Précis Writing

Derived from French, the word “précis” means a summary.

A rhetorical précis is a clear, concise, and logical summary of a passage preserving its
essential ideas only.

Before writing a précis, make sure you clearly understand its peculiarities and specification.

A précis is NOT an essay or re-writing. It shouldn’t tell but summarize an essence of the
original document and provide readers with the information about its significance and
worth.

 Clarity, which means a reader should understand what an author intended to

convey. Achieve it by using simple language and structure.
 Correctness, which means you should watch spelling, grammar, and punctuation
you use, as well as facts, figures, and dates you address.
 Objectivity, which means candid construal of the information. Don’t give your
opinion in a précis.
 Coherence, which means the logical interconnection of the ideas from the original.
 Conciseness, which means avoiding unnecessary details in your précis. Don’t omit
essential facts but avoid wordy expressions, repetitions, etc.

Strategy

 Read the original piece minutely.

 Specify and locate its core points and arguments.
 Consider the evidence used by the author.
 Identify the appeals the author used.
 Evaluate how the author conveyed meaning.
 Summarize in your own words. It must contain an Introduction, a Body and a
Conclusion, and of course, a Title.
 Précis Writing

Sample Exercise

I am a senior citizen aged above 75, a physicist by profession, a curious scientist by inclination. I
am heart-broken and very angry.

I always had nurtured the idea that India is a mature democracy by now and firmly followed the
path of fair play, justice for all, and above all, responsible for the welfare of its citizens.

With time, all these values have eroded without a trace. Politics has become an all-consuming
power game of sleazy money, a den of uneducated leaders whose sole aim is to stay in power at
all costs — citizens “we can bribe” by handouts, making them even more incompetent than what
they are. Education, by far and large, has taken a back seat.

Nothing has changed, if anything it has gone worse — education is merely a device to amplify
our childhood memory books, suitable only for clerks. By Class VI, they become slaves of their
own memory, any lapse in that they cannot even think, forget about innovation!

Not surprisingly, the best go out of the country and succeed beyond any dream. The political
club belongs to members who are primarily not educated, and extremely fond of violence at the
slightest pretext. Even the film stars could not resist the glamour, suffering the heat and dust
quite happily.

Why am I heart-broken after all these years? In the heat of political slogans, the politician
omitted to recognise the most vital component of democracy —humans!

They can die by the millions, “we really don’t care”. They saw that the devastating tsunami of
Covid-19 was coming. But one more dip in the holy ocean by the millions, pressed against each
other, they clapped from a distance, after all, these dips are at the heart of Mother India.

I am heart-broken because even at the end, the dead do not receive any respect. When the
tsunami has come, there is no planning, no bed, no vaccine, not adequate nurses, worse, no
oxygen, no doctors. The magnificent theatre of copter, creating a heap of our Indian dust, is
quite a spectacle. But people are dying, “oh, never mind, have to win”!

Why is there no planning, they have no time? They prefer to ignore the tsunami — statues are
more relevant? Time and again, the great India inertia paralyses us from taking any action — we
are frozen with the morphine of inaction.

The Election Commission is just an example. The thinking is “Almighty God will take care”. We
don’t take action, we take corrective measures, already too late. They should have planned
oxygen problem mitigation, “no chalta hain”. By the time the permission comes through after
crossing all the administrative hurdles, another 2 million have died.

All my life in science management, not research of course, the essential thesis of “don’t trouble if
trouble doesn’t trouble you” has driven me mad. Now, the same reason is making me heart-
broken.

Why am I very angry? I have worked for an organisation called the Cyclotron Centre, mostly as
the director for almost 25 years. So, I have a special bondage.
 Précis Writing

The same Election Commission ordered staff up to some level to be on election duty. With
millions of government staff hanging around, our young staff members, by order, have to attend
election duty.

I see “hell” on the horizon.

They have just come back, 90 per cent of them have been affected by Covid-19. Do they have
enough medicine, beds in the hospital, oxygen?

They have done a fantastic job for the country because they are far more honest than the
politicians the election is all about.

What a price to pay? Honesty and a noble purpose give only negative returns?

I am angry. A few of them are really bright — to jeopardise their careers midway is a crime. The
Chief Justice of Madras High Court is right, the members of the Election Commission should be
prosecuted for murder. I add to that — prosecute all irresponsible and incompetent people and
leaders.

Justice must prevail. Exploitation has to stop, democracy is nobody’s monopoly. When do we
begin to understand?

Bikash Sinha is a senior scientist at the Indian National Science Academy, former Homi Bhabha Professor
and former director at the Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre and the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics