Writing a Précis

English · Writing Composition · ages 10-11

Name ______________________ Date ____________

Which rule is true for how long a précis should be?
- About the same length as the original
- No more than one-third as long
- As long as you like
What is a précis?
- A short summary of the main ideas in your own words
- A word-for-word copy of the text
- A list of every detail in the text
A précis should include every small detail from the original text.
Circle one: True False
Passage: 'Elephants are the largest land animals. They use their trunks to grab food, drink water, and greet other elephants. Elephants can weigh as much as a small truck. Some elephants also enjoy taking dust baths to cool off and protect their skin.' Which sentence could you cut from a précis because it repeats an idea already said?
- Elephants are the largest land animals.
- Elephants use their trunks to grab food, drink water, and greet other elephants.
- Elephants can weigh as much as a small truck.
A report is 240 words long. What is the greatest number of words a précis of this report should have (one-third of 240)?
Answer: ______________
Passage: 'Recycling helps the environment. When people recycle paper, plastic, and metal, factories use fewer new raw materials. This saves energy and reduces pollution. Recycling also creates jobs in collection and processing plants.' Which is the best précis?
- Recycling saves resources and energy, reduces pollution, and creates jobs.
- Recycling helps the environment. When people recycle paper, plastic, and metal, factories use fewer new raw materials.
- Recycling creates jobs in collection and processing plants.
Passage: 'The rainforest is home to millions of plant and animal species. Many rainforest plants are used to make medicines that treat human illnesses. Cutting down rainforests destroys habitats and can wipe out species before scientists ever discover them.' A student's précis reads: 'The rainforest has lots of plants and animals, and people use rainforest plants for medicine.' Which main idea did the précis leave out?
- That the rainforest has plant and animal species
- That rainforest plants are used for medicines
- That cutting down rainforests destroys habitats and species
Maya wrote a précis that ended up longer than the passage it summarizes. What most likely went wrong?
- She used her own words instead of the author's
- She kept too many details instead of cutting down to the main ideas
- She read the passage more than once

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Writing a Précis W1-mt_curkA82CmO-s1

No more than one-third as long · A précis is cut down to about a third of the original length or less.
A short summary of the main ideas in your own words · A précis captures the main ideas of a passage in your own words, not a copy of it.
False · A précis keeps only the essential ideas and drops redundant or minor details.
Elephants can weigh as much as a small truck. · This sentence just restates the size already covered by 'largest land animals,' so a précis can drop it.
80 · 240 divided by 3 is 80, so the précis should be 80 words or fewer.
Recycling saves resources and energy, reduces pollution, and creates jobs. · "Recycling saves resources and energy, reduces pollution, and creates jobs" captures every main point in one short sentence; the others copy the text directly or leave most main ideas out.
That cutting down rainforests destroys habitats and species · A précis must capture the main idea from every paragraph, including the warning about habitat loss in the third one.
She kept too many details instead of cutting down to the main ideas · A précis must shrink the passage to about a third of its length, so keeping too much detail makes it too long.