PRECIS WRITING
What is a Précis?
A précis is a summary of a written work in your own words. A précis writing question in your textbooks or in the exam aims at testing how well
you have read the given passage. A précis is always shorter than the origina passage. It expresses only the main theme as concisely as possible.
While writing the précis, it is recommended to make at least two drafts, a rough one and a fair one. The rough draft contains the main points that
capture the essence of the text. The fair draft is the final presentation. Let us examine a few précis writing samples.
Précis Writing Samples
Sample 1
One of our most difficult problems is what we call discipline and it is really very complex. You see, society feels that it must control
or discipline the citizen, shape his mind according to certain religious, social, moral and economic patterns.
Now, is discipline necessary at all? Please listen carefully. Don’t immediately say YES or NO. Most of us feel, especially while we are young,
that there should be no discipline, that we should be allowed to do whatever we like and we think that is freedom. But merely to say that we should
be free and so on has very little meaning without understanding the whole problem of discipline.
The keen athlete is disciplining himself the whole time, isn't he? His joy in playing games and the very necessity to keep fit makes him go to bed early,
refrain from smoking, eat the right food and generally observe the rules of good health. His discipline and punctuality is not an imposition but a natural
outcome of his enjoyment of athletics. (171 Words)
Rough draft:
TITLE: Discipline is Important
PRÉCIS: Discipline is not liked by many people. However, it is necessary for all. It moulds our mind and regulates our habits.
Discipline and punctuality is not an imposition but a natural outcome of good habits. (35 Words)
Sample 2
There are different types of forests in India. So, the products received from these forests are also several.
The following are some forest products which are important in the growth and development of industries.
Forest products and the industries based on them:
(i) Timber: Timber from the forest is used in building activities, industries and in carpentryworkshops. Asia's largest saw mill has been in operation in the AndamanIslands.
(ii) Rubber: Rubber trees are grown in large numbers on the Western Ghats. As a consequence, there are a large number of industries dependent on rubber in PeninsularIndia.
(iii) Wood Pulp: Wood pulp is made of the wood of the forests, and paper is manufactured from the pulp. Paper mills are large in number in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra,
West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. InNepa in Madhya Pradesh, there is a newsprintindustry.
(iv) Lac and Wax: Lac and wax are forest products, and they are used in manufacturing paints. Thus, several industries make use of forestproducts.
(v) For the growth of the cottage industries, the forests have been responsible in many an instance. (197 Words)
Rough draft:
1. Forest products are useful toman.
2. Timber is used in building andcarpentry.
3. Rubber is grown in the WesternGhats.
4. There are many rubber industries in PeninsularIndia.
5. Wood pulp is used in makingpaper.
6. Lac and wax are used in makingpaints.
TITLE: Forest Products
PRÉCIS: Forest products are useful to man. Timber, rubber, wood pulp, lac and wax are some forest products. Timber is used in building and carpentry.
The rubber trees from the Western Ghats serve many industries in Peninsular India. The pulp extracted from wood is used for making paper. Lac and wax
are used in making paints. There are many industries in India which depend on forest products. (66 Words)
Sample 3
Teaching is the noblest of professions. A teacher has a sacred duty to perform. It is he on whom rests the responsibility of moulding the
character of young children. Apart from developing their intellect, he can inculcate in them qualities of good citizenship, remaining neat and clean,
talking decently and sitting properly. These virtues are not easy to be imbibed. Only he who himself leads a life of simplicity, purity and rigid
discipline can successfully cultivate these habits in his pupils.
Besides, a teacher always remains young. He may grow old in age but not in spite. Perpetual contact with budding youths keeps him happy
and cheerful. There are moments when domestic worries weigh heavily on his mind, but the delightful company of innocent children makes
him overcome his transient moods of despair. (133 Words)
Rough Draft
1. Teaching is the noblest profession.
2. A teacher is responsible for shaping youngcharacters.
3. A teacher inculcates good habits in youngcitizens.
4. A teacher himself leads a simplelife.
5. He remains forever young in the company of innocentchildren.
TITLE: Being a Teacher
PRÉCIS: Teaching is the noblest profession. A teacher is responsible for shaping young characters. A teacher inculcates good habits in young
citizens as he himself leads a simple and disciplined life. A teacher can remain young forever as he is in the company of innocent children. (45 Words)
Sample 4
The Chola kings have contributed significantly to the architectural heritage of India. Their contributions include the Brihadeeswara Temple
which is regarded as an architectural wonder by modern day engineers. The Cholas were also famous for their bronze statues and granite sculptures
which were carved out of whole rocks. The unique bonding and notching technique which does not involve the use of mortar was another feature of
the Chola architecture. The rich cultural tradition of Thanjavur comprising carnatic music, classical dance and traditional handicrafts was the legacy
of the Chola emperors. (90 Words)
Rough Draft:
