Precis Writing

Mrs Monica Ranjana

Associate Professor

Department of English

SSA First Grade College, Ballari

Passage 1

Prevention is better than cure. It is recognized that the only

way to get rid of malaria completely is to get rid of the

mosquitoes which cause it. Malaria is always associated with

damp and marshy land. This is not because the land is damp,

but because the static water is the breeding place of the

mosquitoes which begin their life as a larva in the water.

Malaria does not frequently occur in dry desert countries

because mosquitoes cannot breed there. The only way to

destroy mosquitoes is to prevent their breeding in static

water. This can be done by draining all ponds and pools. And

by keeping them covered in the breeding season with a film

of kerosene oil by depriving the larva of air, kills them.

(128 words )

Rules:

Reduce the passage by 1/3rd-

The given passage is 128words.

1/3=42.5.

Rewrite the passage in your own

words. The number of words should be

between 42-45 words

Give a suitable title

Read the passage and underline or mark the most

important words/ideas.

Eg. The Topic sentence, repeated words.

First sentence may give the most important idea.

(Prevention is better than cure)

Words or ideas which are repeated:

Eg; Mosquitoes Malaria.

The connection between the two. – cause and effect –

explanation elaboration etc

Eg: Mosquitoes malaria damp marshy land,

does not occur in dry land

Destroy them by draining ponds and pools

Cover with kerosene, kill larva

Make a list of points:

• Prevention is better than cure

• Malaria

• Malaria is caused by mosquitoes

• Mosquitoes breed in damp and marshy land not in dry

desert

• Static water is a breeding ground for mosquitoes

• Mosquito larvae breed in stagnant water

• To prevent it ponds pools should be drained

• Or keep them covered or with a film of kerosene

• Larva do not get air and die

Write a Rough Draft(Draw a table so that it becomes easy to count the number of words)

1 2 3 4 5

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1 2 3 4 5

1. Mosquitoes cause Malaria. They breed

2 in damp and marshy Land.

3 Their larvae breed in stagnant

4 water. Mosquitoes cannot breed in

5 dry land or desert. So

6 if there is no stagnant

7 water mosquitoes cannot breed. Their

8 larvae cannot survive without water

9 So if there is no

10 stagnant water It helps prevent

11 Malaria. 5X11=55

words

Rough Draft 1

Write a second draft and reduce the number of words1 2 3 4 5

1. Mosquitoes cause Malaria. They breed

2 in damp and marshy Land.

3 Their larvae breed in stagnant

4 water. Mosquitoes cannot breed in

5 dry land or desert. So

6 if there is no stagnant

7 water mosquitoes cannot breed. Their

8 larvae cannot survive without water

9 So if there is no

10 stagnant water It helps prevent

11 Malaria.

Write the third and final draft with the required

number of words

1. Mosquitoes cause Malaria. They breed

2 in damp, marshy land. Their

3 larvae breed in stagnant water.

4 Mosquitoes cannot breed in dry

5 land. To prevent malaria we

6 should prevent mosquitoes from breeding.

7 This can be done by

8 draining stagnant water or covering

9 it

5X8=40

=

+1

41 words

What would be a suitable Title?

Ideas from

Topic sentence and conclusion:

Key words: Malaria Mosquito Prevention

TITLE: Prevention of Malaria

Mosquitoes and Malaria

Cause and Prevention of Malaria

Which Title covers all points?Cause and Prevention of Malaria

Mosquitoes cause Malaria. They breed

in damp, marshy land. Their

larvae breed in stagnant water.

Mosquitoes cannot breed in dry

land. To prevent malaria we

should prevent mosquitoes from breeding.

This can be done by

draining stagnant water or covering

it. (41 words)

So the final Precis can be written as

following :Cause and Prevention of Malaria

Passage 2

One of our most difficult problems is what we call discipline and

it is really very complex. You see, society feels 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 when 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.

Rules:

Reduce the passage by 1/3rd-

The given passage is 170 words

Reduce to1/3=

170/3=56.6 words (56-60 words)

Rewrite the passage in your own

words. The number of words should be

between 56-60 words

Give a suitable title

Read the passage and underline or mark the most

important words/ideas.

Eg. The Topic sentence, repeated words.

First sentence may give the most important idea.

Discipline is a serious problem

Words or ideas which are repeated:

Eg: Discipline Shaping up Imposition

The connection between the two. – cause and effect –

explanation elaboration etc

Eg:Explanation: What is discipline,what people feel about

rules, How young people feel about discipline.

Understanding discipline and freedom. Example of

discipline for an athlete

Make a list of points:• Importance of Discipline

• Discipline is a difficult complex problem

• Control, shaping mind according to certain religious,

social, moral and economic patterns

• Is discipline necessary

• Young want to be allowed to do whatever they we like

and they think that is freedom.

• But freedom has no meaning without discipline. For eg.

a serious athlete disciplines himself by staying fit,

keeping good habits, keeping himself healthy. It is not

an imposition but natural and he enjoys his athletics

and the discipline.

Write a Rough Draft(Draw a table so that it becomes easy to count the number of words)

1 2 3 4 5

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

12

13

Rough Draft 1

1 2 3 4 5

1. Discipline is important. It is

2 a complex problem to pattern

3 the mind and follow certain

4 rules. Young people don’t like

5 to be disciplined because they

6 think it comes in the

7 way of their freedom. But

8 freedom without discipline is meaningless.

9 For example an athlete maintains

10 discipline by following good habits

11 and remaining fit and healthy.

12 He follows discipline voluntarily and

13 happily. 5X12=60+1=61

words

14

Write a second draft and reduce the number of words1 2 3 4 5

1. Discipline is important. It is

2 a complex problem to pattern

3 the mind and follow certain

4 rules Young people don’t like

5 to be disciplined because they

6 think it comes in the

7 way of their freedom. But

8 freedom without discipline is meaningless.

9 For example an athlete maintains

10 discipline by following good habits

11 and remaining fit and healthy.

12 He follows discipline voluntarily and

13 happily.

Write the third and final draft with the required

number of words1 2 3 4 5

1 Discipline is a complex problem

2 Young people don’t like to

3 follow rules because they

4 think it curtails their freedom.

5 But freedom without discipline is

6 meaningless. For example an athlete

7 maintains discipline by following good

8 habits, and remaining fit and

9 healthy. He follows discipline voluntarily

10 and happily enjoying His Sports.

5X10=50

words

Improve further if possible before finalising

What would be a suitable Title?Ideas from Topic sentence and conclusion:• Discipline

• Necessity of Discipline

• Importance of discipline

• Discipline and Freedom

Key words:

• Discipline

• Freedom

• Important for all

Which Title covers all points?

Importance of discipline

So the final Precis can be written as following :

Title: The Importance of Discipline

Discipline is a complex problem

Young people don’t like to

follow rules because they think

that it curtails their freedom.

But freedom without discipline is

meaningless. For example, an athlete

maintains discipline by following good

habits, and remaining fit and

healthy. He follows discipline voluntarily

and happily and therefore canalso enjoy his sports too.

5X11=

55 words