Writing a Precis

Précis - noun: a concise summary of essential points, statements, or facts A summary or a précis is NOT a personal interpretation of a work or an expression of your opinion of the idea; it is, rather, an exact replica in miniature of the work, often reduced to one-quarter to one-fifth of its size, in which you express the complete argument! This can in part function as the introductory paragraph of a rhetorical analysis essay.

Do not copy a single sentence from the text! You may use key words and phrases only when you are expressing ideas that are precise or when you feel comfortable using the writer's own words, i.e., you understand exactly what he or she means, and there is really no better way to express the concept.

Writing the Précis: Sentence 1 = Name of author, genré, and title of work, date in parentheses, a rhetorical active verb (such as “claims,” “argues,” “asserts,” “suggests,”): and a THAT clause containing the major assertion of the thesis statement in the work.         Sentence 2 = An explanation of how the author develops and supports the thesis, usually in chronological order. Sentence 3 = A statement of the author’s apparent purpose, followed by an “in order to” phrase. Sentence 4 = A description of the intended audience and/or the relationship the author establishes with the audience. 

(1) In her online article “Who Cares if Johnny Can’t Read” (1997), Larissa MacFarquhar asserts that Americans are reading more than ever despite claims to the contrary and that it is time to reconsider why we value reading so much, especially certain kinds of “high culture” reading. (2) MacFarquhar supports her claims about American reading habits with facts and statistics that compare past and present practices, and she challenges common assumptions by raising questions about reading’s fundamental value. (3) Her purpose is to dispel certain myths about reading in order to raise new and more important questions about the value of reading and other media in our culture. (4) She seems to have a young, hip, somewhat mocking audience in mind because her tone is sarcastic, and she suggests that the idea she opposes are old-fashioned positions. Sample Précis