B.A/BSc Precis writing

PRÉCIS WRITING

The word précis is derived from French that means summary and précis writing means the art of summarizing. Précis writing is one of the most useful skills you can acquire for your work both as a student and as a professional. Précis writing involves summarizing a document to extract the maximum amount of information, then conveying this information to a reader in minimum words.

Definition: A précis is a clear, compact logical summary of a passage. It preserves only the essential or important ideas of the original.

ACCORDING TO OXFORD DICTIONARY)

“It is a short version of a speech or a piece of writing that gives the main points of ideas.”

ACCORDING TO CAMBRIDGE DICTIONARY

“Prices is a short form of the text which briefly gives only the important parts.”

QUALITIES OF A GOOD PRÉCIS

A good précis shows the writing skills of a person. It must have the following qualities.

1. Clarity

Clarity means getting your message across so that the receiver can understand what the writer is trying to convey. It is the basic and essential need of a précis. The ideas should be clear and understandable. There should not be any ambiguity in your writing. The writer can achieve clarity by using simple language and simple structure. If your précis is not understandable to the reader it will lose its importance and meanings for the reader.

2. Correctness

Mistakes in your writings always irritate the reader. Of course mistakes are never intentional; even so there is no excuse for them. At the time of writing or composing a précis the writer must ensure that the facts and figures are correct. Structure of sentences and spellings of words must be correct because a single mistake in structure and spelling may spoil the message. We may consider the mistakes under the following headings:

Misspelled words
Mistakes in figures and dates
Mistakes in punctuation
Mistakes of grammar and structure

3. Objectivity

Objectivity means the ability to present or view facts uncolored by feelings, opinions and personal bias. While making a précis, the writer should adopt an objective approach. He should not give and add his personal opinion and ideas in a précis. A précis should be purely a summary of the original text without any addition.

4. Coherence

Coherence means the logical and clear interconnection of ideas in a written piece of work. A good précis should be coherent. The ideas which are presented in a précis must have a logical connection and they all should be interrelated. In short we may say that the ideas should be well knitted so that the writer may not be confused and lose his interest.

5. Completeness

Another striking feature of a good précis is completeness. A précis should be complete in all respects. Completeness means that the writer should include all the important facts in a précis. To make it short he should not omit the important ideas. This mistake on the part of the writer will spoil the importance and meaning of the précis.

6. Conciseness

Conciseness is a desirable quality of a good précis. Conciseness means to say all that needs to be said and no more. The writer should write what is necessary and avoid writing unnecessary details. A concise piece of work conveys the message in the fewest possible words. But one point must be kept in mind that the writer should not omit some basic and essential facts to achieve conciseness. To achieve conciseness, notice the following suggestions:

Omitting unnecessary details
Eliminate wordy expressions
Include only relevant material
Avoid unnecessary repetition

RULES OF MAKING A PRÉCIS

A well written précis should be a serviceable substitute for the original work. The goal of a précis is to preserve the core essence of the work in a manner that is both clear and concise. While writing a précis, the writer should follow the below given rules to make it an effective piece of work.

Read Carefully

First read the passage twice or thrice carefully to summarize it. This will enable you to understand the main theme of the passage.

Underlining

Underline and mark the important ideas and essential points from the original text.

Outline

With the help of underlined ideas, draw the outline of your précis.

Omission

Omit all the unnecessary information or the long phrases which could be replaced by one word. All the adjectives and the adverbs can also be omitted in order to make a good précis.

Don’t Omit

While making a précis, the writer should never omit the important points and ideas which are essential to be described.

Size

Keep the fact in your mind that the length of the précis should be the one third of the original passage.

Indirect Speech

A précis should be written in indirect speech. If there is direct speech in the passage, it should be changed into indirect speech.

Tense and Person

It should be written in the third person and past tense. In the case of universal truth the present tense should be used.

Own Words

A précis should be written in your own words and the writer should abstain from borrowing words from the original passage.

Précis of a Dialogue

The précis of a dialogue or conversation should always be expressed in form of narrative.

Objective Approach

A précis writer should adopt an objective approach. He should not add his personal ideas to a précis. Put all the important points and ideas in a logical order.

One Paragraph

There could be two or more paragraphs in the original text. While making the précis, try to write all the ideas in one paragraph.

Rough Draft

After omitting all the unnecessary ideas, the writer should prepare a rough draft to finalize it.

Final Draft

Having read the rough draft and pointed out some mistakes which may be found in the rough draft, the writer can prepare the final draft.

DOs & DON’Ts of Précis Writing

DOs of Précis Writing

Read the passage carefully; more than once if needed.
Make a note of the important points.
Make at least two drafts—a rough one and a fair one.
The rough draft has the essence of the original passage.
The fair draft is a good summary of the main points from the rough draft.

DON’Ts of Précis Writing

Express your own opinion.
Use a question in the précis.
Use abbreviations or contractions

Solved precis PU 2010

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions in your own words.
Teaching, more even that most other professions, has been transformed during the last hundered years from a small, highly skilled profession concerned with a minority of the population, a large and important branch of the public servile. The profession has a great and honorable tradition, extending from the dawn of history until recent times, but any teacher in the modern world who allows himself to be inspired by the ideals of his predecessors is likely to be made sharply aware that it is not his function to teach what he thinks, but to instill such beliefs and prejudices as are thought useful by his employers. In former days a teacher was expected to be a man of exceptional knowledge or wisdom, to whose words men would do well to attend. In antiquity teachers were not an organized profession and no control was exercised over what they taught. It is true that they were often punished after wares for their subversive doctrines. Socrates was put to death and Plato is said to have been thrown into prison but such incidents did not interfere with the spread of the doctrines.
Questions & Answers
(i) What change has occurred in the profession of teaching during the last hundred years?
Ans: Teaching vocation has been changed during the last century, from a small, highly experienced vocation concerned with minority to a large and important branch of public service.
(ii) What were the teachers supposed to be in the olden days?
Ans: In the olden days, the teachers were supposed to a man of lwtters to whose wores, men would do excellent job in every walk of life.
(iii) What is the function of a teacher now-a-days?
Ans: The function of a teacher is not to transform his own concepts but to unstill such beliefs and prejudices as are considered worthy by his publish.
(iv) Make a prices of the passage and give it a suitable little.
Ans: The teachers and their responsibilities.
Teaching vocation has been changed during the last country, from a small , highly experienced vocation concerned with a minority to a large and important branch of public service. In the older days, the teachers were supposed to a man of letters to whose words, men would do excellent job in every walk of life. The function of a teacher is not to transform his own concepts but to instill such beliefs and prejudices as are considered worthy by his pupils.

Passage

Read the following passage and answer the question given at the end:

A life of action and danger moderates the dread of death. It not only gives us fortitude to bear pain, but teaches us at every step the precarious tenure on which we hold our present being. Sedentary and studious men are the most apprehensive on this score. Dr. Johnson was an instance in point. A few years seemed to him soon over, compared with those sweeping contemplations on time and infinity with which he had been used to pose himself. In the still life of a man of letters there was no obvious reason for a change. He might sit in an arm chair and pour out cups of tea to all eternity would it had been possible for him to do so. The most rational cure after all for the inordinate fear of death is to set a just value on life. If we mere wish to continue on the scene to indulge our head-strong humour and tormenting passions, we had better be gone at once,; and if we only cherish a fondness for existence according to the good we desire from it, the pang we feel at parting which it will not be very server.

Questions:

Suggest a suitable title for the passage.
What type of people are afraid of death and why?
How can we get rid of the fear of death?
What idea do you form about Dr. Johnson from this passage?
Explain the meanings of the words written in bold types.
Make a précis of the passage.

SOLUTION

i) Suitable Title: The fear if death.

ii) People who spend much time sitting and studying are the most afraid of death. Because they lead a peaceful life and want no change.

iii) The most sensible way of getting rid of the fear if death is to value life properly. We should know that our hold upon life is very risky and that we may die any moment.

iv) From this passage we learn that Dr. Johnson was afraid of death. He led a peaceful life and wanted no change. He was fond of tea.

v) Explanation of the meanings of words;

Precarious Tenure — Uncertain period, life

Inordinate fear — Unreasonable fear, fear of death.

vi) Summary or précis.

