‘Miss Mason included the writing of a précis in her upper form Composition assignments, because the exercise of writing a précis provides the opportunity for logic and critical thinking skills in addition to uniquely honing the writer’s clarity and conciseness. William Shakespeare famously quipped, “brevity is the soul of wit.”’

A précis is in some ways a summary of a piece of writing, and in other ways is far more specific and formal in its approach. Below is a download for a step-by-step guide for students (with teacher notes) on the process for writing a précis. It also includes a sample précis of a Francis Bacon essay, broken down into each step of the process, to further illustrate the task for the student.

This Teacher Help was created to assist the student in one of several elements of the broader discipline of Composition. For more examples and for planning your student’s Composition work, check out our Composition Planner.

This is a digital product. No physical copy will be shipped to you.