Module 3. Technical skills for effective communication

Lesson 13

PRECIS WRITING /ABSTRACTING/SUMMARIZING

13.1  Introduction

Précis Writing /Abstracting/Summarizing is the one of the most useful skills for both the student and the professional for reporting purpose. It is the art of shortening a document to extract the maximum amount of information, then conveying this information to a reader in the minimum number of words. But, it is necessary at the same time to be very careful not to lose or distort the original meaning. The goal is to preserve the core essence of the original report in a manner which is both clear and concise.

13.2 Précis Writing

Précis is a French word and concerned with the English word precise. A précis is a summary and précis writing means summarizing. This is an exercise in compression. It is the gist or main theme of a passage expressed in as few words as possible. It should be lucid, succinct and full (including all the essential points so that anyone, on reading it, may be able to grasp the main points and general effect of the passage summarized.

· It is not paraphrasing. A paraphrase should reproduce not only the substance of a passage, but also all its details. It will, therefore, be at least as long as, and probably longer than, the original.

· A Précis should not contain more than a third of the number of words in the original passage.

· It is an exercise to grasp the gist of the passage and to read the material with full concentration. So summarizing is an excellent training in concentration of attention. It teaches us to read with the mind, as well as with the eye, on the page.

· It’s a good exercise in writing a composition.

· It teaches us to express our thoughts clearly, concisely and effectively.

· It corrects our common tendency to be vague, disorderly and diffused in our thinking and written expressions.

· It is an exercise to choose our words carefully and to construct our sentences with an eye to fullness combined with brevity and to put our matter in a strictly logical order.

· In other words, it is an ability to grasp quickly and accurately what is read, or heard and to reproduce it clearly and concisely.

13.1.1      Method or procedure

· Reading carefully for comprehending clearly its main theme or general meaning.

· Think of some word, phrase or short sentence that will sum up briefly the main subject of the passage. Sometimes this is supplied by what we call key sentence.

· Key sentence may be found at the beginning or the end of the passage.

· We are required to supply a title for the précis.

· Sift the essential from the inessentials. Leave out superfluous details. Omit repetitions, illustrations and examples. Important ideas should find place in the précis.

· Jot down brief notes, title and the essential details.

13.1.2   Final draft

· The précis should be all in your own words.

· It must be a connected whole. The ideas must be joined together in such a way to read continuously.

· The précis must be complete and self-contained.

· It must convey its message fully and clearly without requiring any reference to the original to complete its meaning.

· The language should be simple and it should be grammatically correct.

· A suitable title should be provided to the passage.

13.3   Abstract Writing

An abstract is a very important portion of an article.  Abstract is best placed before the text of the manuscript so that the reader might comprehend the essence of the report. The formulation of an abstract into a short paragraph forces the author to express precisely the most important information of the technical report.

· The abstract should be informative, give a succinct condensation of the article, and complete in itself and intelligible without reference to the text, figures or tables.  It generally appears at the beginning and written in the past tense.

· Always begin the abstract with rationale and objective statements; never jump directly into the materials and methods. It should include:

o Principal objectives and scope of investigation.

o Methodology/technique(s) employed/but not mega emphasis on techniques but on results.

o The main and important findings of the experiment.

o The contribution of this particular piece of work towards new knowledge

· The abstract is not needed in a short report though it is required in a long report.  The busy technocrat or an over busy executive may read only the abstract and refer to the relevant parts of the report only if it is absolutely necessary.

· The abstract is placed on the separate page or immediately after the title.

13.4  Abstract and Summary

· Abstract is generally restricted to 250 words or even less, but a summary may be somewhat longer. 

· If a summary is the précis of a report, an abstract is a précis of the summary.

· Long reports, sometimes has a summary as well as an abstract; in short reports the abstract tends to coincide with the summary.

· A synopsis is a summary with some particulars, especially of the results, given in greater detail than in a summary.

13.5  Extract, Summary

· Extract is one or more portion of a document selected to represent the whole (an excerpt).

· Summary is a brief restatement within the document (usually at the end) of its salient findings and conclusions and is intended to complete the orientation of a reader who has studied the preceding text.

13.6  Synoptic

· A Synoptic is a concise first publication in a directly usable form of key results selected, from an available but previously unpublished paper. It differs from an abstract (which it contains) in that it is often a combination of text, tables, and figures, and may contain the equivalent of 2000 words.