write in the third person; never use मैं, मेरे विचार से, or any personal opinion.
- Use your own words. Copying sentences, even shortened ones, is penalised directly.
- Drop examples, figures, quotations and repetition; keep the central argument and its conclusion.
- Write one continuous paragraph and give it a short title.
- Do not introduce anything the passage does not say.
Rules for अनुच्छेद
- One paragraph, one controlling idea, stated in the first or second sentence.
- Support with two or three developed points, then close with a consequence or recommendation.
- Use linkers such as इसके अतिरिक्त, परिणामस्वरूप, इसके विपरीत, अतः, but do not begin every sentence with one.
- Keep one register throughout: formal prose for a topic like शिक्षा में अनुशासन, without sudden conversational turns.
Worked example
Passage: “पुस्तकालय केवल पुस्तकों का भंडार नहीं है। वहाँ अनुशासन, धैर्य और मौन सीखा जाता है। जो विद्यार्थी पुस्तकालय की शांति का सम्मान करता है, वही उससे लाभ उठा पाता है।” At roughly thirty-five words, the target precis is about twelve words. A serviceable version: “पुस्तकालय अनुशासन सिखाता है; लाभ वही उठाता है जो उसकी शांति का सम्मान करे।” The reasoning: the opening negation is a rhetorical frame, so it goes; the three learned qualities reduce to अनुशासन as the representative one; the conditional in the last sentence is the conclusion and must survive.
Traps
- Exceeding one-third length; extra words cost more than they earn.
- Adding a moral or personal example to a precis, which converts it into an essay.
- Splitting the सारांश into bullet points or several paragraphs.
- Omitting the title, or writing a title longer than a short phrase.
- In the अनुच्छेद, drifting into a second idea halfway through, which breaks coherence.