Precis (Summary) Writing – 21
Creative Writing – 86
Learn the ideal steps to write good precis and write them yourself
Precis writing steps
First step
Read the passage very carefully, and capture its central thought.
Second step
Count the number of words. For this, count the words per line and multiply it into number of lines. Treat half or more than half length lines as single lines. Mentally divide the total number of words by three, and get the ideal word limit of your précis. You may exceed this by five words. If you cross this upper limit, you will start losing marks sharply.
Third Step
In a précis, no important information or fact is to be missed. So, underline/highlight the points that you feel are central to the passage.
Fourth Step
With clever use of vocabulary, syntax, try to write the précis making sure you incorporate all the important facts. Make the writing smooth.
Fifth Step
For practice, write the précis paragraph-wise. After some practice, you may write the précis in one go. A sample is given below. The total word count of the précis is 81 (76 + 5).
Precis writing Examples
Example – 1
Tuesday is the U.N.’s World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. After nearly two decades of international commitment to end modern slavery, one thing is clear: States are simply not doing enough. It is estimated that there are 40.3 million victims of modern slavery, including sex trafficking and forced marriage. Eighty percent are victims of forced labor — a problem that is poorly understood by the general public. Twenty-five percent of trafficking victims worldwide are children. [74 words]
Precis
Slavery in the form of forced labour and sex trafficking is still rife with a quarter of the victims being children. A review on the U.N.’s World Day Against Trafficking in Persons blames member States for this. [37 words]
Example – 2
Human trafficking is an epidemic in and of itself. But it’s also a symptom of other deeply-rooted, international challenges — the refugee crisis, civil conflict, poverty, and more. This is a generally accepted truth. But there’s another root cause that is rarely, if ever, discussed: authoritarianism. [45 words]
Precis
Authoritarianism, poverty, strife and refugee crisis have compounded this malaise. [10 words]
Example – 3
Each year, the U.S. State Department releases a trafficking report that categorizes countries according to the strength of their anti-trafficking efforts. There are four categories: Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 2 Watchlist, and Tier 3. For a country to be categorized as Tier 1, its government should have gone above and beyond in prosecuting traffickers, protecting victims, preventing new trafficking cases, and partnering with civil society to come up with new solutions. In this year’s report, published in June, 94% of Tier 1 countries have democratic governments. Meanwhile, just 6% of ranked authoritarian states make it into that category. Tier 3’s list is 90% authoritarian and 10% democratic. [108 words] [Source:TIME]
Precis
On the basis of their anti-trafficking record, the U.S. State department grades countries in four categories – the most proactive to the least. The best-performing countries are overwhelmingly democratic, and the worst-performing ones are authoritarian. [34 words]
Example – 4
Tuesday is the U.N.’s World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. After nearly two decades of international commitment to end modern slavery, one thing is clear: States are simply not doing enough. It is estimated that there are 40.3 million victims of modern slavery, including sex trafficking and forced marriage. Eighty percent are victims of forced labor — a problem that is poorly understood by the general public. Twenty-five percent of trafficking victims worldwide are children.
Human trafficking is an epidemic in and of itself. But it’s also a symptom of other deeply-rooted, international challenges — the refugee crisis, civil conflict, poverty, and more. This is a generally accepted truth. But there’s another root cause that is rarely, if ever, discussed: authoritarianism.
Each year, the U.S. State Department releases a trafficking report that categorizes countries according to the strength of their anti-trafficking efforts. There are four categories: Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 2 Watchlist, and Tier 3. For a country to be categorized as Tier 1, its government should have gone above and beyond in prosecuting traffickers, protecting victims, preventing new trafficking cases, and partnering with civil society to come up with new solutions. In this year’s report, published in June, 94% of Tier 1 countries have democratic governments. Meanwhile, just 6% of ranked authoritarian states make it into that category. Tier 3’s list is 90% authoritarian and 10% democratic. [227 words]
Precis
Slavery in the form of forced labour and sex trafficking is still rife with a quarter of the victims being children. A review on the U.N.’s World Day Against Trafficking in Persons blames member States for this. Authoritarianism, poverty, strife and refugee crisis have compounded this malaise. n the basis of their anti-trafficking record, the U.S. State department grades countries in four categories – the most proactive to the least. The best-performing countries are overwhelmingly democratic, and the worst-performing ones are authoritarian. [81 words]