Why Isn T Wall Street In Jail
Writing a Précis
Why Isn’t Wall Street in Jail?
A Précis is a short summary of the essential ideas of a longer composition; the basic thought of a passage is reproduced in miniature, retaining the mood and tone of the original.
Your summary must be intelligible to a reader who has not seen the original and should have solid compositional worth.
300 words is the desired length of a précis.
How to write a précis? First, write an outline of the main ideas – those you see as most important. Think of it this way – you are summarizing the article for a friend who missed the class and the material will be on an upcoming test. Also, you may want to include a brief statement about the tone, audience, or purpose of the article. …show more content…
Third, count the number of words and make necessary changes. HAND IN ALL WORK!
Do's and Don'ts of Precis Writing
Start your precis by creating context (setting) and stating the main idea of the piece. Then you should begin presenting the method that the author used to defend this thesis.
Always state the name of the article/document, the author and the source (is it from a magazine, book, encyclopedia, etc.)
Do not use the words "in this article." Use the style "Crane argues that the most significant contribution of the Czechs was . . "
When writing about history, use the past tense.
Do not use abbreviations or contractions.
Count your "ands."
Avoid words like big, good, bad, little, and a lot. Also, do not use the phrase "throughout history." This is cliché.
Titles of texts should be put in italics OR underlined.
RUN A SPELL CHECK!!!
DUE DATE APRIL 26, 2011
Name:___________________
Précis Writing
Why Isn’t Wall Street in Jail?
A Précis is a short summary of the essential ideas of a longer composition; the basic thought of a passage is reproduced in miniature, retaining the mood and tone of the original.
Your summary must be intelligible to a reader who has not seen the original and should have solid compositional worth.
300 words is the desired length of a précis.
How to write a précis? First, write an outline of the main ideas – those you see as most important. Think of it this way – you are summarizing the article for a friend who missed the class and the material will be on an upcoming test. Also, you may want to include a brief statement about the tone, audience, or purpose of the article. …show more content…
Third, count the number of words and make necessary changes. HAND IN ALL WORK!
Do's and Don'ts of Precis Writing
Start your precis by creating context (setting) and stating the main idea of the piece. Then you should begin presenting the method that the author used to defend this thesis.
Always state the name of the article/document, the author and the source (is it from a magazine, book, encyclopedia, etc.)
Do not use the words "in this article." Use the style "Crane argues that the most significant contribution of the Czechs was . . "
When writing about history, use the past tense.
Do not use abbreviations or contractions.
Count your "ands."
Avoid words like big, good, bad, little, and a lot. Also, do not use the phrase "throughout history." This is cliché.
Titles of texts should be put in italics OR underlined.
RUN A SPELL CHECK!!!
DUE DATE APRIL 26, 2011
Name:___________________
Précis Writing