If we lead an active life facing dangers, we will less fear death. People, who lead a lazy and peaceful life, are the most afraid of death. The most sensible way of getting rid of the fear of death is to value life properly. If we do not give unnecessary importance to our life, we will not feel the pang of death.

Sample 1

It is physically impossible for a well-educated, intellectual, or brave man to make money the chief object of his thoughts just as it is for him to make his dinner the principal object of them. All healthy people like their dinners, but their dinner is not the main object of their lives. So all healthy minded people like making money ought to like it and enjoy the sensation of winning it; it is something better than money.

A good soldier, for instance, mainly wishes to do his fighting well. He is glad of his pay—very properly so and justly grumbles when you keep him ten years without it—till, his main mission of life is to win battles, not to be paid for winning them. So of clergymen. The clergyman's object is essentially baptize and preach not to be paid for preaching. So of doctors. They like fees no doubt—ought to like them; yet if they are brave and well-educated the entire object to their lives is not fees. They on the whole, desire to cure the sick; and if they are good doctors and the choice were fairly to them, would rather cure their patient and lose their fee than kill him and get it. And so with all the other brave and rightly trained men: their work is first, their fee second—very important always; but still second.

The Main Points:

1. Money making is a common attraction in life.

2. But it cannot be the principal aim of well-educated, intellectual brave persons.

Precis Summary:

Money-making is a common attraction in life. But it cannot be the principal aim of well educated, cultured and brave man. A brave soldier prizes honour and victory more than his pay. A good clergyman is more interested in the moral welfare of his people than his returns. A doctor (good) values the care of his patient far more than his fees. Thus with all the well-educated, intellectual persons, their work is first, money next.

Sample 2

Home is the young, who known "nothing of the world and who would be forlorn and sad, if thrown upon it. It is providential, shelter of the weak and inexperienced, who have to learn as yet to cope with the temptations which lies outside of it. It is the place of training of those who are not only ignorant, but have no yet learnt how to learn, and who have to be taught by careful individual trail, how to set about profiting by the lessons of teacher. And it is the school of elementary studies—not of advances, for such studies alone can make master minds. Moreover, it is the shrine of our best affections, the bosom of our fondest recollections, at spell upon our after life, a stay for world weary mind and soul; wherever we are, till the end comes. Such are attributes or offices of home, and like to these, in one or other sense or measure, are the attributes and offices of a college in a university.

Precis Summary

Home shelters the young who are weak and unexperienced and unable to face the temptations in life. It is a centre of their elementary education and a nursery of sweet affections and pleasant memories. Its magic lasts for ever. A weary mind turn to it for rest. Such is the function of a home and in some measure of the university.

Sample 3

Teaching is the noblest of professions. A teacher has a scared duty to perform. It is he on whom rests the responsibility of moulding the character of young children. Apart from developing their intellect, he can inculcate in them qualities of good citizenship, remaining neat and clean, talking decently and sitting properly. These virtues are not easy to be imbibed. Only he who himself leads a life of simplicity, purity and rigid discipline can successfully cultivate these habits in his pupils.

Besides a teacher always remain young. He may grow old in age, but not in spite. Perpetual contact with budding youths keeps him happy and cheerful. There are moments when domestic worries weigh heavily on his mind, but the delightful company of innocent children makes him overcome his transient moods of despair.

Precis Summary

Teaching is the noblest profession. A teacher himself leading a simple, pure and disciplined life can mould the character of the young children and make them neat and good mannered citizens. Besides he remains every young forgetting his own domestic worries in the constant company of the young.

Sample 4

English education and English language have done immense goods to India, inspite of their glaring drawbacks. The notions of democracy and self-government are the born of English education. Those who fought and died for mother India's freedom were nursed in the cradle of English thought and culture. The West has made contribution to the East. The history of Europe has fired the hearts of our leaders. Our struggle for freedom has been inspired by the struggles for freedom in England, America and France. If our leaders were ignorant of English and if they had not studied this language, how could they have been inspired by these heroic struggles for freedom in other lands? English, therefore, did us great good in the past and if properly studied will do immense good in future.

English is spoken throughout the world. For international contact our commerce and trade, for the development of our practical ideas, for the scientific studies, English-is indispensable "English is very rich in literature," our own literature has been made richer by this foreign language. It will really be a fatal day if we altogether forget Shakespeare, Milton, Keats and Shaw.

Precis Summary

Notwithstanding its various defects English education has done great good to India. The ideas of democracy and self-government are its gifts. Nursed on English education the Indian leaders were inspired by the Western thought, culture and freedom struggles. They fought for and won their motherland's freedom. Being spoken thought-out the world English is necessary for international contact, trade, commerce and science. English is rich in literature; its master mind cannot be neglected.

Sample 5

When we survey our lives and efforts we soon observe that almost the whole of our actions and desires are bound up with the existence of other human beings. We notice that whole nature resembles that of the social animals. We eat food that others have produced, wear clothes that others have made, live in houses that others have built. The greater part of our knowledge and beliefs has been passed on to us by other people though the medium of a language which others have created. Without language and mental capacities, we would have been poor indeed comparable to higher animals.

We have, therefore, to admit that we owe our principal knowledge over the least to the fact of living in human society. The individual if left alone from birth would remain primitive and beast like in his thoughts and feelings to a degree that we can hardly imagine. The individual is what he is and has the significance that he has, not much in virtue of the individuality, but rather as a member of a great human community, which directs his material and spiritual existence from the cradle to grave.

Precis Summary

Being social animals, human beings have their actions and desires bound up with society. In matter of food, clothes, knowledge and belief they are interdependent. They use language created by others. Without language their mental power would not grow. They are superior to beast, because they live in human society. An individual life left alone from birth would grow utterly beast like. So human society and not individuality guides man's material and spiritual existence.

COMPREHENSION

A comprehension test is based on a short passage or article. A student who has to answer the comprehension questions has to understand and grasp the meaning of the passage or article. The understanding power and level of the student is evaluated in a comprehension test. Hence it is important for students to read the comprehension carefully first and then only answer the questions. The passage or article has to be understood perfectly well before questions are answered.

• Instructions To Be Read With Extra Care

While reading instructions, always take extra care. At times, the questions are tricky leading the student to misunderstand or miss out important points. Consider the context of the answer first. All questions which you know should be answered first. You can eliminate questions you are not too sure about.

• First Read The Questions

Make it a habit to go through the questions first. This will help you to look for relevant answers while reading the passage. Process of fetching answers can be hastened by doing this. If the passage is read first and then the questions, the chances of losing time are more as you will be reading everything again.

• Check Marks Allotted To Each Question

There is no point in dedicating too much time on a question that is worth very few marks. Make sure that questions with more marks are answered first and then quickly finish off the ones with the least marks.

• Allocate Appropriate Time

You will have to note down the time required for answering every question and accordingly stick to that time, so that all the questions can be attempted in due time.

• Highlighting Keywords

Once you have read the questions and have started reading the passage, make sure you highlight any headings, phrases, keywords etc that can help in answering the questions. This method will help you save a lot of time, searching through the passage again.

• Avoid Copying Text Directly

While writing down the answers you should not copy chunks of text directly.

• Review What You Have Written

To check for avoidable mistakes you must review the paper again at least twice once you are done with answering the questions. If sentences have to be reframed or corrected, then this can be done. In case of answering multiple choice questions, and in case of doubt, importance to reviewing must be given.

• Use Quotation Marks Wherever Necessary

Quotation marks will have to be used if at all you will be making use of quotations from the passage. This also carries marks, so make sure you don’t forget them quotation marks.

