Part 1

PRÉCIS WRITING FOR BEGINNERS

BY

GUY N. POCOCK, M.A.

Royal Naval College, Dartmouth Late Head of the History and English Department, Military Side, Cheltenham College

BLACKIE AND SON LIMITED 50 OLD BAILEY LONDON GLASGOW AND BOMBAY

FOREWORD

The object of this little book is to teach précis writing from the very start. It has been found from experience that the average boy who in the Lower Fifth Form starts making précis of Government Blue Books and Collected Correspondence, will flounder about for a whole term without understanding what he is really expected to do.

The following exercises are progressive and the rules of strict précis writing are learnt one by one. The exercises are really very simple parodies of Government Reports, &c., such as a boy will have to deal with in the higher forms and the Army Examinations. They are arranged in groups, e.g. _Reports_, _Correspondence_, _Trials_, _Ships’ Logs_, and so forth. After working through the series a boy should be perfectly competent to tackle the real thing.

Incidentally, there is no better training than précis writing for concentration of thought and expression.

G. N. P.

ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE, DARTMOUTH. _April, 1917._

EXERCISES

Page

1. REPORTED SPEECH 10

2. GEORGE OAKES 13

3. THE COBRA 15

4. THE TWO LIEUTENANTS 19

5. THE BLACK REPUBLIC 23

6. THE PROFESSOR AND THE MONKEYS 27

7. THE ISLAND 31

8. A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY WITCH TRIAL 35

9. THE MISER 39

10. THE BOY SCOUTS 43

11. CHILD LABOURERS IN 1836 47

12. THE MUSEUM, 300 B.C. 51

13. THE WARNING 55

14. SCIENCE AS TAUGHT IN OUR GREAT-GRANDFATHERS’ SCHOOL-DAYS 59

15. THE HUT-TAX 63

16. THE MANDARIN 69

17. ISAAC NEWTON 73

18. THE BATTLE OF THE NILE 77

PRÉCIS WRITING

What Précis Means

A précis is the essence of a longer story of any kind. You take your story and ‘boil it down’, so as to get rid of all the parts that do not really matter; you then collect what is left, and put these points together in a short concise ‘summary’. But the result must not be a ‘list’ of important points, or a series of ‘jottings’. It must be the same story told clearly and readably, in a very much condensed form.

For instance, you may have to make a précis of a long pile of letters dealing with some particular subject; or perhaps the account of a trial; or a long report written by one individual. It doesn’t matter what the longer ‘story’ is. What you have to do is to read it through, extract all the parts that matter, and put them down in readable form.

The Object of these Exercises

Now précis writing is unlike free English composition. It is much more exact and scientific; and it must be written according to certain definite rules. It is no use trying to learn all the rules at once; you will learn them one by one, and without trouble, as you work through the following exercises.

These exercises are not the _real_ Government Blue Books, reports, trials, &c., that you will have to tackle later on. They are all ‘made up’. But they are exactly like the real thing. The only difference is that they are much easier and shorter--and they are not so dull. And as they are the same sort of thing on a small scale, you should be able to deal with the real ones later on when you meet them.

How to tackle a Précis

All précis, whether easy or difficult, should be tackled in the same way. First read the whole thing through very carefully without writing any notes or underlining any passages.

_All depends on this first reading._ For if you once get into the way of writing your précis or even making notes ‘as you go along’, you will never grasp the subject as a whole. And the result will be that your précis will lack balance. Either you will write too much about the first half and skimp the rest, or you will write a great deal about the picturesque points that appeal to you, and leave out things that really matter.

When you have read it carefully through, and got the whole story in your mind, run through it quickly a second time marking the passages you mean to use. For the purposes of this book the best plan will be to underline in pencil those passages which will have to be used with little alteration, and to put a wavy line against those which cannot be left out altogether, but must be greatly condensed.

Last, work up all the marked passages into a short continuous ‘story’.

RULE I.--=Start your Précis with a title.=

This title must not be of the imaginative kind that would suit a story, such as ‘A Misunderstanding’, or ‘The Adventures of a Red Cross Man’. It must be a clear and concise statement of what the précis is about. Thus: “Précis of the correspondence between the British Government and Dr. Wilson, President of the United States, concerning contraband of war”. And if dates are given you should add, “between Feb. 18, 1915, and Oct., 1916”.

RULE II.--=Every Précis must be written in the form of REPORTED SPEECH.=

This rule is so important that it is impossible to write a précis till it is thoroughly understood. It will be necessary to explain what is meant by ‘reported speech’, and to practise a few examples.

“Reported Speech”

Suppose you say to somebody, “I can’t be bothered, as I am busy writing a précis!” you are using a form which is called Direct speech. And suppose the person you were addressing goes away and says to somebody else, “So-and-so said he couldn’t be bothered, as he was busy writing a précis”, he is _reporting_ what you said. In other words, he has turned your ‘direct speech’ into ‘reported speech’.

