1. Writing the Rhetorical Precis

2. What is a Rhetorical Précis?
A rhetorical precis differs from a summary in that it is a less neutral, more analytical condensation of both the content and the method of the original text.
If you think of a summary as primarily a brief representation of what a text says, then you might think of a rhetorical precis as a brief representation of what a text both says and does.

3. The Rhetorical Precis
The precis is a highly structured four sentence paragraph that records the essential elements of a unit of spoken or written discourse. Each of the four sentences requires specific information.

4. Four sentences in which the writer/student identifies:
The main argument
How the author develops the main claims (structures and patterns of organization)
Author’s purpose
Audience & tone

5. The Rhetorical Precis Format
Sentence 1
In a single coherent sentence give the following:
Name of the author, title of the work, source and date (in parentheses);
A rhetorically accurate verb such as “asserts,” “argues,” “refutes,” “proves,” or “explains.”
A that clause containing the major claim (thesis statement) of the work.
THE WHAT

6. The Rhetorical Precis Format
Sentence 2
In a single coherent sentence give an explanation of how the writer develops and supports the major claim (thesis statement).
THE HOW

7. The Rhetorical Precis Format
Sentence 3
In a single coherent sentence give a statement of the author’s purpose, followed by an “in order to” phrase.
THE WHY

8. The Rhetorical Precis Format
Sentence 4
In a single coherent sentence give a description of the intended audience and/or the relationship the author establishes with the audience.
TO OR FOR WHOM