Writing a Precis Sustainability Article Summary
In this writing a Precis sustainability article, you will read the following very carefully and you will follow the instructions to craft an excellent précis. This is the article that we are using as an example to do a précis in this instance. First we read the article at least a couple of times to try to make sense of it. It should be a bit of a struggle, because we are only students and not accomplished scholars yet. That is okay. What doesnt kill us makes us stronger, to quote the famous philosopher Aguilera. As we read the article we highlight the most important parts and take notes on it.
Writing a Precis Sustainability Article
It is followed by three drafts of a précis. Draft 1 is the first draft. Here we go paragraph by paragraph. For each paragraph, we read it carefully and try to understand what it is trying to say. What is the real meaning of this paragraph? Come up with the one or two sentences that will give us the true meaning of this paragraph.
Some paragraphs seem to have no meaning. There must be a reason why they are there. In that case, say something about it in a sentence. Obviously, throughout the précis, you have to use your own words. Do not just repeat everything the author says verbatim. There are some words that you have to keep the same; thats okay. But overall, the précis is a re-telling of the article in your own words and in a more concise way, without too much fluff. It is more PRECISE, hence précis.
The next step is the second draft: Draft 2. Here we go over our Draft 1 very carefully and we combine the various statements into appropriate paragraphs, always careful to maintain the overall structure of the article. We make sure it conforms to the instructions about double-space, font, margins, etc. In the end, this should be a rather longish draft because of all the double spacing. That is okay because in the next step we will edit.
Writing a Precis
The third and final step, Draft 3, is our final draft. Here we go over Draft 2 with a fine-tooth-comb and we start editing it down to the most significant and essential elements. The key is to maintain the integrity and structure of the original article while slimming it down to conform to the 4-5 page requirement. Cut a word or two here, combine a sentence or two there, chop off some excess verbiage there, combine a couple of paragraphs here, on and on. Just make sure that the narrative is cogent, coherent, and very close to the original article.
The overall effect should be a great précis. I guess we can say that the précis is a coherent and thoughtful summary of the article, but that is an understatement. A précis is more like delving into the article and swimming around it, absorbing its full meaning, and reproducing it in a more precise form in our own words following the original structure.
Order this paper
