Précis Writing Made Easy for Kids: Explained with Formats, Rules and Examples

What is a Précis?

A précis, an understandable summary of a lengthy piece of material, is called an acronym. The word, which is French in origin, implies “exact” or “precise.” When writing a summary, you remove any unnecessary information and only retain the essential points.

Imagine it like squeezing a large orange; you discard the skin and seeds (the unnecessary features) while keeping the juice (the most vital parts).

Why Do Kids Learn Précis Writing?

Précis writing facilitates thorough reading, efficient understanding of the primary idea, and concise, unambiguous writing. These are incredibly helpful skills for life, not only for school examinations! It teaches your brain to focus on the important things.

The Golden Rules of Précis Writing

Rules to remember

1. A précis is a summary that is usually about one-third the length of the original text.
2. Write in your own words; do not copy sentences.
3. Use the third person and past tense.
4. Include only the main ideas, no opinions, no extra examples.
5. Give it a suitable title.
6. Make it flow as one complete paragraph.

The Format

Title: (A short phrase that captures the main idea)

Précis:

[Write the summary here in one paragraph, in your own words, using the third person and past tense. Aim for roughly one-third of the original word count.]

Word count of original: ____

Word count of précis: ____

Example

Original passage (90 words)

“One of nature's greatest gifts is trees. They give us oxygen to breathe, food to eat, and wood to build our homes. Their roots keep the soil firm and guard against flooding. Additionally, trees give birds and animals cover and shade on hot days. People are destroying forests at a startling rate in spite of all these advantages. Our environment will be severely harmed if this keeps on. We need to preserve the trees we now have and plant more.”

Précis (32 words)

Title: The Importance of Trees

According to some, trees are vital to life since they provide food, shelter, oxygen, and wood in addition to preventing floods. However, the rapid deforestation posed a major threat to the ecosystem, making conservation and tree planting essential.