Précis-writing at the ILO

A beginner’s guide
RELMEETINGS
English Unit
February 2018
Précis-writing at the ILO:
A beginner’s guide
• Role of précis-writers
• Role of revisers/report-writers
• Précis-writing at the ILO
• Working arrangements
• Content: General rules
• Content: How much to include
• Content: Identification of speakers
• Style: General rules
• Style: Verbs of saying
• Style: Abbreviations
• Further information
• Questions

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Role of précis-writers
• Précis-writing is the task of producing a text that
summarizes what is said at a meeting.
• Précis-writers condense all statements in a clear,
accurate and concise manner, without omitting any of
the speakers’ key points or distorting the argument.
• Précis-writers work in teams (usually of 5 to 6 people)
according to a schedule, taking notes and then writing
up their summaries.
• They work from their notes and copies of any prepared
statements provided. Where available, they may also
work on the basis of a transcript or audio recording of a
meeting.
• The summaries are compiled and revised by a reviser or
report-writer to produce the minutes or the report of
the meeting.
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Role of revisers/report-writers
Revisers/report-writers usually work in a team of two (three for
Conference Committees) and are responsible for:
• taking their own notes in the room (in the case of report-
writers)
• compiling and revising the texts of précis-writers;
• ensuring editorial consistency and a coherent and accurate
record of the deliberations;
• seeking advice on any sensitive statements that could have
legal or political implications;
• ensuring that the word limit (if any) is broadly adhered to;
• submitting the draft minutes/report to the approver within
the established deadline;
• providing guidance and feedback to the précis-writers for
training purposes;
• answering any questions that might be raised by colleagues.
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Précis-writing at the ILO
• At the ILO, précis-writers are required for:
• the Governing Body (except for private sittings);
• committees of the International Labour Conference;
• sectoral meetings;
• meetings of experts;
• other meetings.
• Précis-writers produce summaries in English,
whether they listen to the English interpretation or
the language of the speakers.
• The minutes/reports of meetings are subsequently
translated into French and Spanish.

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Working arrangements
• A précis-writing team lead should be designated, who creates
the team roster for each sitting and acts as a focal point.
• Sometimes the meeting coordinator is responsible for the roster.
• Each précis-writer should take notes for a 30-minute slot.
• The slot may be longer or shorter if so decided before the meeting.
• The deadline for submitting the précis varies according to the
type of meeting:
• 90 minutes for Conference committees and sectoral meetings;
• up to one working day for the Governing Body.
• Documents should be saved on a common drive according to
a uniform file naming convention, to enable sorting by date
and time:
• [meeting code]-[date]-[start time]-[end time]-[PW’s initials]
• Example: CMM-05Jun-1600-1630-SA

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Content: General rules
• A summary should generally include:
• Who is speaking: correct identification of the speakers;
• What they say: the substance of their intervention;
• Why they say it: the reasons they provide.
• Précis-writers should use the speakers’ own words to
the extent possible.
• However, summaries must make sense.
• Précis-writers should clarify anything that is unclear, if
necessary by consulting with colleagues.
• If clarification is not possible within the deadline, précis-
writers should leave a comment for the reviser/report-
writer.
• Précis-writers should aim to produce text that needs
minimal revision, within the established deadline.
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Content: How much to include
• A word limit of 2,000 words per hour of meeting applies for
the minutes of the Governing Body.
• Other meetings may apply different limits, or no limit at all.
• This rule should apply proportionately to the various speakers:
• Employer and Worker spokespersons and high-level speakers
generally receive greater coverage than
• representatives of Government groups,
who generally receive greater coverage than
• representatives of individual Governments.
• Interventions from the Chairperson or the Office on
housekeeping matters should be omitted.
• However, if the Chairperson makes a substantive intervention,
that should be included.
• Jokes, anecdotes and digressions that add nothing to the
debate should not be included.

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Identification of speakers
• Speakers are generally identified by their title, not by
name.
• Précis-writers must indicate the sex of the speakers
after their title: [M] or [F]
• This is needed for translation into French and Spanish, but is
removed before the document is published.
• It also helps to ensure consistency with any pronouns used
subsequently (“he”, “she”, “her”, “his” and so on)
• Précis-writers should remain aware that the sex of the
interpreter may be different from that of the speaker. It can
be verified using speakers’ list or the recording, where
available.
• Specific formulations are used, which may differ
according to the type of meeting.

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Identification of speakers (cont.)
• Before a meeting, guidance should be provided to
précis-writers on how to refer to speakers.
• Some examples:
• The Chairperson (not Chair, Chairman, Chairwoman)
• The Employer/Worker/Government Vice-Chairperson not
Employers’ Vice-Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson of the Workers’ group
• The Employer spokesperson, the Worker spokesperson
• An Employer/Worker/Government member from [country]
• The Government representative of [country]
• Speaking on behalf of the European Union and its Member
States, a Government representative of [country] said that
[countries] aligned themselves with the statement
• A representative of the Director-General (Deputy Director-
General for Policy)
• A representative of the World Health Organization (WHO)
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Style: General rules
• English minutes and reports must be written in reported
speech, that is, in the past tense:
• “This is a prime example of tripartism at its best.” becomes
• … said that that was a prime example of tripartism at its best.
• Texts must be written in UK English and should comply
with the ILO House Style Manual.
• Where no preferred spelling is given in the manual, the Oxford
English Dictionary may be consulted.
• Prior to the meeting, précis-writers should familiarize
themselves with the subject matter and terminology
used in the background document(s) for the meeting.

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Style: Verbs of saying
• A verb of saying is necessary at the beginning of the
summary for each statement, but not for every sentence
within the statement.
• It is not necessary to use a different verb for each
statement: “said” will often be the most appropriate choice.
• Care should be taken not to:
• add undue weight by using “emphasized”, “underscored” etc., or
• to “recall” or “reiterate” something that was not stated previously.
• Verbs such as “hoped”, “felt”, “welcomed” and “thought”
should not be used as introductory verbs, as they are not
verbs of saying.
• Care should also be taken not to personify countries or
groups:
• not “The European Union thought that...”.
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Style: Abbreviations
• Abbreviations are very useful when taking notes in the
meeting, but should be used sparingly in the final summary
• Abbreviations tend to reduce readability unless they are very
familiar to the reader.
• Where abbreviations are used in a text, the terms should be
written in full the first time they appear, followed by the
abbreviation in parentheses:
• the group of industrialized and market economies (IMEC)
• In official documents, abbreviations should not be used for
senior officials, country names or core concepts, such as:
• DG, GB, UAE, UK, FOA, FOW, FPRW, ILS
• References to ILO Conventions are treated in the same way
as abbreviations, in that they are written in full the first time
they appear, and are thereafter referred to only by their
number:
• the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise
Convention, 1948 (No. 87); thereafter: Convention No. 87
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Further information
• Comprehensive guidance has been produced by
RELMEETINGS for précis-writers working at the
Governing Body and the International Labour
Conference.
• The Resources for translators intranet page contains
links to many useful documents, including the ILO
House Style Manual and the list of member States.
• The ILO website contains many examples of meeting
reports and the minutes of the Governing Body.
• The ILO website for each meeting contains the relevant
background documents.

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