1. The Chola kings have contributed to architecture heritage ofIndia.
2. Their work includes the BrihadeeswaraTemple.
3. It is regarded as an architectural wonder by modern dayengineers.
4. Their bronze statues and granite sculptures are alsofamous.
5. Chola architecture had unique bonding and notchingtechnique.
6. The rich cultural tradition of Thanjavur was the legacy of the Cholaemperors.
TITLE: The reign of the Cholas
PRÉCIS: The Chola kings are famed for their architectural contribution to India. The Brihadeeswara Temple and
Thanjavur’s carnatic music, classical dance and traditional handicrafts are some famed legacies of the emperors. (30 Words)
Sample 5
The festival that I like the most is Diwali. We celebrate it either in October or in November. In Gujarat, it is celebrated for five days.
Every house is decorated with rangoli and oil lamps. We start preparing for Diwalia few weeks in advance by cleaning our houses.
Sweets and savouries are made and new clothes are bought for everyone. We celebrate it with a lot of pomp and festivity. I love Diwali
because we enjoy bursting crackers, visiting our relatives and having lots of fun with our near and dear ones. (93Words)
Rough Draft:
1. I likeDiwali.
2. It is celebrated in October orNovember.
3. In Gujarat it is celebrated for fivedays.
4. Houses are cleaned. Rangolis and sweets savouries aremade.
5. New clothes are bought and crackers areburst.
TITLE: My Favourite Festival
PRÉCIS: Diwali, my favourite festival, is celebrated around October and November. In Gujarat, it extends for five days. Rangolis, oil lamps and
fire crackers are part of Diwali. (27 Words)
Sample 6
In the poem, ‘The Cry of the Children’, the poet describes the conditions of innocent children enduring hardships while working as
child labourers. In the poem, the children lament about their weariness. They say their knees tremble and their eyelids droop out of
exhaustion. All day, the children drive wheels of iron. The wind from the turning wheels blasts against their faces making them turn
their heads. Their pulses burn and the walls themselves start turning in their places. Out of sheer exhaustion, the children sometimes
pray that the wheels go silent for a single day so that they could relieve themselves from the constant din. (106Words)
Rough Draft:
1. The poem ‘The Cry of the Children’
2. Innocent children enduringhardships
3. The children drive wheels of iron
4. Their knees tremble, eyelids droop and pulses burn
5. They pray that the wheels gosilent
TITLE: Struggles of a Child
PRÉCIS: ‘The Cry of the Children’ entails the struggles of child labourers who drive iron wheels with trembling
knees and burning pulses. These children get so exhausted that they pray for the wheels to go silent. (35 Words)
Sample 7
A recent visit to the arctic region brought me face to face with the problem of global warming. It made me realise how
massive the change is and how grave its consequences will be for all. The ice caps at the Polar Regions are melting rapidly
due to deforestation and the increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. If steps are not taken soon, then the rising
water levels will submerge all the land masses. The ozone hole is another serious consequence of global warming. These holes
or breaches in the protective cover of our planet let harmful ultraviolet rays reach us unfiltered. They in turn cause health hazards
which are very difficult to treat. Awareness of these effects of our actions and sustainable steps to prevent it is the need of the hour.
(134Words)
Rough Draft:
1. Global warming can lead to graveconsequences.
2. Ice caps are meltingrapidly
3. Rising water will submerge the entireland.
4. Ozone holes are also caused by globalwarming.
5. They cause healthhazards.
TITLE: Prevent Global Warming In Time
PRÉCIS: Global warming, a serious problem today, causes the ice caps to melt and forms ozone holes. If steps are not
taken to prevent it, life on Earth, as we know it, will get extinct either by floods or incurable skin diseases. (41 Words)
Sample 8
The 66th Republic Day was celebrated with a lot of fanfare and grandeur at Mahatma Gandhi Vidyalaya yesterday. Students
and teachers from all the classes participated in the plethora of cultural programmes which took place in the school premises.
The day began with the hoisting of the national flag by our Principal Dr Mehta at 7 am. The entire assembly of students sang
the national anthem immediately after the flag hoisting. The school band marched past the ground playing drums and trumpets.
The members of the band were dressed in the colours of the school’s emblem and wore attractive sashes and headgears. The cultural
events were kick started with the dance competition where students competed with one another in the solo and group dance categories.
Miss Umang from Class 9 won in the solo category. After the cultural events, an environment exhibition was held where the students
displayed various models on environmental awareness and solar-powered gadgets. The model for a solar-powered garbage disposal won
the first prize. The event concluded with a group song by the teachers. It was truly a spectacular day for all of us at Mahatma Gandhi Vidyalaya.