• Avoid Using Any Knowledge From Outside The Passage

Make sure the comprehension is read at least twice. While answering the questions, the answers have to be from what is given in the passage itself as out outside knowledge is not entertained in a comprehension. Avoid any answer that is not supported by relevant information from the passage or article or they will be rendered as incorrect.

If these few important points and techniques are kept in mind then you will surely be able to attempt the examination and comprehension well and in the process score good marks.

Precis.writing for B.A

1.Precis.writing: Fortunately ,however,the growth of industrialism has coincided in the west with the growth of domocracy.It is possible now,if the population of the world does not increase too fast ,for one man,s labour to provide a bare subsistence for himself and his family .Given and intelligent democracy not misled by some dogmatic creed this possibility will be used to raise the standard of life .It has been so used more effectively but for war.Its use in raising the standard of life depended mainly upon three things :, democracy,trade unionism and birth control. All three,of course ,have incurred hostility from the rich .If these three things can be extended to the rest of the world as it becomes industrialization ,and if the danger of great wars can be eliminated ,poverty can be abolished throughout the world,and excrssive hours of labour will no longer be necessary anywhere.But without these three things industrialism will create a regime like that in which the Pharaohs built the pyramids.In particular,if the world population continues to increase at the present rate ,the abolition of poverty and excessive work will be totally impossible.

Q1. What connection does the writer show between industrialism and democraacy.

Ans: According to the writer,the growth of industrialism and democracy have coincided in the west.

Q2. How can the standard of life be raised?Ans: Standard of life can be raised by democracy .trade unionism and birth control. Q3. How can poverty be abolished?

Ans: Poverty can be abolished by eliminating the danger of great wars and by controlling the population.

Q4. What will be theimpact of increase in population at the present rate?

Ans The impact of increase in population at the present rate will make it impossible to eliminate poverty and excessive hours of labour.

Q5 Title: Industrialism and democracy.(the end)
2. Pakistan is one of those developing countries that constitue a great part of Asia and Africa, most of Latin America and some of European,having two third of the world population .Our mutually great problem is how to have democracy and rapid economic progress.We all know and feel that real and true democracy has nearly always been associated with slow and gradual economic development .Infact,democracy is the product of the western capitalistic system. Efforts have been made to combine democracy and socialism.Socialism can ,of course cause quick economic growth.However,it means state or governmental control of most of the big industries and farms of the country. Q1.What is common problem of the developing countries of the world?

Ans: The common problem of the developing countries is to have to democracy and economic development at the same time. Q2.What connection does the writer try to show between democracy and economic development?

Ans: According to the writer,democracy has always been associated with slow economic development.

Q3.What are the effects of socialism ?

Ans. In socialism ,the government takes control of most of the farms and industries of the country.

Q4.Title: Democracy and economic development(the end)
3.Precis writing: A round character changes and developes in the course of a novel as apposed to the flat character which does not.A round character in a drama or novel will be presented with as much complexity and detail of motivation and behaviour as some one meets with in real life .A round character must be capable of surprising reader in a convincing manner.Serious work often requires a combination of flat and round characters,for the intermingling of both types reflects life as we view it.

Q1.What are lackings of aflat character ,which are qualities of a round character?

Ans: A flat character does not change or develop in the course of a novel or a drama.A round character is capable of change and present complexity as in real life.

Q2. Why a round character is capable of surprising a reader ?

Ans: It is capable of surprising a reader as it is presented with its details of motivation and behaviour.

Q3. What is requirement of a serious work? Ans: A serious work is required to be the combination of both the flat and the round character.

Q4. Title: Role of Flat and round characters in anovel or a drama.(the

4..Precis writing : Almost all the wars after 1945 have been fought in the underdeveloped or backward countries of the world. There have been wars in Africa .There have been wars in Asia and Latin America. All of these wars have been fought with weapons imported from western countries which have specialized in making armaments .These advanced countries of the west ,America, Russia,Britain and France make great qualities of arms of every kind.They make small rifles and heavy guns,they make little bullets and heavy bombs.They make small helicopters and big bombers and they make tankes and fighters . They sell their weapons at a big profit .If there are no wars in the world,who will buy these deadly weapons. If they are unable to sell their arms .their factories will be closed down. This is why these countries ,these big powers of the world,want that there should be small wars in the world . If these countries do not want to sell weapons they should used the united Nations for solving disputes and quarrels among small nations.But thay have never seriously .and sincerely tried to do so . They have ,on the other hand helped and encouraged the bigger countries to attack and destroy their smaller neighbours.

Q1. Who seems responsible for wars in the world?

Ans The advanced countries ,who are specialized in the making every kind of weapons are responsible for wars in the world.They want to sell their weapons so they encourage wars.

Q2. What are the basic intentions behind causing wars in the world are the sale of weapons and earning huge profit.

Q3.What will happen if there are no wars in the world?

Ans: If there are no wars in the world ,the ar0ament factories of the advanced countries will be closed down.

Q4.Title: T6e Sale of weapons as a major cause of wars. (the end)
5.Precis.writing:Broken friendship may be repaired but the break will always show .Friendship is a precious thing too precious treasure to be carelessly broken or thrown away .The world handles the word friend lightly ,its real ,true deeper meaning is forgotten. Your friend is one who appreciates your fault s as well as your virtues .He understands and sympathizes with your defeats and victories,your aims and ideals ,your joys and temptations,your hopes and disappointments as no one else does and can. It is your friend to whom you turn for councel,for comfort,for praise,he may not be as learned as some or as wise as others.Blessed is the man and or women into whose life has come the beauty and power of such a friendship .Prize it well.Do all in your power to keep such a friendship unbroken.Avoid the break,for when it comes it cannot be mended and jarring note mars harmony.

Q1.In what way will you judge your sincere friend?

Ans.A sincere friend is he who appreciates your faults as well as virtues. He sympathizes with you in your sorrows and disappointments.He is with you in your victory as well as defeat.

Q2. Friendship ought not to be broken as it is precious gift and once broken ,it can not be revived.

Q3.How is man or woman considered blessed regarding friendship?

Ans. Those man or woman are blessed who have found real and true friendship.

Q4.Title: True friendship as a great blessing.( the end)
6.Precis Writing: Globalization is another trend in the international literature of adult education .Globalization is is a complex phenomenon that is emeging from changes in the world economy brought about by advances in information technology but that also includes social,cultural,environmental and political areas.It involves ashift towards a more global perspective and the breaking down of differences between and among nations .Issues for adult educaters related to globalization are similar to those related to life long learning .Because it is based on economic changes.Globalization emphasizes a human resource perspective.At issues for adult educaters ,is how to include a more holistic respective of education into an environment that focuses on economic issues rather than human values .

Q1 .what are the issues for adult education related to globalizations?

Ans. Issues of adult education related to globalization are life long learning of the changes in cultural,social and political behaviour.

Q2. What are the effects of globalization ? Ans. Its effects are global perspective and breaking down of difference between and among nations.

Q3. How does globalization emerge?

Ans. It emerges as a result of changes in the world economy brought about by social ,cultural and political areas.It is particularly the result of advances in information technology.

Q4 Title: Causes and Effects of globalization.(the end)

One has to be clear and definite about one’s aim and object to be successful. The saying is that a rolling stone gathers no moss. Without a destination you can set out on a voyage and aimlessly wander around hoping for miracle. For such an aimless journey what preparations can one make with no idea to plan on? Hesitation and indecision are the biggest causes of failures. One can be resolute, firm and determinedly decisive when goal is clearly set. Once a person knows his goal, half the battle is won. This is very important for success.

One of the reasons that made us slaves of the British, was our indecisiveness born out of double standards. The ability of the British officers to take quick, spontaneous decisions overawed the Indians into submission. We began to believe that we were born only to carry out the orders of the whites who were superior by their power of decisiveness because only a decisive person could issue clear-cut orders. Indians were used to double talk, beating around the bush and confused decisions of the muddy minds of the elders. The decisiveness of British became their halo empowering them to rule Indians who were lost in the fog of indecisions.