Notice what has happened. You are no longer the person speaking, but the person spoken about: therefore ‘I’ becomes ‘he’. Also you are no longer speaking: what you said is now ‘in the past’; therefore ‘can’t’ becomes ‘could not’ and ‘am’ becomes ‘was’.

This is quite straightforward. The difficulty arises when you are dealing with words that imply future time. Without going into the syntax, one may just explain that in Reported speech the ‘future’ must be referred back to the time at which the Direct statement was spoken. Thus: “I will write when I get home”, becomes “He said that he _would_ write when he _got_ home”.

Thus for the purposes of simple précis writing the following rules must be observed:--

(_a_) Never use the First or Second persons: always the Third.

(_b_) Never use the Present tense: always the Past.

(_c_) Never use the Future tense: always refer it back to the past. Even a verb such as ‘must’, which usually implies the future, should be changed to ‘would have to’, or some such phrase.

(_d_) Possessive adjectives, my, your, our, must be changed to the Third person.

(_e_) Adverbs and adverbial phrases must be changed in the same way. ‘Now’ becomes ‘then’; ‘at the present time’ becomes ‘at that time’; ‘here’ becomes ‘there’, and so on.

Take one more example. You know this familiar quotation: “I will arise and go to my Father, and say unto Him, ‘Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before Thee, and am no more worthy to be called Thy son’”.

Now suppose you were telling the story of the Prodigal Son to a Japanese gentleman, or somebody who had not heard it before, and you wished to keep pretty close to the original, you might put it in this way: “The prodigal son then determined that he would arise and go to his Father, and confess that he had sinned before Him and against Heaven, and was no more worthy to be called His son”.

Compare these two forms, and note all the differences.

No. 1.--Exercises in “Reported Speech”

(1.) The following are written in the form of Direct speech. Rewrite them in Reported speech:--

(_a_) “Sister Anne, sister Anne, do you see anyone coming?” asked the poor wife again.

“I see nothing but a cloud of dust,” her sister replied.

(_b_) “I cannot speak to you here and now; but after the match is over I shall take the first opportunity of telling you exactly what I think of you.”

(_c_) “I don’t know whether I shall be able to come. I will if I can, but that must depend on how things turn out. At this moment I cannot say definitely that I will come.”

(2.) Report the following speech, beginning thus:--

“On rising to introduce Mr. Elijah Timmins, the mayor elect, the retiring mayor said that.…”

“Gentlemen, I have the honour to bring to your notice Mr. Elijah Timmins, who is to be your mayor for the coming year. Mr. Timmins, gentlemen, has had--not the experience _I_ have had, of course, for _my_ experience has been exceptional. I have had a hard struggle, gentlemen, but by solid work and honest dealing--and you will bear me out when I say that my pork sausages are always of the highest order--I raised myself to the top of the tree. Modesty forbids me to speak of myself, gentlemen; but I have felt that in these times of war and stress it is very important to have at the helm a mayor of real tact and business capacity; and I cannot help thinking that I have been the right man in the right place. With Lord Nelson I may say, ‘Thank God I have done my duty’.

“Mr. Timmins, gentlemen, is about to step into my shoes; and I only trust he will not undo the good work that I have done.”

We are now in a position to write précis in its simplest form. We will try a few very easy examples first, such as “George Oakes” and the “Cobra”; after that the exercises will become more difficult.

Notes

The following is a letter written by an old cottager to the Squire of his Parish. Condense it to half the length, correcting the spelling and grammar. It is very simple, as there is only one ‘subject’, and therefore only one paragraph. But it will serve to introduce this most important rule of Précis writing:

RULE III.--=All points essential to the subject MUST be put in; while all unessential points, repetitions, &c., should be left out.=

(We may modify the second half of this rule later on.)

Remember that it must be written as ‘reported speech’.

No. 2.--George Oakes

IVY COTTAGE, BOURTON-ON-THE-WATER.

DEAR SIR,

I ope you are quite well as this leaves me at present which my wife as the swolen glans something bitter but I do not complain it being the Will of God, which my wife do so most monotinous. Dear Sir I ave been out of work Severn weeks come Toosdy and the price of coals is rose something crool which I cannot afford them nohow, and my wife havin the swolen glans and wot not. Dear Sir if you could give me a job of work in the garden or the fowlouse I should take it most grateful bein bread and born in the fowlouse in a manner of speakin sixty years man and boy I ave ad truck with fowls. Dear Sir you ave the oner to know me so long there is no need of Referances, which perraps you might not ave heard my experance in the foulouse which believe me sir I understands all manner of Fowls, poultry and wot not, and my wife as ad truck with ducks but she bein laid aside with the swolen glans she cannot come out which bein the Will of God I do not complain. Dear Sir perraps you would like to give me a trial seein as how I do not live far a way bein strong in the Legs. Dear Sir if you will give me a Trial I will take it most kind.

Dear Sir God bless you and trousers you give me are fine and warm as everso which they are a bit narrer but not to mention.

Yours umble Dear Sir

GEORGE OAKES.

Notes

The following is also very simple, and may be done in one paragraph of ten or twelve lines.

Make up your mind what the real subject of this paragraph should be; and notice that the colonel is not really of the slightest importance to the story--except that he tells it.

Don’t forget the title, beginning “Précis of …”.

No. 3.--The Cobra

“Talking of snakes,” said the colonel, pushing back his chair and lighting another cheroot, “reminds me of a curious incident that happened when I was stationed at Ghurrapore, in the early ’eighties. Ghurrapore was an infernal bad place for snakes, and the worst of the lot was the cobra or hooded snake. These cobras, or hooded snakes, turned up everywhere--in your bath, under the verandah, anywhere. Now, one day one of my officers, Lieutenant Simpson, went into the officers’ changing-room to get a pair of tennis shoes. There were a dozen pairs in a wooden box; and not seeing his own on the top he put his hand in to fish out the bottom ones. Now you must know that there had been a regular plague of cobras, or hooded snakes, in the lines, and we were all a bit panicky; so when Simpson suddenly felt something pricking him, and drew out his hand to find two drops of blood on his little finger, he at once concluded it was a cobra, or hooded snake.

“I was sitting in the club at the time drinking some of that excellent 7 star whisky--you remember it, Major? And when I saw young Simpson running across the compound holding his little finger, I at once said to myself, ‘That’s a hooded snake or cobra!’

“I then followed him to the carpenter’s shop; but by the time I got there the thing was done. He had taken a heavy chisel, and cut his little finger right off! I helped him back to the club, sent for the doctor, and gave Simpson a dose of that 7 star whisky--you remember it, Major? I then sent four men to the changing-room armed with sticks. We upset the box and beat those shoes unmercifully--but no cobra or hooded snake! When I felt that the situation was quite safe, I myself examined the box. And there sticking up through the bottom boards were two little nails, sharp and close together! And so young Simpson had cut his finger off for nothing! Infernal bad luck I call it. Infernal bad luck. For anyone--even I myself--would easily have mistaken the ‘bite’ for that of a cobra, or hooded snake.”

Notes

The following is a study in contrasts. The rest is really quite subsidiary. Bring out this point by means of contrasting paragraphs.

Condense the descriptions of the characters as much as you can, without leaving out more points than you can help.

No. 4.--The Two Lieutenants

Extract from the Autobiography of Admiral Sir Hercules Prout, K.C.B.

“… The sphere of influence of the British Navy comprising as it does the waters of the entire globe, it follows that the average naval officer comes into contact with all sorts and conditions of men; and if he uses his opportunities he will inevitably become a rare judge of human character. He will tend to range men in groups whether they be his own officers or men, or persons of every race and grade of society with whom he comes into contact.

“Captains of H.M. Ships are often called upon to use powers of selection and discrimination. I recall one particular instance in which I was called upon to select from among my junior officers one who could carry through a difficult and dangerous business, the success or failure of which would be attended with far-reaching consequences. No matter now what the business was. Suffice to say that it was connected with gun-running on the part of certain unfriendly chiefs, and indirectly with the influence of a so-called friendly European power. A delicate business requiring rare qualities of daring and tact, and an aptitude for diplomacy and espionage.

“I retired to my cabin and went through the list of all officers above the rank of midshipman, crossing out the unsuitable till I had reduced my choice to two. These I will call Lieutenant X and Lieutenant Z.

“Lieutenant X was a very large and powerful fellow, with fair hair and blue-grey eyes--a typical Saxon. He was a magnificent athlete and had played back for the Navy. He was a clever fellow too--I had noticed that--though he pretended not to be. His manner was boisterous and frank, and sometimes he used this as bluff. (I recall several instances--but that is neither here nor there.) He was very popular, for he ‘had a way with him’, and often made people tell him things when they had had no intention of doing so. His manner was so pleasant that most people failed to realize how masterful he was. As a boy on the _Britannia_ he had been a strong chief cadet captain, and yet contrived to be very popular. Add to this he was a capital seaman, and could turn his hand to anything, especially in emergency; and in those days and that part of the world emergencies were frequent.

“Lieutenant Z was the very antithesis of Lieutenant X both in appearance and manner. He was small and dark and wiry; his features were very clean-cut, and his thin lips pressed tightly together in a perfectly straight line gave an impression of immense determination. He was then quite one of the cleverest lieutenants in the Navy, and as shrewd as he was clever. He was very reticent, and he possessed a ‘biting’ tongue, if one may be allowed a queer metaphor; no one ever knew what he was thinking about unless he told them, and then he often told them what he did not really think. And so he was feared but not liked. I had never known him to be taken by surprise; and he was an absolutely dead shot with a revolver.