(191 Words)
Rough Draft:
1. 66th Republic Day was celebrated at Mahatma GandhiVidyalaya
2. Students and teachers participated in the culturalprogrammes
3. Flag hoisted by Principal Dr Mehta at 7am
4. Students sang the national anthem and the school band marched
5. The dance competition had solo and group dancecategories
6. Miss Umang of Class 9 won the solocategory
7. Environment exhibitionheld
8. Models on awareness and solar-poweredgadgets
9. Solar-powered garbage disposal won the firstprize
10. Concluded with a group song by theteachers
TITLE: Republic Day at Mahatma Gandhi Vidyalaya
PRÉCIS: The 66th Republic Day celebration at Mahatma Gandhi Vidyalaya began with the traditional flag hoisting,
singing the national anthem and the school band’s parade. Miss Umang from Class 9 won in the solo category of the dance
competition which followed. In the environment exhibition, the solar-powered garbage disposal model won the first prize.
The teacher’s group song concluded the event. (60 Words)
Sample 9
There was no one in the school who did not know Dean Peters and me. He was just like me. We played football, topped the
Math class, participated in Science exhibitions and acted in the annual plays. We were both all-rounders and best friends. However,
there was one more side to us which no one knew about, a little secret which we hid fromall.
We loved to play pranks on others. Like a science experiment, we planned, experimented and finally implemented it. We were so good
at what we did that no one ever suspected. The entire school was left baffled every time we pulled off a prank. On one such occasion, the
teachers found that all the attendance registers were missing. All the children cheered with joy when the news reached them. The entire school
was searched but to no avail. This trick worked well till our very own friend Jay told the teachers that he heard us speaking about the registers.
We were caught and asked to confess. We finally accepted our mischief and apologised for the same. We were forgiven but not before completing
the punishment of scrubbing all the trophies in the entire school. That is when we realised that being smart did not give us the right to play pranks
on others. We surely improved our mistakes and went back to being the best students in the school. (234Words)
Rough Draft:
1. Dean Peters and me – wellknown
2. Both all-rounder players and bestfriends
3. A little secret we hid from all –pranksters
4. That no one eversuspected
5. Baffled entireschool
6. All attendance registersmissing
7. Jay told the teachers what heheard
8. Caught – confessed – apologised – forgiven
9. Scrub all the trophies in theschool
TITLE: A Lesson we Learnt
PRÉCIS: Dean Peters and I excelled in everything we did, even the pranks we pulled off. While we were acclaimed
for the former, the latter was a secret we kept to ourselves. The precision with which we played our pranks baffled everyone.
But the day Jay, our friend, confessed of having heard us speaking of the teachers’ registers which went missing ended everything.
We were caught and made to scrub all the trophies in the school and our old habits too. (80Words)
Sample 10
Co-education is the new trend of the age. People are drawn to schools offering co-education as it has become a sign of open
mindedness. However, parents need to understand that selecting a school for their child is a very important responsibility which
should not be overshadowed by their attempt of creating an image of themselves.
It is observed that in schools offering co-education, there is often a power struggle between boys and girls. Even teachers become a
part of this when they compare the two and make judgements like one is better than the other. This is harmful for the mental health
of the students who receive negative feedback as it crushes their self-esteem. Also, research states that in co-ed schools, boys are
always treated will less care and attention. Right from their childhood, they are expected to be tougher, stronger and better than the girls.
This is a disadvantage for both. The girls are not challenged enough which make them repressed and dependent, while the boys are challenged
to such an extent that their childhood is lost. Like a flower, a child grows and blooms best when it’s surrounded by its own kind. It is our duty
to ensure that our children feel this sense of security and freedom at school. Thus, we can conclude that same-sex schools are better than co-ed
schools. (224 Words)
Rough Draft:
1. Co-education is a new trend, sign of open mindedness, parents creatingself-image
2. Selecting school is a very importantresponsibility
3. Such schools see power struggle – teachers too compare andjudge
4. Harmful for their mentalhealth
5. Negative feedback crushes theirself-esteem
6. Boys receive less care and attention pushed to be tougher, stronger andbetter
7. Girls are not challenged enough, become repressed anddependent
8. Boys lose theirchildhood
9. A child grows best surrounded by its ownkind
10. Our duty ensure children feel security andfree
TITLE: Co-ed Schools for Children
PRÉCIS: Admitting children to co-ed schools proves to be a wrong decision. In co-ed schools, boys suffer as they
are constantly pushed further than their limits. They lose their childhood in the absence of due nurturing and care,
whereas girls are overprotected and do not build the confidence they need for life. It is our responsibility to ensure
that our children feel secure and free in the place where they learn. (70 Words)