Remember, that the step once taken can not be retraced without much loss of time, advantage and labour investment. So, decide well, giving the matter good thought, resolve and in time. Once you have decided on your aim of career or course of life, pursue it with great sincerity, care and relentless effort. The quality of your goal does not matter. It can be high or modest but what matters is that you cherish it. Put your energies, mind and heart into it and do not rest until the goal is achieved.

(About 300 words)

PRECIS

Title—Key To Success

Text—The most important key to success is setting one’s goal of life clearly without any confusion. Once the aim is well defined one can strive to achieve it with relentless effort, purpose and resolve. There should be no dithering and one must be decisive. No planning is possible without a clear goal. A person with no destination in mind is a lost man who does not know which way to go and what for. Choose your goal and put your mind, energies and heart in achieving it.

Exercise 2

Change is the name of the game and basic bin rule of nature. The most visible signs of changes a seasons and the new fashions people adopt to every season and year. The nature is full of dandy characters. Master chameleon, cocky rooster, peacock, song birds, antelopes, animals with glistering coats like horse and polar bear, minks, mesmerizingly designed coat wearing zebra, leopard, tiger, giraffes, cat, butterflies, fascinating insects and a myriad patterned fish. Nature’s fashion show is unlimited.

By nature, man is also fashion loving. Humans love change, variety, novelty, attraction and eye candies. May be, we take inspiration from the nature. Each one of us wishes to be smart, charming, like able, modern, fresh and up-to-date one who knows what is in-thing. The new fashions are statements on these desires. We adopt different fashions at different times, places and occasions. No one wants to be an old fashioned odd one and out of fashion. In modern times fashions have become indicators of a society’s progress in culture and civilization. Man is no animal to live for food only. He wants new styles, decorations, etiquettes, tastes and social manners to feel alive as a member of intelligent species. Human civilization itself is man’s intellectual product which requires constant inflow of new ideas. Fashions are external expression of the same effort to remain vibrant and progressive. In wider sense fashion is not limited to clothes and ornamental items only. The famous authors have their own styles and fashions of writing. Similarly there are fashions in music, architecture, painting etc. The fashions are all inclusive. They advertise a person’s economic prosperity, cultural wealth and the social upward rise.

Today fashion has become a big industry. Mumbai and Delhi are fashion hubs of India with year round fashion shows. In Europe, Paris and London have always been fashion savvy. New York is America’s fashion centre. Some people think that fashion’s are rich people’s indulgence in extravaganza, a sheer waste of money and time. But they should remember that fashion loving societies have outpaced others in the race of economic, cultural, industrial and scientific progress. The history is the proof.

(About — 370 words)

Title—Styles

Change is the basic law of nature. Nature’s creations animals, birds, insects and fish are all a grand fashion parade of colours, patterns and designs. The seasons bring in changes of natural scenes. Human being is also in step with nature. People love fashions to look modern, attractive and forward looking. The craze for new dresses, accessories and ornaments fosters a huge fashion industry that creates jobs for a large number of young people. Contrary to old belief, fashions are symbols of economic, cultural and industrial progress of a society.

Exercise 3

‘Manners’ are what separate a man from an animal. The word ‘manner’ itself originated from ‘man’ which means that manner basically is manly or humanly behaviour. A person without manners is devoid of the very humanity. Such a person is not liked by others and everybody avoids, him because there is no pleasure or dignity in his company. He gets shunted out of the friendly groups. Gradually he becomes a loner, abandoned by others.

Good manners weave a society by bringing people together with civilized communication. They express mutual respect and friendliness. Besides, the manners are essential for individual peace, comfort and social life. They train a person to act, speak and behave politely.

The feelings of sympathy, love, respect and kindness serve no purpose if kept locked in one’s heart. The good manners are the best way to express them. If someone hurts you and he does not apologize, it is a bad manner. The best way to make amends for mistakes is to sincerely say ‘I am ‘sorry’. It saves you from bitterness, quarrel, confrontation or embarrassment. ‘Please’ or ‘Thank you’ are small changes with which we pay and way back as social beings. Sometimes good manners immortalize one even in death. During French Revolution when Queen Antoinette stumbled against the foot of the hangman while being led to guillotine for beheading, she said ‘I am sorry.’ That made her in the history as the symbol of the civility.

Sir, Madam, Dear, Sorry, Please, Excuse me, Pardon, Would you mind etc. are words with which you can avoid hurting others, the best way of doing Gandhigiri. A person with good manners earns the respect of other and becomes a popular figure. Good manners cannot be borrowed but are to be developed through one’s own training of making them habits.

In good manners you have the best visiting card and a golden pass to all functions of the civilized society.

(About — 330 words)

Precis

Title—Good Manners

Text —Good manners make a person a civilized gentleman or a cultured lady, otherwise one would be no better than an animal. They are essential for peace, comfort and social life. Through them a person learns to speak, act and behave politely. A well-mannered person is welcome to any group or party because he adds to the pleasure and dignity. A person without good manners is not liked by others and he suffers the misery of loneliness. Sorry, Excuse me, Sir, Dear, Madam, Please are simple tools of good manners with which you can be courteous, kind, polite and’ helpful to others. We must adopt them in our behaviour and become a popular and civilized human being.

(About —110 words)

Exercise 4

Fast and thoughtless industrialization has caused the environmental pollution creating unforeseen problems. Our cities and towns have become full of smoke, smog, toxic fumes, dust, rubbish, plastic waste, noise and corrosive gases. The air carries foul smell and it is not fit for human intake. The factories, mills and vehicles burn fuels and release sulphur oxides in atmosphere besides heat. Heavy traffic creates horrible noises, nauseating gases and bad snarls. The urban air is loaded with so many pollutants like carbon monoxide, sulphur oxides, nitrogen, pesticides, hydrocarbons, soot, fly ashes and even radioactive substances not ruled out. These pollution agents poison our food, water, air and even minds causing diseases among humans, animals and the vegetation. The earth’s protective ozone layer is getting destroyed. Widening hole has opened up in the layer that lets in dangerous ultraviolet rays. Aerosols are the main culprits for this development.

The reckless behaviour of humans is responsible for all this damage. The blood is no thicker than water which is now as thick as soup because of industrial waste going into mullahs, canals, streams, rivers and lakes.

It is the need of the hour that something urgent, solid and very extensive is done to restore the natural balance. It will require consorted efforts of all governments, NGOs, people and international bodies of the world. All the schools of the world need to make the importance of the protecting the eco-systems.as primary lessons of education.

Only such whole hearted attempts can save the earth and living beings from total destruction through ecological degradation, deadly pollution, green house effects, deafening noise and ultra-violet exposure.

(About — 300 words)

PRECIS

Title—Dangers of Pollution

Text —Pollution is today’s biggest human concern. The industries, motor vehicles, and other careless activities of humans are polluting our air, rivers and other water resources, foods and environment. Cacophony of noises are destroying peace of mind. It is all so sickening and unhealthy. Due to pollution we are breathing toxic gases, eating pesticides, drinking poisoned water and hearing mind blowing noises. The ozone layer is shrinking. The world is hotting up. The earth has become a very unhealthy planet because we have upset its ecological balance. We can save ourselves only by acting in unison to restore the eco-balance by all measures.

(About — 100 words)

Exercise 5

The graph of crime has arisen alarmingly with the rapid urbanization and growth of metro cities. It is a grave matter of concern for citizens, law enforcement agencies, authorities, politicians, city planners and the government. The news are full of reports of murders, extortions, kidnappings, rapes, eve teasing, drug trafficking, prostitution, bribery, organized crimes and mob violence. Cars getting stolen are common. The smugglers have many police personnel on their payrolls. Drug abuse is wide spread among the youth. The citizens have restless days and sleepless nights. Everyone feels insecure and vulnerable in presence of anti-social and criminal elements around. The senior citizens are ever in danger of getting killed by their domestic workers. Public bus transport is favourite hunting ground of pick pockets.

The political links of the criminals have complicated the matters. Under the wings and protection of the politicians murderers, smugglers, mafia, rapists, kidnappers, extortionists are operating without any fear of law. The measures need to be taken to curb and eliminate this nexus. Another major factor is inefficient and corrupt police. In some areas the police is itself an organized gang flaw breakers and official extortionists. Thus, the picture is dismal. The police, administration and the political leadership is largely to be blamed for the worsening state of law and order. Precious little is being done to deal with the problem. The only hope is in the masses rising up to fight the political patronage of criminals. Then, masses are also to be blamed. They blindly vote for the criminal politicians and the honest candidate get routed. The political parties are left with little option but to give election tickets to dons for their own political survival. The widening rich-poor gap is also responsible for rising crime graph. The poor and unemployed are sometimes forced into the criminal ways. The population explosion is also creating pressures on the opportunities. Thus, rising crimes in cities cannot be checked unless a composite plan is drawn out to solve all the related problems which infect is a tall order.

(About 300 words)

Title—The Crime in Cities

Text — The crimes in the cities are worrisome. The bigger the city the bigger is the crime rate. The metro cities of our country have become crime capitals. The killings, kidnappings, blackmail, corruption, rapes, drug abuse, thefts etc. abound. The list is endless. No citizen feels safe.

The reasons are the public apathy, the people voting against honest people in favour of mafia dons, the nexus between the politicians and organized crime bosses, the corrupt police, the metro cities becoming centres of opportunities, poor countryside people moving-into cities in search of jobs and finding the crime an easy way out, population pressure, social injustice and economic disparity. So, there is no easy solution to the problem. Planning on all aspects is needed.

(About —120 words

Exercise 6

There is an old saying that empty vessels make much noise. In real life it aptly fits on the persons who have little knowledge. The knowledge indeed is power but a little of it sometimes proves very dangerous if acquired by a small, mind. It belies the belief that the knowledge is acquirable as much as one can and some knowledge is better than no knowledge.

A little knowledge in small character goes to head and turns it around. It is quite common to see a person of shallow achievement parading his little knowledge trying to make others believe that they are seeing wisest person of the land. He expects others to make obeisance to him and sing the praises of his greatness. If that does not happen the man of the little knowledge gets angry or sullen. He acts squeamish and deludes himself with the thought that the people are too stupid to understand the matters of wisdom.

This little knowledge showmanship is noticeable in chatty women and men of low origins. Their little knowledge fills up their small minds and they become swollen headed with pride. When confronted by a truly learned man such a person hides behind the wall, of cynicism and finds pleasure in throwing mud at the great one using his shallow knowledge as a spade. A real man of wisdom considers such mudslinging too below his dignity to react against. That makes the person of little wisdom consider it his victory.

Persons of little knowledge assume the role of know-all. Hence they don’t take other’s advice and don’t learn lessons. As a result they mess up their lives through silly decisions, ill-conceived ideas, ill-judged assessments, miscalculations and in trying to match up to their own tall claims they fall that on their faces. Eventually they become laughing stocks

Title—Danger of Little Knowledge

Text — Although it is true that something is better than nothing but in the case of knowledge, a little of it with a shallow character can be harmful. It leads his small mind into believing that he is the wisest one of the world. So, he becomes boastful and wants everyone to worship him.

Such characters come generally from the race of women and the class of low birth. Such persons of little knowledge work their own downfall through pigheadedness, stupid acts, half baked ideas, silly decisions, uneducated judgments, boastful claims and the outrageous statements.

(About — 100 words)

Exercise 7

Examination days are the most critical days of the lives of the students. There is a kind of turmoil and panic among them. Every student appears to be in the grip of the examination fever. He is extremely busy with his books, lessons, notes, reading and cramming. The thought of failure or low marks turns him pale and a shiver goes down his spine. He forgets all other activities and turns heaven and earth to prepare himself to face the dreaded question paper. He does not remember to eat food even. As the days of examination draw nearer, the fever rises to touch the highest point and restlessness plus agitation haunts the mind constantly. A student becomes a picture of worry. Some students feel so miserable that the family members pity him. “Woe, that’s me!” is written all over a student’s face.

But is examination such a monster? No, sir. The examinations urge and inspire the students to work and study hard. They make students serious, regular, punctual and disciplined as regards their studies and other activities. A student is cleansed of his frivolous and churlish tendencies.

Examinations instill a sense of responsibility and a desire to do better and outscore others in the marks. They generate healthy competition, encourage a student to sharpen his wits and develop his potentials to the fullest. Thus, he gets prepared to face far more severe and complicated tests of life. The discipline and skills created during the preparations for examinations become one’s assets which prove so helpful in real life situations. Thus, the talent, temperament, seriousness, skills, abilities and discipline acquired during studies, exercises and training stand in good stead later in student’s adult professional life.

About 300 words)

PRECIS

Title-Examinations-Pros and Cons

Examinations are real torments of student life. It is nightmare time when a student has to plunge himself in the feverish activity of reading books and note books for fear of failure. He forgets all other activities including eating. There is no peace or respite. But it is not all bad. The examinations have brighter side too.

They make students disciplined, seriously hard working and purposeful. The competition to outdo others hones their skills, talents and other potentials which arms them with capabilities to face the tougher tests of real life. Infect, examinations season the raw students.

(About 100 words)

Exercise 6

Superstitions are beliefs that have no reason, rationality or scientific temperament. They are born out of ignorance, illiteracy, lack of common sense, fears and awe of supernatural phenomena. The dark side of the human mind fosters them. Blind faiths hold their ground inspite of modern knowledge and scientific advancement.

One of the reasons that binds our society to the backwardness is the sway of blind faiths over the minds of our people. Ignorance and lack of rational thinking breeds them. The superstitions can be seen in the forms of magic charms, black magic, tantra, witchcraft, ghosts, spirits, sorcery powers, good or bad omens, occult rituals, milk miracles, tear shedding-idols, vampires, Number 13, evil eye etc. What is mysterious, unknown, unintelligible and inexplicable generate fear and awe. The fear in turn provides gist to the blind faith mills. They have caused much havoc and harm to the illiterate Indian society. Ingrained in human nature are insecurity, fear of ill luck and dread of dark forces of universe. Amidst the forces of nature very fragile is human existence.

Then, there are vested interests who exploit the fears of the masses mercilessly fuelling them with superstitions. The prominent exploiters are priests, godmen, miracle makers, astrologers, priests, religious leaders, exorcists, occultists, witch doctors etc. The rumours of miracles, impending doom or calamity and canards about threats of dark supernatural forces are spread with impunity. The gullible masses fall for the rumours and do all kinds of silly and irrational things suggested or dictated by the vested interests. Then, no reasoning can make the people use their heads. Such is the power of blind faiths and superstitions. What a pity!

Title – Superstitions

Superstitions are the products of irrational, ignorant and unscientific minds. They are against the laws of reasoning, commonsense and science. Superstition can be seen in the forms of having blind faith in charms, magic, sorcery, witchcraft, ghosts, spirits, supernatural powers, paganism, omens, astrology, weird rituals, customs etc.

The superstitions play a big role in keeping our society backward and irrational. The blind faiths are spread and sustained by vested interests like ritualist priests, astrologers, witch doctors, religious leaders, miracle men, godmen, exorcists, tantriks etc.

(Words— About 120)

Exercise 8

Good health is the most reassured asset of a human being, a true boon of God. It makes life enjoyable, profitable and worthwhile. A sick person can never hope to be happy and successful.

A healthy person with a physically fit body can efficiently utilize his energies, capabilities and potentials to realize the goals of his life. Sound health generates drive, determination, will power, zeal, ambitiousness and high morale, the very key factors that galvanize one into action and endeavours. One is inspired to see bigger dreams and set higher goals in life. Putting in hard work to achieve them tirelessly is made possible-by a healthy energetic body. A healthy body is home of healthy mind. And a healthy mind is ever full of positive attitudes and spirit. Thus, health indeed is the wealth.

