
Owing to the repeatedly mentioned importance of keeping a precis short, writing a precis requires you to carefully understand the points that will provide the necessary highlights of the content. Precis writing is also used in scientific reports and researches to give the gist of its content.The use of precis writing is also seen in movies to describe the main events or plot of the film.


People often want to go through the highlights of books, movies, meetings, an article, report, news, etc. Must Read: Report Writing Use of Precis Writing The word Precis is pronounced with a silent ‘s’ (Pray-see). The word Precis comes from the Latin ‘praecisus’ and the old french ‘précis’ which means abrupt, abridged, cut off, or shortened. Precis writing requires a very strong understanding of the story/ text to convey the same message in a miniature form. You might take a while to read it the first time, but as you keep reading it, the later times might just be an easy skim over the pages. Comprehend the passage carefully to conclude about what is important in an article or a story.

In precis writing, you must be carefully objective and maintain the theme of the passage without excluding the important points. You express or rewrite a paragraph or any piece of writing and make it as concise as possible without having to change the crux of the subject matter. You will also avoid mentioning events that aren’t essential. Taking the above example forward, to describe the essential highlights and events that take place in The Merchant of Venice, you will not add your own thoughts and maintain the tone and expressions of the characters. A precis should mention all important details of the original paragraph so that anyone who is reading it is able to understand the idea of the original passage. A precis writing is a gist of any passage in as few words as possible. Essential rules for a good Precis Writing.
