As we all know that there are four skills of

communication which are:

 Listening

 Speaking

 Reading

 Writing

Listening and reading skills are receptive which means

only to receive and understand the message. On the
other hand speaking and writing skills are productive
which means to produce your own thoughts, feelings
and ideas.
Our topic précis writing is the part of reading and
writing skills which is receptive as well as productive.
Précis word, derived from French language, means
summary, abstract, central idea, main theme of the
given passage. It means to shorten a given passage to
about one third of the original passage. For it you have
to omit a lot of unnecessary points but none of the
important point can be omitted. You have only to borrow
the ideas and spirit of the original but expressed them
in your own words. Thus précis writing teaches one how
to express one’s thoughts clearly , concisely and
effectively.

Précis writing needs full attention and concentration

because it is an art and it is to learnt carefully. You can’t
write a good précis by a sort of inspiration.
 STEPS OF PRECIS WRITING
There are several stages or steps in précis writing which are now
briefly discussed:
1. Reading the passage carefully:
Read the passage two or three times until you get its general
meaning or main idea and keywords of the given passage

2. Finding a suitable heading or title:

When you get the inherent meaning of the passage, observe
carefully the connection among the sections of the passage. And
sum it up a suitable heading or title.

3. Drafting a rough outline:

Read the passage again to underlined or highlight the important
and main points of the passage. Collect the essential points in a
nutshell and make a rough draft. It must include all the important
points.
3. Selection and arrangement:

After having made a rough outline of the points

discussed in the passage, proceed to decide which
points are essential and which are not. And avoid
unimportant points like illustration, examples, stylistic
effect, repetition, and all superfluous details like
quotation and arguments.

Then arrange the main points or ideas in a logical or

proper way. Your arrangement should be such as
would make your précis read like a connected and
logical whole. And ensure that it is a clear, logical and
good summary of the original passage.
5. First draft of the précis:
After arranging the points , write the first draft of the
précis. Add nothing of your own, no comments, no
praise or blame and historical explanation. You will be
tempted to reproduce as well as matter mean you have
to translate the ideas and the spirit of the passage in
your own words.
6. Revision:
Then revise it carefully before you make the fair copy.
Be sure that its length is within the limits prescribed. If
the précis is too long or too short, modify if by deleting
and adding. Compare it with the original to see that you
have not omitted any important point. See whether it
reads well as a connected whole and correct any
mistake in spelling, punctuation, grammar and idiom.
7. Fair draft:

If it is alright in all respects, write the précis in a

legible handwriting, giving it a suitable title you have
chosen.

Thus these are the points which should be taken into

consideration while writing a précis
 Précis is the expression of the original in
condensed form: A précis has to be a shorter re-
statement of the original. In case the length has not
been prescribed, précis should be one-third of the
original.

 The principal contents: The pruning of the original

would not spare anything essential but bare
essentials. If the passage contains dialogues or
direct speech, this must be put into indirect speech
and only a brief extract of it need be given.
 A précis should be the writer’s own words:
Although a concise and faithful account of the
original passage, it should be self-contained and
independent as a piece of writing. It must convey it
message fully and clearly without requiring any
reference to the original to complete its meaning.

 Central idea: A précis should set forth briefly the

central idea of the original. It must be truthful
picture of the ideas contained in the original
passage. A précis should maintain the thought and
general impression of the original
 Orderly condensed: The précis must be a well
connected whole. It should remove all
redundancies and state the import of the original
as an organized and systematic whole. In it the
sequence of ideas or arguments lead to the
conclusion with a proper beginning, middle and
end.

 Style: It must be in indirect speech, third person

and past tense. The précis must be in simple,
direct, grammatical and idiomatic English and care
should be taken to preserve the tone of the original
passage
• Title: A title must be assigned to a précis whether
asked or not. Title should be , in effect, a précis of
the précis. It should not exceed five or six words. A
précis title neither contains a verb nor forms a
question.

Finally, a good précis may be summed up in

three words: clarity, coherence and brevity.
In India, the Khilafat Movement and the Jallianwala Bagh
Massacre brought Mahatma Gandhi into prominence. His
non-cooperation campaigns of 1921, his Salt Satyagraha
in1930 and finally his ‘Quit India’ movement in1942 alongwith
the development back home forced the British to grant us
independence, and sovereignty to India. In this process, not a
single action using force and violence can be cited which
Gandhiji or one of his millions of followers indulged in. The
splinter groups in Indian National Congress who did not
agree on this method leading to the country’s freedom broke
away from Gandhiji and the Congress, but Gandhiji did not
compromise his ideals at the expense of expediency. For him,
the end justified the means and since the end of India’s
Independence was something noble and unique, it had to be
achieved through noble and peaceful means.
Gandhiji was basically a social reformer who spiritualized
the arena of politics. He fought hard to uplift the
downtrodden masses of India. The under-privileged, the
Harijans and members of other scheduled and backward
classes were equal to Gandhiji. He championed the
movement to remove untouchability and exploitation from
the country. To identify himself with the poverty-stricken
masses of India, he always travelled in the third class. To
give a vocational bias to our education, he evolved the Nai
Talim. Drinking, he held, was an evil akin to or even worse
than prostitution. He highlighted it in all it gory after
effects on the person, the family and society and gave a
call to all Indians to give up drinking.
The Light has indeed gone out of Indian politics after
Mahatma’s death. The living flames of his ideals have
long been dead in our hearts.
 Mahatma Gandhi became popular after some
movements
 These movements forced the Britishers to grant India
independence
 For Gandhiji, the end justified the means.
 Therefore, he along with his followers never indulged
in violence.
 Gandhiji was a social reformer and after entering the
politics he fought for the equality.
 He was in favour of total prohibition.
 His death caused a big void.
 Précis

Various movements started by Gandhiji compelled the

British to leave India. Gandhiji and his followers followed
the principle of non-violence throughout the freedom
struggle. For him, the end justified the means, and
therefore, he never compromised when the splinter groups
did not agree on this method of attaining freedom and
broke away from Gandhiji. He was basically a social
reformer and, when he entered politics, did a lot to improve
the lot of oppressed, tried to remove untouchability or
inequality and gave a new educational idea. He regarded
drinking the worst evil and compaigned against it. His
death caused a big void in Indian politics.