A man suffering ill-health is miserable. or him life is a woe full of moans and griOane9 An unhealthy person has no spirit, no drive and rip d sire to make any effort to achieve anything. Infect, a sick man dares not see any dreams or set any goals for life because he has no energy or will power to work for their realization. A person devoid of health is a living corpse. A good health is guaranteed by physical activity, exercises. Fresh air is another requisite. A pollution free and peaceful environment can help a lot in being healthy:-Eight for the same taking it as your duty to your well being. A balanced diet with a lot of greens is a must. Overeating, drugs, smoking and drinking are health fliers. Be cheerful and friendly to all to avoid tensions. Spend wisely to create financial security to have no worries. The worries erode health. Be happy and healthy. Realize all your dreams.

And never for a moment forget that all your achievements and successes are the fruits of your physical well being. So, take care of your health.

(Words — About 360)

PRECIS

Title-Health Is Wealth

Health is the most precious gift of the nature to a person. It is a state in which a human being can utilize all his faculties, capabilities, potentials and work at full steam to realize his dreams. The absence of health is sickness which debilitates all the creative and positive activities besides corroding the will power and the self-confidence.

The health requires regular labour or exercise, right food, physical exertion, fresh air, environment, happiness and cheerful relationships besides financial security. Good health is the key to success in life as a fundamental requirement because a healthy body is the home of a healthy mind.

(Words— About 120)

Exercise 9

It is duty of every parent to give his/her child the love, care and protection as a birthright. The child has birth right over food, covering, health care, education and other basic necessities. It is a matter of grave concern that millions of children in developing countries don’t get proper food, care and parental love. They almost grow up on their own like chicken or calves.

The parents are not irresponsible or ignorant of their duties towards their offspring. The fact is that they have too many children and too small incomes. What they lack is commonsense to realize that they can have limited number of children they can afford. One does rent a house or a room according to one’s capacity to pay and maintain. The same applies to the children. A couple of children can have parental love, good food, care and education because it also costs money and time to the parents.

The result is that the family, society and the country face a daunting situation with too many ill-bred, uneducated, unemployed youth around. The crimes abound and the lawlessness is ever on the increase. The poverty and hunger stalks the nation.

The best way out is to implement-family planning and educate the people of the imperativeness of it.

PRECIS

Title-Family Planning

Proper care, love and education is the birth right of every child born in this world. Unfortunately most children of the underdeveloped countries are denied this right. The parents don’t want to neglect their children. But there are too many children and too little resources. As a result the children suffer and so do the societies and the nations. So, the family planning is the need of the hour.

Exercise 10

The science has become one of the most powerful factors in modern life is a generally accepted and indeed an obvious fact. The proper role of the scientist himself is however, a point on which there is no general agreement. On the one hand are those die hands who , ignoring the changed circumstances of the outside world, contend that, outside the laboratory personal influence of the scientist should be no more than that of an ordinary citizen. On the other hand are extremists who advocate a stage verging on a technocracy, in which scientists would have special privileges and a large measure of control? Those who tend towards the later view are much vociferous than their more conservative and much more numerous colleagues with the unfortunate result that there is a wide-spread impression that scientists generally share these views and wish to claim a far larger share in the control of world affairs than they possess at present. It is, therefore timely attempt. An assessment of the proper status of the scientists in modern society.

Title: - The status of a scientist

Précis:-People have different opinions about a scientist’s role in society. Some people think that outside his laboratory, the scientist is just an ordinary citizen. Others say that scientists should have special privileges. Many scientists also share this view. They wish to have more shares in controlling the world. We should properly assess the status of a scientist.

Exercise 11

It is physically impossible for a well educated intellectual or brave man to make money the chief object of his thoughts: Just as it is for him to make his dinner the principal object of them. All healthy people like their dinner, but dinner is not the main object of their lives. So all healthy minded people like making money, ought to like it. And enjoy the sensation of winning it; but the main object of their life is not money; it is something better than money. A good soldier, for instance mainly wished to do his fighting well. He is glad of his pay very properly so, and justly grumbles when you keep him ten years without it- still, his main notion of life is doctors. They like fees no doubt, ought to like them; yet if they are brave and well educated, the entire object of their lives is not the fees. They, on the whole, desire to cure the sick, and if they are good doctors, and the choice were fairly put to them, they would rather cure their patient, and lose the fee than kill him and get it. And so with all other brave and rightly trained men; their work is first, their fee second-very important no doubt but still second. But in every notion, as I said, there are vast numbers of people who are ill educated cowardly and more or less stupid. And with these people just as certainly the fee is first and the work second.

Title: – Work more important than Money.

Precis: – It is impossible for a well educated intellectual or braves many to make money the chief object of his thought. It is true that money is very important. All healthy minded people like making money. They ought to like it and enjoy the sensation of winning it. Yet, their main object is not money, but doing their job well. Only with ill educated, cowardly and foolish people, fee is more important than work. But with brave and rightly trained men, their work is first, their fee second.

Exercise 12

Books are a delightful society. If you go into a room filled with books even without taking them down from the shelves, they seem to speak to you, seem to welcome you, seem to tell you that they have something inside their covers that will be good for you and that they are willing to impart it to you. Value them and Endeavour to turn them to good account. As to the books which you should read there is hardly anything definite that can be said. Any good book, that is wiser than yourself, will teach you something a great many things directly or indirectly. If you mind be open to lazar, the very wish and curiosity, you have to read it, indicate that you are a person who likes to get good out of it.

Title: – Value of books.

Precis:- Books are good friends. They seem to converse with a book lover. Nothing definite can be said about the choice of books. A book which tells you more than you know will be beneficial for you. If you approach a book with a curious mind, you may get good out of that.

Exercise 13

Personality is a lend itself to one possessed of self confidence. What is self confidence? It is a state of mind entirely sure of its own thoughts and actions whether right or wrong. Believe in yourself and in this belief you will grow more and more confidence in yourself. Surety invokes the approval of others, the needed encouragement to greater confidence. The most effective and beneficial influence towards this end is the understanding gained by experience of life so that you can see life in its true proportion and realize that it is not enough to be fine; one must be fitting and know that alone is the fittest who takes the least cognizance of what others opinion of him is. It is the fear of other opinion that binds and imprisons one, while it is fearlessness of that opinion that gives one one’s freedom. If we desire that our life should make a fascinating appeal and be full of charm. We must have personality. It is not a thing reserved for the gifted. It can be had by any who wills to have it. But the will must be strong enough to endure the most discouraging experiences, for nothing that is worth hearing can be gained with ease, and of all the goals in life, personality is the most difficult to gain precisely as it is the greatest prize to win.

Title: – The importance of self confidence.

Precis: – Of all the goals in life, personality is the most difficult to gain. For the development of personality, the most important thing is self-confidence. A self-confident man is sure of his own thoughts and actions whether right or wrong. He has a firm belief in himself and is strong enough to endure the most discouraging experiences. His belief in himself and his fearlessness of others. Opinions give him more and more confidence in himself. And this confidence builds up him personality.

Exercise 14

Art occupies a position of great importance in the modern world. By this I do not mean that modern art is better than the art of other generations. It is obviously not. The quantity, not the quantity, of modern art is important. More people take conscious interest in art as art. And more people take a devote themselves to its practices that at any other period. Our age, though it has produced few masterpieces, is a thoroughly aesthetic age. The increase in the number of practitioners and of the dilettante in all the arts is not unconnected with the decrease in the number of religious believers. To minds whose religious needs have been denied their normal fulfillment art brings a certain spiritual satisfaction’s in its lowest forms art is for ritual’s sake so popular. In its higher and more significant forms it is philosophy as well as ritual. The arts including music and certain important kinds of literature have been, at most periods, the handmaids of religion. Their principal function was to prove religion with the visible or audible symbols which create in themed of the beholder those feelings which for him personally are the God. Divorced from religion, the arts are now independently cultivated for their own sake. The aesthetic beauty which was once devoted to the service of god has not set up a God of its own. The cultivation of art for its own sake has become a substitute for religion.

