Incorporation Technique in Precis Writing.

In the previous blog post we have discussed on how to write a precis and shared a handful of tips and instructions with you. If you have not read it, you can read it here. In this post we are going to give you another two methods that you can utilize for precis writing. Hope it would be useful for you to improve your writings at the exams and in academic writings.

It is incorporating/ categorizing lager phrases into single words or smaller phrases and the use of substitutional words.

You can watch the video on the same content below:

Incorporating Phrases into Single Words.

Incorporating means putting a list of similar kind or similar quality words or phrases into a single word or smaller phrase. This is helpful to reduce the number of words in the given text and to write a compact, abridged precis without harming the essence of the original text. Let us see this in a simple example:

Example:

• Jane went to supermarket to buy some sugar, peanuts, some carrot and green leaves as well as some apple and bananas.

There are twenty- two words in the above example and there, you can see a similarity in the words underlined. In this method, we can put them into categories like: dry provisions, vegetable and fruit. The new sentence will be like this:

#Draft 01:

• Jane went to supermarket to buy some dry provisions, fruits and vegetables.

In the first draft we have reduced the number of words into thirteen by categorizing them into single words. Still we can reduce the number of words by incorporating the underlined words into a single word like: groceries. So our final sentence will be like:

#final sentence:

• Jane went to supermarket to buy groceries.

The number of words could be reduced into seven words in the final sentence. As we are aware, we have to reduce the original text into one-third of the original text. Therefore, categorizing of words into one word is a great way to reduce the size of the sentences. By using collective words like: furniture, jewellery, cosmetics, stationary...etc, you can reduce the number of words to give the same meaning to a phrase.

 

Use of Substitutional Words.

There are words that can cover ideas of broader sense. That means a single word can be expanded into a larger idea. Therefore, if we know the precise substitutional word for the broad idea, we can reduce the number of the original text. Look at the following example:

Example:

• He creates quality videos and publishes them on YouTube as a recreational activity. (This broader concept can be expressed through a single word like: He is a Vlogger.)

By using the word Vlogger, we can reduce the number of words and it does not harm the meaning of the sentence. Following examples would help you to understand how this actually works and how to reduce the number of words by using a substitutional word.

 

#Examples:

• People live a very long period of time in Samsara. (People live aeons in Samsara)
• No one could explain his mental and physical sufferings in the jail. (No one could explain his agony in the jail)
• The thief confessed his crime but his ideas were contradictory. (The thief’s confession was ambivalent)
• The company submitted all their historical documents and records of company. (The company submitted their archives.)
• The chief commander examined the collection of weapons and military equipment. (The chief commander examined the arsenal.)
• His self-centred conduct with no power to others in the family supressed everyone.   (his autocracy supressed the family)
• She signalled me with her finger to follow her. (she beckoned me)
• There was a thousands of people in the audience. (The audience was a blizzard)
• Poverty is a problem that continues for a longer period in the country. (Poverty is chronical in the country.)
• The victim was in a confused state and could not speak or think clearly. (The victim was at a delirium.)
• Mr. Johns spoke only about himself and his achievement in a boasting tone. (Mr. Johns was an egotist.)
• Life is a moment of time which lasts for a very short time. (Life is ephemeral.)
• Jane was very attractive and stole every eyes in the party. (Jane was flamboyant.)
• The bomb killed a multitude of people in the place. (The bomb was genocidal.)
• Nobody could correct the mistakes he practiced. (His mistakes were incorrigible.)
• He did several part-time jobs which did not pay him much money. (He did menial jobs.)
• She was longing for the warmth she had from her grand mom. (She was nostalgic.)
• The lodging in the hotel was very comfortable and expensive. (The hotel was opulent.)
• Stealing one’s work and publishing as one’s own work is the biggest problem today. (Plagiarism is the biggest problem today.)
• It was an exact copy of the statue. (It was a replica of the statue.)

In the exams you will be given similar kind of phrases; by using the method of substitutional words you will be able to produce a precis easily.

One-word substitution is a great way to reduce the number of words of the text given in the exam without harming the essence of the original text. For this you have to increase your knowledge of vocabulary to a certain level. You can always find resources by googling using the key word ‘one-word substitution’.

Most students find that it is hard to deal with precis writing. Hope these two methods would be helpful for you to improve your knowledge of writing precis. You may have methods that can improve the writing of precis. Please share them with us to help our readers further. Share this post if you find this is useful to you.