A precis (pronounced pray-see) is a concise summary of the important points of an article. It’s the next stage of what we did previously, which was simply identify the author’s primary claim. The paragraph(s) you write for a precis are the paragraphs you’d include in your essay when introducing another author’s ideas.
Consider Nicotra’s (2019) description of summarizing an article, posted on Canvas. Importantly, she notes that summaries use neutral language, are significantly shorter than the article, include identifying information, focus on the main points, use your language, are written in the present tense, and avoid direct quotations.
While there’s no real formula for writing, a sample breakdown of what this concise paragraph might go like this:
- Sentence 1: Name the author, the year of publication, the genre, the title of the work, a rhetorically accurate verb like “claims,” “argues,” “suggests,” or “asserts,” and a subsequent clause containing the major assertion of the work: e.g., In his essay “On Teaching Writing,” Bruce Smith (2018) makes the case for “slow reading” and “slow writing” in university classrooms, or spending a semester on a single assigned reading and one major writing assignment. (Note the length and specificity of this sentence.)
- Sentence 2: Explain how the author develops and supports the thesis by including the most critical evidence they use, in chronological order: e.g., Smith draws on his own experience in the classroom, analyzing it using the concept of the slow academic, which draws on the concept of the slow food industry. This shows how the academy has become about speed despite slowness being more conducive to learning for students.
- Sentence 3: State the author’s apparent purpose and how you know that’s what it is with an “indicated” or “evident” phrase: e.g., Smith hopes these findings will improve retention of learning, as indicated by his critiques of current academic practices and his praise of slowness.
- Sentence 4: Describe the intended audience (which is never “everyone”) and/or the relationship the author establishes with the audience and how you know that’s what it is with an “indicated” or “evident” phrase : e.g., His audience, academics, which is evident due to the specialized language aimed at professors.
Every time we have assigned readings, we’ll practice precis writing in small groups and discussion board threads.
