As students embark on the journey of their college life, their happiness is written all over their faces. However, this bubble of joy soon bursts as they are hit with countless academic projects to produce simultaneously.
To cope with this problem, they either start procrastinating, or they seek assistance from professional academic services, such as a thesis writing service. Since the latter is the wisest option of the two, students who take this route make the right decision.
One seemingly simple yet deadly sensitive project students receive is précis writing. The word précis originates from French, whose literal meaning is ‘to cut short.’ A précis is a summary of an article or a paper discussing the main point, supporting evidence, and the structure of the original work. However, presenting such information in a condensed form is no easy job because of the detail-oriented nature of the original paper. Hence, it gets tough for students to decide what to include or exclude from the text of the précis.
To make this project easy to achieve, listed below is a comprehensive guide regarding précis writing:
Read and Annotate
It is vital that you absorb the meaning associated with each word penned by the writer of the original work. Reread the paper again and again to grasp the clear concept presented via the words. Secondly, create a brief outline of the main ideas you gathered during the process of reading. Keep on summarising this list until no idea is repeated twice.
Focus on the Evidence Presented
It is natural to presume that you will be working on a qualitative piece of writing to deduce your summary out of it. High-quality articles make good use of concrete evidence to support their arguments. Hence, your job is to locate such evidence and paraphrase it to an easy-to-comprehend form.
Structure Your Précis
There are three parts of a précis structure: introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. There is no particular format followed under these sections. However, the most common practices are:
- Introduction:
There are two approaches to writing the introduction of a précis. The first writing style makes use of a hook element, followed by the restatement of the writer’s thesis. As for the other approach, the opening sentence of the précis is the writer’s restatement. However, in case of either approach, the restatement should include the writer’s name, the title of the article, and if applicable the date of its publication.
- Main Body
The main body should highlight all relevant evidence and arguments conveyed via the original writing. However, it is vital to keep this section as concise as possible to fit in the standards of précis writing.
- Conclusion
The purpose of the conclusion section is to reiterate the entire crux of the original piece. Refrain from adding any personal comments as this may shift the focus to an undesired direction.
Congratulations! You can now create a phenomenal précis on your own. Remember, to gain expertise with this form of writing; practice is key.