Title: – Place of art in the Modern Word.

Precis: – In the past, the arts, including music and literature were the handmaids of religion. Their main function was to provide religion with visible or audible symbols. But now, the cultivation of art for its own sake has become a substitute for religion. Art brings a certain spiritual satisfaction to those who religious needs have been denied their normal fulfillment. Hence, in the worked today, art occupies an important place and there is an increase in the number of people who practice it.

Exercise 15

Life for most of us is pretty humdrum always. Nothing exciting, dangerous or adventurous ever seems to happen to us. Through books, children are able to live in a highly exciting, dangerous and adventurous world. Books such as “Treasure Island” provide the child with an exciting and dangerous world in which anything can and do happen. Later, spy stories and actual accounts of wars and battles, all provide the escape that is often necessary from one’s ordinary everyday life. These are safety valves; they provide an outlet and are an antidote to boredom. Everyone needs this, from Presidents to the lowest citizens. Children who read widely and intensively are less likely to go ground throwing stones at buses, breaking up buildings and tearing down public property. They get their thrills through books and do not seek them in dark alleys and through the senseless and mindless cruelties of knifing and killing.

Title:- Books-An Antidote to Boredom.

Precis: – Life would be dull in the absence of books. Books provide all the excitement that is needed to make life interesting. Children find in books an outlet from boredom. They first read stories of children and they pass on to books of adventures and exploitation. Books keep them away from unsocial activities.

Exercise 16

It is of great importance for the young that they accustom themselves from their earliest years to trust as little as possible to others for what they want. They should learn to put on their own clothes, to wash themselves, to take their food with their own hands and not expect mothers or servants do these things for them. They should learn to read and write and store their minds with knowledge so that they can earn their own bread when they go into the world.

Title: – Importance of Self-reliance

Précis: – Young person should learn to reply on themselves from their childhood so that when they grow up, and enter life they should be able to earn their living.

Letters are invaluable means of keeping our friendship with those who are away. Without the interchange of letters our absent friends and relations would be practically dead to us. We might learn from books the surroundings in which they dwell or hear from travelers about the prosperity or failure, but it is through letters that we can converse with them as often as we want and obtain a clear picture of what they are doing or thinking and of everything in the distant lands in which they live.

Title: – Value of Letters.

Precis: – Letters help us keep our friendship. They are the means by which we converse with our friends dwelling in far off lands and thus get in touch

Precis Writing Samples With Answers #1

Original Passage: Diet plays an important role in the prevention of many chronic diseases. Eating a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein can help reduce the risk of conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers. On the other hand, a diet high in processed and unhealthy foods can increase the risk of these diseases. It is important to be aware of the types of food we eat and tries to include nutrient-dense options in our diet. (124 words)

Title: The Role of Diet in Preventing Disease

Precis: Eating a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein can help reduce the risk of chronic diseases, while a high-processed and unhealthy diet can increase the risk. It is important to be aware of the types of food we eat and include nutrient-dense options.(48 words)

Precis Writing Samples With Answers #2

Original Passage: A man in the east left all worldly thoughts and went to a wood, where he built a hut and lived there. His only clothing was a piece of cloth that he wore around his waist. But luckily, mice were plentiful in the wood; So he had to keep a cat. Cats need milk; So he had to rear a cow. Cows needed tending, so a cowboy was hired.

The boy needed room to stay. So a house was built for him. A maid had to be employed to look after the house. A few more houses had to be built to provide company for the maids, and people were invited to stay in them. Thus, a small town sprung up in the lovely woods. (136 words)

Title – The Birth of a Town

Precis: Answer 1: A man in the east left all worldly thoughts and went to a wood, where he built a hut and lived there. He had to keep mice, cats, cows, and a cowboy. A house was built for him, a maid was employed to look after him, and a few more houses were built to provide company for the maids. Eventually, a small town sprung up in the woods. (68 words

Precis Writing Samples With Answers #3

Original Passage: Nelson, in childhood, did not have a strong body. Yet he gave evidence of that stout heart and nobility which have so distinguished him throughout his illustrious career. One day he strayed from his grandmother’s house with a cow. Dinner time passed; He was missing and could not be found. The family’s apprehension became great, for they feared that he might be taken away by the gipsies.

After much searching, he was found sitting huddled on the banks of a river which he could not cross. “I wonder, child,” said the old woman, seeing her, “that hunger and fear did not drive you home”, fear! Grandmother,” answered the future hero, “I was never afraid; What is it?” (137 words)

Title – Nelson’s Heroic Spirit

Precis: Nelson strayed from his grandmother’s house and was feared taken away by the gipsies. After much searching, he was found huddled on the banks of a river. His grandmother asked him why he was never afraid, and he replied that hunger and fear did not drive him home. (48 words)

Precis Writing Samples With Answers #4

Original Passage: There is a strong connection between sleep and mental health. Getting enough sleep is essential to maintaining good mental health and can help improve mood, cognitive functioning and overall well-being. On the other hand, lack of sleep can increase the risk of developing mental health conditions such as irritability, difficulty concentrating, depression and anxiety. Prioritizing sleep and establishing healthy sleep habits are important to support good mental health. (141 words)

Title: The Connection Between Sleep and Mental Health

Precis: Getting enough sleep is essential for maintaining good mental health and can help improve mood, cognitive functioning and overall well-being. Lack of sleep can increase the risk of developing mental health conditions. Prioritizing sleep and establishing healthy sleep habits are important to support good mental health. (46 words)

Precis Writing Samples With Answers #5

Original Passage: Exercise in nature is very beneficial for both physical and mental health. In addition to the general benefits of exercise, such as improving cardiovascular health and increasing muscle strength, outdoor activities also provide an opportunity to experience the beauty and tranquillity of nature. It can increase feelings of well-being and reduce stress and anxiety. It is important to embrace the benefits of outdoor exercise and incorporate it into your regular routine. (141 words)

Title: The Benefits of Outdoor Exercise

Precis: Outdoor exercise has benefits for physical and mental health, including increasing well-being and reducing stress and anxiety. It is important to include outdoor exercise in your routine. (56 words)

Precis Writing Samples With Answers #6

Original Passage: From the moment we are born, we cannot be alone; We stand in constant need of support from all around us, body and soul and spirit; We need clothes that other men make; Houses, which other men build, food, which other men produce; We earn our living by working for others, others earn their living by working for us.

As children we need our parents to be our comforters and take care of others: we cannot live a day without our peers; We need teachers to educate: books and masters to teach us trades; And when we learn it and settle ourselves in life, we need laws made by other men who died hundreds of years before we were born, to secure for us our rights and property, to secure our comfort in our station; And we need friends to comfort us in our sorrows and share our joys. (161 words)

Title – We can not live alone

Show Answer

Precis: We need support from all around us from the moment we are born. We need clothes, houses, food, and teachers to educate us, laws to secure our rights and property, and friends to comfort us in our sorrows and share our joys. We earn our living by working for others, and we need our parents to be our comforters and take care of others. (64 words)

Precis Writing Samples With Answers #7

Original Passage: One night a holy man, Abu Ben Adhem by name, suddenly woke up from a deep dream of peace and saw in his moonlit room an angel writing something in a book of gold. He did not feel at all frightened. The peaceful face of the angel made Abu bold and he said to the angel, “What are you writing?” The angel looked up and replied in a kind and sweet tone, “I am taking down the names of those who love God.” “And is my name one among them?” Asked Abu. But the angel replied, ” No, it is not.” “I pray thee then,” said Abu, “To write me down as one who loves his fellowmen.”