“After taking into consideration all the possible circumstances with which my emissary was likely to be faced, I made my decision, and sent for Lieutenant Z. I need hardly say that I had every ground for satisfaction with my choice; but Z’s adventures must be told in another chapter.”

Notes

The following exercise is again a study in contrasts, but in this case there are _more than two_.

You will have seen from the last exercise that the way to make your précis clear is to arrange all the topics in separate paragraphs.

We may put it in the form of a Rule:

RULE IV.--=After you have stated your main subject in the ‘title’, arrange all the different topics in SEPARATE PARAGRAPHS; and whenever you can, make the ‘state of affairs’ clear in your first paragraph.=

This rule applies to every précis you write. The best plan is to jot down in pencil Headings for all your paragraphs before you start writing your précis (three in short précis; four, five, or six, in longer précis). The length of each paragraph depends on the importance of the topic.

No. 5.--The Black Republic

Extract from the reminiscences of Commander Brown, R.N.

I have only once visited the Black Republic, and that was some years ago, when I was still a midshipman. I was in the _Argo_ then, a curious old tub that has long since been scrapped. We had been cruising about the islands and enjoying ourselves hugely, when the captain received orders to bring certain pressure to bear upon the Black Republicans. I don’t know what the fuss was about; that didn’t concern me. What did interest me was the fact that we--myself and four other “snotties”--were allowed shore-leave for the afternoon.

A strange wild place the island looked as we approached it in the picket-boat: a huge tumbled mass of bare mountain peaks, for all the world like a crumpled newspaper thrown down on a blue carpet. It was beautiful too in this glare of the tropical sun, with its gleaming grey rocks and dark forest belt, and the straggling lines of white houses that backed the harbour.

As we drew nearer we could see the yellow lateen sails of little fruit-boats that crowded round the quay, the green sun-blinds of houses, and the white dresses and brilliant red and blue parasols of the ladies who thronged the promenade--a regular kaleidoscope of dazzling colour points. And we promised ourselves a jolly afternoon of exploration and ramble.

But no sooner had we rounded the mole and entered the harbour than the whole aspect changed. It is difficult to convey a true impression of the extreme shabbiness and tawdriness of the scene. It fell like a blight upon us, and our spirits sank down into our boots. The whole surface of the harbour was covered with a scum of dirt and oil in which floated banana skins, bits of orange-peel, matches, and dead flies, while the quay was pervaded by an indescribable stench, heavy and sweet, like an old dust-bin.

We came alongside and walked up the steps, slipping on fishes’ heads and fruit skins; and everywhere we were met by the same dirty finery and pretentious tawdriness. Crowds of ladies walked up and down the parade--black ladies, dressed in dirty white frocks and darned canvas shoes. Their brilliant parasols were torn, and their hat-feathers dishevelled like those of a scare-crow.

Innumerable soldiers--black men, of course--thronged the streets, strutting with indescribable self-satisfaction. But they were as shabby as the “ladies”, in their dirty cocked-hats, their concertina-like trousers, and tunics stuck all over with medals and orders like Christmas-trees. We discovered from the Commander afterwards that the whole army consists of officers, very few of them below the rank of Major-general. They are inordinately proud of their medals, and quite amazingly inefficient.

It was really beastly--there is no other word to describe it--so beastly that we snotties walked along in silence, unable at first to realize how funny it all was. Presently a huge black major-general, decked with gold tinsel epaulets and as many orders as the Lord High Executioner, came across to us and saluted with magnificent gusto.

“What the deuce does the old buffer want?” whispered Jones to me.

“Me speak Englees,” said the major-general, and paused.

“Well, out with it, old son; what do you want?” asked Jones disrespectfully.

And then at last we saw the humour of the whole ramshackle system; for what in the world should this affected old turkey-cock of a major-general want, but to carry the bag which contained our towels and tea for the modest sum of half a crown! We roared with laughter; and at that moment our 1st Lieutenant came along.

“Get out! no want!” he said; and the disconcerted major-general slunk away with the most humorous expression of offended pride and grovelling servility.

“I shouldn’t stay in the town,” said the lieutenant; “it stinks. If you carry on down the road, you will come to a first-rate bathing-place.”

And so we did.

Notes

A short paragraph of explanation is needed. The different lines of investigation fit very easily into different paragraphs.

No. 6.--The Professor and the Monkeys

Translation of a letter written by Herr Professor Otto von Pumpenstein to the München Philological Society.

WILHELMSTRASSE, HAMBURG. _June 1._

GENTLEMEN,