Prcis Writing Tips with Example

Prcis Writing: Writing a prcis means making an intelligent summary of a long passage. To
write a prcis one should have a clear understanding of the passage: only then one is able to
include all the essential points, tips and tricks of essay examples in the prcis.
Some general considerations:
1. Learn to shorten your words, text of written work, useful writing tips, essential thoughts, ideas
or fact.
2. It is generally accepted that a prcis should be a third of the passage given. If the original
passage has 300 words, the prcis should not be more than 110 words in length.
3. A prcis should be in the language of the prcis-writer. The original passage is not to be
reduced in length by just removing unimportant or unnecessary sentences and by reproducing
the rest as the prcis. It should be a brief gist or summary of the passage expressed in the
writers own words.
4. A prcis should be full i.e. it should contain all the essential thoughts, ideas or fact in the
original passage. It should not contain repetitions or observations that are not relevant to the
main theme of the original.
5. A prcis is always written in Reported Speech. The passage given may be a speech made by a
person in Direct Speech, but the prcis is to be in Reported Speech or the Third Person or in the
Past tense.
Techniques of Prcis Writing
There three kinds of work to be done in producing a clear and successful precis. They are
(1) Reading
(2) Writing and
(3) Revision.
1. Reading
Read the passage carefully
If one reading is not enough to give you a general idea of its meaning, then read it second time.
As you read, find out the subject or the theme of the passage and what is said about the
subject.
It will be a good thing if you find out the lead or the topic sentence. The lead sentence will help
you to see the subject clearly. It will also help you to think of a title.
Now comes the process of selection. The writer of the prcis writing passages has to decide
what facts or ideas in the passage are essential and what are of secondary or no importance.
Taking the main ideas of the passages as your point of reference, it should not be too difficult to
write out the important points in the original in a corner of your writing work sheet.
2. Writing
You should first prepare a draft of the prcis, keeping in mind, the need to reduce the original to
one-third its length. The main thoughts expressed in the passage, the ideas it contains, the
opinions presented and the conclusion arrived at should figure in the rough draft. Unimportant
things like the names of people and places and dates should not figure in it.
It may so happen that your first draft is too long or that it sounds rather jerky. Shorten it if
necessary and write out a careful second draft. Sometimes you may need to work out three or
even four drafts, but with reasonable care and concentration, you should normally succeed in
producing good prcis writing by the second draft.
3. Revision
When you have made your second (or final) draft, carefully revise it before writing out the fair
copy. Look for any mistakes or slips in grammar or spelling and correct them. Dont forget to
give your prcis a title.
Write a prcis of the following passage to one-third of its length and also give a
suitable titleToday there are 3000 million people in the world. Fifty years ago only about 2000 million people
lived in it. If earths population were evenly distributed over its land surface, there would be

about 550 persons to the square mile. But Earth has vast areas of forest, mountains and desert
which are almost totally inhabited. On the other hand, it has great cities each with millions of
people living in a few square miles.
To feed the fast growing population of our earth, scientists and planners have to discover new
ways to produce more. One possible way is to bring more land not under cultivation. This can be
done only in places where there is lot of land not used for productive purposes. In many places
there is no longer possible all the arable land is already cultivated. A second way is to make use
of new types of seeds to produce more. Already a number of new strains of paddy and wheat
have been developed in different parts f the world. India is one of the countries where a lot of
useful work has been done in the field of agriculture research.
Title: World Population and Food Production
Prcis: During the last fifty years, the world population has increased from 2000 to 3000
million. It is unevenly distributed with millions of people living in a few big cities. Scientists in
India and abroad are, therefore, busy with agriculture research to find out new methods of
increased food production to feed them all and they have already developed many new strains
of paddy and wheat.

Tips for Answering Comprehension Tests

Reading comprehension implies understanding the meaning of a given article or a short
passage. Comprehension tests are meant for testing the understanding level and power of the
students. Students are required to read carefully and answer the questions. Students need to
have a complete understanding of the passage before attempting to answer the questions.
Never Use Outside Knowledge
When provided with a test passage, read it carefully at least twice. When you are ready to
answer the questions, do not use outside knowledge in selecting or formulating your answer.
Always answer only from what is in the passage. Any answer that cannot be supported with
information written or implied in the passage should be eliminated.
Read Instructions Carefully
Students should always be extra careful when reading the instructions. You may miss or even
misunderstand important points. For example, if you are asked for antonyms or synonyms for a
particular word that is in the passage, then consider the context first. Sometimes, an answer
may seem familiar because it is the correct response to a different question. In addition, if you
are instructed to mark your answers in a particular fashion, failure to do so may cost you credit
for a correct answer.
Make Strategic Guesses
Make a habit of reading the choices that are provided to you before answering the questions to
be sure you aren't fooled by nearly correct choices. If you are unsure of the answer, eliminate
any answers that you are certain are incorrect, and then select your answer from the remaining
choices.If time permits, try to answer all the questions, and then later on eliminate the ones you
arent sure of.
Read the Questions First
Whenever you are given a passage to read followed by several questions to be answered,
always read the questions first. By doing this, you are well aware of what to look for in the
passage when you read. This helps you focus your attention on important words and phrases,

allowing you to skim, rather than having to read every word. Also, you can mark the passage
lightly when you see one of those terms, making it easy to find when you're ready to verify your
answer. If you first read the passage and then go on to read the questions, it often becomes
necessary to search through the passage repeatedly.
Review Answer Sheets
After you are finished with the questions, review your paper at least twice to check for recording
errors. This will help you correct your answers or reframe your sentences, if necessary.
Reviewing is important in cases of multiple choice questions to be sure you don't skip questions
or record your answers in the wrong space. You should always review and go back to the
sections where you had doubts.