The Angel wrote and vanished. The next night the angel came again with a great light which awaked Abu Ben Adhem: and he showed Abu the names of those who had been blessed by the love of God. And behold! the name of Abu was at the top of the list. (166 words)

Title – Abu Ben Adhem and the Angel / The Importance of Loving Your

Precis: Abu Ben Adhem woke up from a deep dream and saw an angel writing in a book of gold. He asked the angel to write his name down as one who loves his fellowmen, and the next night the angel showed him the names of those blessed by God, with his name at the top of the list. (58 words)

Examples of Précis Writing #1

There is an enemy beneath our feet—an enemy more deadly for his complete impartiality. He recognizes no national boundaries, and no political parties. Everyone in the world is threatened by him. The enemy is the Earth itself. When an earthquake strikes, the world trembles. The power of a quake is greater than anything man himself can produce.

But today scientists are directing a great deal of their effort into finding some way of combating earthquakes and, perhaps at some time shortly, mankind will have discovered a means of protecting itself from earthquakes. An earthquake strikes without warning. When it does, its power is immense. If it strikes a modern city, the damage it causes is as great as if it has struck a primitive village. Gas mains burst, explosions are caused and fires are started. Underground railways are wrecked. Buildings collapse, bridges fall, dams burst and gaping crevices appear in busy streets.

If the quake strikes at sea, huge tidal waves sweep inland. If it strikes mountain regions, avalanches roar down into the valley. Consider the terrifying statistics from the past 1755: Lisbon, capital of Portugal—the city was destroyed entirely and 450 killed; 1970: Peru—50,000 killed. In 1968, an earthquake struck Alaska. As this is a relatively unpopulated part, only a few people were killed. But this likely was one of the most powerful quakes ever to have hit the world.

Geologists estimate that during the tremors, the whole of the state moved over 80 feet farther west into the Pacific Ocean. Imagine the power of something that can move an entire subcontinent! This is the problem that scientists face. They are dealing with forces so immense that man cannot hope to resist them. All that can be done is to try to pinpoint just where the earthquake will strike and work from there. At least some precautionary measures can then be taken to save lives and some property. (329 words)

Rough Draft

Earthquake is one of the worst enemies of mankind.
It causes great damage as it strikes without warning.
Scientists are finding ways to combat the disaster.
Earthquakes cause great damage to life and property.
Statistics have reported that the intensity of earthquakes can be so terrible that they can move an entire continent.
Alaska moved over 80 feet farther west into the Pacific Ocean when an earthquake struck in 1968.

Title: Earthquake—the enemy beneath our feet

PRECIS: An earthquake is one of the worst enemies of mankind as it causes great damage to life and property. Statistics have reported that the intensity of earthquakes can be so terrible that they can move an entire continent. Alaska moved over 80 feet farther west into the Pacific Ocean when an earthquake struck in 1968. Scientists are finding ways to combat the disaster, but the problem is that it strikes without warning, and only precautionary measures can be taken to save life and property. (84 words)

Examples of Précis Writing #3

When we survey our lives and efforts, we soon observe that almost the whole of our actions and desires are bound up with the existence of other human beings. We notice that the whole of nature resembles that of social animals. We eat food that others have produced, wear clothes that others have made, and live in houses that others have built. The greater part of our knowledge and beliefs has been passed on to us by other people through the medium of a language that others have created. Without language and mental capacities, we would have been poor indeed comparable to higher animals.

We have therefore to admit that we owe our principal knowledge over the least to the fact of living in human society. The individual if left alone from birth would remain primitive and beast-like in his thoughts and feelings to a degree that we can hardly imagine. The individual is what he is and has the significance that he has not much in virtue of individuality, but rather as a member of a great human community, which directs his material and spiritual existence from the cradle to the grave. (193 words)

Rough Draft

Humans are social animals.
They depend on each other for necessities and social needs.
Humans use language to communicate with each other and further their mental development.
Humans are superior to animals as they live in societies that guide their material and spiritual existence.

Title: Man and society

PRECIS: Human beings have their actions and desires bound up with society as they are social animals. They depend on each other for food and clothes and share their knowledge and beliefs, and use language created by others to communicate, which helps in their mental development. They are superior to beasts because they live in human society. An individual left alone since birth would grow utterly beast-like. Human society guides man’s material and spiritual existence. (76 words)

Examples of Précis Writing #4

One of our most difficult problems is what we call to discipline and it is really very complex. You see, society feels that it must control or discipline the citizen, and 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 while 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 make him go to bed early, refrain from smoking, eat the right food, and generally observe the rules of good health. His discipline and punctuality are not an imposition but a natural outcome of his enjoyment of athletics. (171 words)

Rough Draft

Discipline is disliked by many.
Discipline moulds our minds and habits.
Discipline should not be treated as an imposition.
Discipline is an outcome of good habits.

Title: The Importance of Discipline

PRÉCIS: Although many people detest discipline, it is crucial in moulding our lives and habits. It should not be treated as an imposition but rather a natural outcome of good habits. (30 words)

Comprehension Assessment.1

Our first human ancestors were a rare species. They lived under precarious conditions, exposes to rigorous of the weather, to the hostility of the wild beasts, and to the dangerous of famine that could be caused by the drought. They possessed no weapon, they probably had not mastered the use of fire and if they had language of any sort, it must have consisted of no more than a few cries. Their one weapon in the struggle for existence was intelligence and intelligence at first was very far from being so powerful a weapon as it has become. The biological usefulness of intelligence consists largely in the possibility of transmitting experience. An animal may learn from another animal what it actually sees done, but it cannot learn through narrative, a man, when he has acquired language, can do so and therefore the intelligence of each individual can become the property of the whole tribe and each generation can hand on to the next a multitude of skills which would be beyond the power of any animal species to transmit.

Questions:

1. Under what conditions did our ancestors live?

2. How would they possibly have expressed themselves?

3. What weapon did they use in their struggle for existence?

4. How can experience be transmitted without speech?

5. Suggest the suitable title of the passage?

6. Make precis of the above passage.

Comprehension.2

The man who is perpetually hesitating which of the two things he will do first, will do neither. The man who resolves but suffers his resolution to be changed by the first counter suggestions of a friend who fluctuates from opinion to opinion, from plan to plan and veers like a weather-cock to every point of the compass, with every breath of caprice that blows –can never accomplish anything great or useful. Instead of being progressive in anything, he will be at best stationary and more probably retrograde in all. It is only the man who first consults wisely, then resolves firmly and then executes his purpose with inflexible perseverance undismayed by those difficulties which daunt a weaker spirit that can advance to eminence in any time. Take your course wisely, but firmly and having taken it, hold upon it with heroic resolution and the Alps and Pyrenees will sink before you. Wavering and fickleness of the mind are not only signs of a weak personality but also symptom of inferiority complex. Taking a decision promptly and then sticking to it firmly may be the quality found rarely in the selected few but average human beings are quite capable of developing the habit of thinking deeply and wisely and then executing the plans efficiently. It can be achieved through guidance, will-power and psychological treatment.

Questions

i) What is the result of indecisiveness?

ii) Why should a man refrain from changing his plans after taking a firm decision?

iii) What are the conditions of successful accomplishment of a task?

iv) What do repeated change in plans show about a man s’ personality?

v) Suggest a suitable title for the passage?

vi) Make a précis of the above passage?

BA English Comprehension.

Teaching is not confined to parents and professional teachers. Whenever there are beginners and experts, old and young, there is some kind of learning going on, and some sort of teaching. In every business and industry there are learners and teachers. Indeed, we are pupils and are teachers. Some of it is amusement; the rest is made up of learning and of teaching. Whether you are a doctor, enlarging your knowledge of certain types of illness or a house wife planning her work more effectively, whether you are a trade union official learning about economics or a typist learning about life on minimum wages, whether you are a young audience, a bus driver covering a new route or an author writing a new book, you are learning for yourself and teaching others. Most people do not realize how much even of their private life is taken up with amateurish teaching and haphazard learning, and not many understand that most of us, as public being, either learn or teach incessantly.

QUESTIONS

i) What is the writer s’ ideas of teaching?

ii) How does and individual live his life?

iii) Examples of what persons have been given by the writer?

iv) What do most of the people not realize?

v) Suggest a suitable title of the passage?

vi) Make précis of the above passage?

The Muslim Scholars Academy

Search This Blog