Prcis- a summary

and prcis writing is summarization

It is a gist of the main theme of a passage
expressed in a few words


Therefore, it should be lucid, succinct and
full


It should never be more than of the
number of words in the original passage
Fine exercise of reading


Good exercise in writing a composition


Great value for practical life


Concentration of attention
Teaches to read with the
mind as well as with the eye!
Choose your words carefully!
Construct sentences with an
eye to fullness, with brevity!
Ability to grasp quickly and
accurately!
Ability to reproduce it clearly
and concise!
Method of
Prcis Writing
Reading Writing Revision
A. READING

Read the passage carefully
Identify the subject AND what is said about the
subject

Supply a title for your prcis


While you read, understand the details and its
main purport.

Make a detailed study: identify the parts of
passage that are essential and which are not!


B. WRITING

Rough draft

Important points
Should be in your own words
Must be a connected whole
Must be complete and self contained
It is only the gist or general meaning of
the passage
Must be simple, direct grammatical

Art of compression- aim at remodeling, than
omission

TIP: Use indirect speech

C. REVISION

Revise the draft carefully before you make a
fair copy

Ensure the length is just a one-third of the
original

Compare it with the original and see if you
havent missed any points

Correct errors in writing, spellings, punctuation
and grammar

Finally, does it sound like a connected whole?

EXAMPLE: One great defect of our civilization is
that it does not know what to do with its
knowledge. Science, as we have seen, has given
us the powers fit for the gods, yet we use them
like small children.
For example, we do not know how to manage our machines. Machines
were made to be mans servants; yet he has grown so dependent on
them that they are in a fair way to become his masters. Already
most men spend most of their lives looking after and waiting upon
machines. And the machines are very stern masters. They must be
fed with coal, and given petrol to drink, and oil to wash with, and
must be kept at the right temperature. And if they do not get their
meals when they expect them, they grow sulky and refuse to work,
or burst with rage, and blow up, and spread ruin and destruction all
round the world. So, we have to wait upon them very attentively
and do all that we can to keep them in good temper. Already we
find it difficult either to work or play without the machines, and a
time may come when they will rule us altogether, just as we rule the
animals.
206
words
PRCIS:

MEN AND MACHINES

We do not know what to do with out knowledge.
Science has given us superhuman powers, which
we do not use properly. For example, we are
unable to manage our machines. Machines
should be fed promptly and waited upon
attentively; otherwise they refuse to work or
cause destruction. We already find it difficult to
do without machines. In the course of time, they
may rule over us altogether.
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words
Crises have always been with us. They take companies
and organizations by surprise, and they take on a host of
forms. If we relive and review a series of noteworthy
crises, we are able to draw up a list of general rules to act
by. That arsenal of principles must be followed absolutely
if- once youve been confronted with a crisis- you want to
stand a real chance of surviving.
Unfortunately, we have an embarrassment of
riches when it comes to examples of crises. The world has
been hit by a remarkable number of crisis situations over
the past few years; the tsunami that issued an
unmistakable wake-up call to the world on 26 December
2004, for example. That enormous tidal wave, originating
close to the island of Sumatra, claimed approximately
225,000 victims. The northern point of Sumatra was
particularly hard hit, with 60 percent of the city of Banda
Aceh being destroyed by the tsunami, killing more than
200,000 people in that city alone.
165
words