History 163: What is a précis

During the term you will be asked to write several brief critiques, called précis. A précis is a short summary that covers the essential ideas of a longer text. No interpretation or comment should be interjected. It must possess clear, emphatic diction and effective sentence construction. Your summary must be intelligible to a reader who has not seen the original text, and it should clearly express the main argument of that text.

These reviews should be no more than 350 words each, and should be turned in on one single-spaced typed page. Each is worth twenty-five points.

How to write a précis?

First, write an outline of the main ideas – those you see as most important. Think of it this way – you are summarising the lecture for a friend who missed the class and the material will be on an upcoming test. Also, you may want to include a brief statement about the tone, audience, or purpose of the article.

Second, put your outline into sentence/paragraph form.

Third, review your summary and make necessary changes.

Information from: http://web.isp.cz/jcrane/Precis.html