Rhetorical Precis A précis is a concise summary of a work. When the work is rhetoric, the precis is called a rhetorical precis.

It comprises four coherent sentences following this format:

1. In a single, coherent sentence give the following: -name of the author, title of the work, genre, date in parentheses and…

1. (contd.) -a rhetorically accurate transitive verb (such as "assert," "argue," "deny," "refute," "prove," disprove," "explain," etc.) and

1 st (contd.) …and a that clause containing the central claim (thesis statement) of the work.

In the essay “Get A Knife, Get a Dog, But Get Ride of Guns” (1993) Molly Ivins argues that guns pose a serious threat to Americans and should be banned.

2 nd sentence: summarizse the strategies the author employs to develop the central claim, followed by the phrase “in order to” which…

2 nd (contd.) which introduces a very brief summary of the effect the author seems to be trying to create in the hearts and minds of the audience.

2. Ivins develops her thesis by using examples, an analogy and a counterargument regarding the Second Amendment in order to persuade her audience to feel concern about gun violence in America.

3 rd sentence: gives a statement of the author's purpose

3. Her purpose is to ridicule the notion that the Second Amendment gives ordinary citizens the right to bear arms and use them against each other.

4 th sentence gives a description of the intended audience and/or the relationship the author establishes with the audience.

4. Her audience seems to be people who do not own guns and are concerned about gun violence.