- Keep it short. Turn phrases into words and words into shorter words. A good précis should be much shorter than the original (1/4 to 1/6 is the usual guideline.)
- Stay focused and on point.
- Make it a miniature summary of the main point, cut out all the fluff without losing any of the important points.
- Do not include any thoughts of your own. Only include the points the author made in the article.
Suggested writing method:
- Read the article once all the way through.
- Read the article again, making note of how the information is divided. ( note whether is each point made in one paragraph, over multiple paragraphs, under headings, or in chapters)
- Make a section by section outline.
- Re-read each section again. Write one or two sentences to summarize the point made in each section.
- Combine the sentences you have written into a coherent text. Be sure to retain the order and spirt of the thoughts presented in the original work.
- Name the author. (The article doesn't speak, the author does.)
- Edit to ensure that:
- your opinion has not colored the piece
- you have been as concise as possible
- you have not left out any of the author's points
- your sentences are all in third person
