lesson 7

• ABOUT PRÉCIS

  A small miniature of any piece of writing which provides the absolute main point of that writing or article can

  be defined as PRÉCIS. It must consist of an appropriate heading and also maintains the order of the original piece

  written. The essential points are usually mentioned here in PRÉCIS. The tone of the speech used is the same

  throughout the read. In PRÉCIS, the conclusion is a must at the end, which will justify the other main points

  described.
• ABOUT SUMMARY

  The summary can be described as a brief of all the recorded points in any article. Any passage or article with

  a shortened variation depicts a summary, where the headline is necessarily not so important. Not only the headline

  but also the order needs not to be maintained, covering all the important points. The tone used in summary varies

  and necessarily is not needed to be in order. The summary can also skip the conclusion, and mean the same.
• DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PRÉCIS AND SUMMARY

  
• PRÉCIS

  • It must have a heading.
  • It is just a small replica of the article.
  • The order should always be maintained here.
  • It contains the main or essential points.
  • The same tone is used throughout.
  • The main idea has to be extracted.
  • It contains a conclusion as well.
• SUMMARY

  • A heading is not that required.
  • It is a brief description of the article.
  • No need for maintaining the order
  • It covers all the important points.
  • It is expressed in terms of readers own words.
  • The idea is already extracted in the shortest form possible.
  • Not every time ends with a conclusion.
• Abstract


  A concise summary of a research paper
• Précis


  A concise summary of a text
• The structure and organization of an abstract, a précis or a summary depends on how it will be used
• Research paper abstract


  • Contains 150 to 300 words
  • Does not use any citation
  • Does not include specific result statistics
  • Is last to be written
• Structure of a research abstract

  1. Rationale (around 20%)

  2. Research problems (around 10%)

  3. Methodology (around 20%)

  4. Major findings (around 40%)

  5. Conclusions and implications (around 10%)
• SIMILARITIES BETWEEN PRÉCIS AND SUMMARY

  • Both the PRÉCIS and the summary provide the rest of the original work in a shortened form. One

  may not contain the headings or the conclusions, but the point remains the same.

  • No addition of idea occurs. The facts remain the same all without changing. No factual ideas slide

  into the article.

  • If we see in a structured way, we can mark that one-third of both the original texts, in PRÉCIS and

  summary, maintain the order and complete the sentences’ meaning.
• Guidelines in writing an abstract, précis, or summary

  1. Read the text at least twice until you fully understand its content

  2. Highlight the key ideas and phrases

  3. Annotate the text

  4. State the author's name, the title of the passage, and the main idea at the beginning sentence

  5. Use words or phrases indicating that you are presenting an abstract, PRÉCIS, or summary

  6. Write the main idea of each paragraph using your own words

  7. Never copy in verbatim a single sentence from the original text

  8. Combine the main ideas to form one paragraph

  9. Use appropriate transitional devices to improve cohesion

  10. Refrain from adding comments about the text

  11. Edit your draft abstract, PRÉCIS, or summary by eliminating redundant ideas and making sure it contains the properties of a well-written text

  12. Compare your output with the original text to ensure accuracy
• Reporting verbs


  Most useful for indicating that you are presenting an abstract, PRÉCIS, or summary
• Reporting verbs


  • The text reports that...
  • The authors claim...
  • The author clarifies...