Précis writing and summarisation
Précis writing and summarisation
This domain tests compression without distortion. A précis is a coherent paragraph that preserves the main argument and essential supporting points in your own words, usually within a fixed word limit. Summarisation may be shorter, but the same rules of accuracy apply.
Core rules
- Read the passage twice: first for gist, second for the sequence of ideas.
- Underline the main idea and the few supporting points that carry it; cross out examples, repetition, and ornament.
- Write in the third person and in reported/neutral present or past, consistent with the original.
- Use your own wording; do not stitch together phrases from the passage.
- Keep the logical links: cause, contrast, concession, result.
- Count words and cut adjectives and redundant pairs before cutting core meaning.
Worked example
Passage: 'The town council voted to ban plastic bags in markets from June. Shopkeepers protested, citing cost, but the council argued that drainage blockages had doubled in two years.' Reasoning: Main idea: a June ban on plastic market bags, justified by drainage blockages, despite shopkeepers' cost objections. A précis could read: 'The council banned plastic market bags from June to curb drainage blockages, despite traders' cost objections.' It keeps cause, time, and concession, drops repetition, and avoids comment. It does not add 'This is a good decision'.
Traps
- Copying long phrases instead of rewriting.
- Adding your opinion or a moral.
- Keeping examples but losing the main causal link.
- Writing bullet points when a continuous paragraph is required.
- Exceeding the limit and then crossing out, which often damages coherence.