Hello friends, I have been a candidate for NABARD RECRUITMENT 2020 for Grade A Exam. Succeeded for Mains and reached upto Interview. I performed well overall but unable to crack due to some reasons. I was just 22 years when appeared for Prelims, but became 23 years to whole process for Interview in 14th January, 2021. The need of mentioning age is that one should always learn. I did some mistakes in mains descriptive writing. I knew what to write, and how to write, but I made silly mistakes and this resulted a blunder for me. I just go 50 out of 100 and remained behind 12 marks for the cut off. I secured 160.25 out of 225 in whole the process. I got 24/25 in interview, 86.25/100 in MCQ (there was minus marking).
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| writing precis in english descriptive |
My soul says, "Don't worry, Bounce Back! and reach to your goal." Now my goal is to crack NABARD GRADE A and securing a seat and serve the nation for farmers. I felt a positive point that I am working as a Clerk in Madhya Pradesh Public Prosecution for two years since I was 21 years only. Now, in my journey you will also get a lot of guidance, tips and much more. Special courtesy to The Hindustan Times, Medalist in Journalism, Prof. R.S. Dhillon sir whose book I am studying and keeping to practice to improve my those mistakes. This is a series of Precis writing that will be vital for various examinations like Banking exams and some other exams that includes descriptive test.
Before starting the lesson, see the definition of Precis by the Oxford Dictionary, Precis - "A short version of a speech or written text that contains only the most important point."
LET'S LEARN ABOUT PRECIS IN DETAIL
What is a Precis? - The word precis, though now part of the English language, is a French word signifying summary, substance, abridgment, abstract, condensed statement or epitome (Greek epi-tom-e). All these words convey the same meaning.
Vivian and Jackson statement about Precis
"... the expression, in condensed terms, of the principal contents of any piece of writing. In summariser's own words it sets forth briefly the central idea of the original, generally understood to be an orderly condensation that preserves the main thought organization and tone of the original."
To understand the requirements and techniques of precis writing, let us examine this definition bit by bit.
Precis is the expression of the original in condensed terms
A precis has to be shorter re-statement of the original. In the examination, the length of the precis is stipulated, and the precis should not exceed or fall short of the prescribed length by more than five words. In case the length has not been prescribed, precis should be one-third of the original.
The Principal contents
The pruning of the original would not spare anything but the bare essential. Metaphors, smiles, hyperboles, conceits, epigrams will have to be left out. On the other hand, precis would faithfully reproduced all the principal contents of the original.
Precis-writer own words
A precis should stand on its own. Although a concise and faithful account of the original passage, it should be self-contained and independent as a piece of writing. Naturally, a precis-writer will have to rely on his own words rather than use terms from the original passage.
Sets forth briefly the central idea of the original
Passage given in the examinations for precis writing have generally a central idea around which the whole statement is woven. This precis should bring out this idea succinctly.
Orderly Condensation
A precis should be an orderly abridgment which means that it should remove all redundancies and state the import of the original as an organized and systematic whole. It is to be remembered that precis is not just an agglomeration of some phrases picked up from the original at random. It is, on the other hand, expected to be an independent piece of writing in which the sequence of ideas or arguments lead to the conclusion or the central idea. Care should be taken to preserve the tone of the original passage.
HOW TO SET ABOUT WRITING A PRECIS
☑ You should read the passage carefully two or three times, until you have a clear idea of its general purport. Some people say the exact opposite of what they mean. They do so when they are making use of irony. Great importance should be attached to this, for until the gist of the passage is clearly grasped, it is useless to begin writing down the abstract.
☑ When you are satisfied about the main idea, consider the passage in detail. On careful reading you will find that the argument generally resolves itself into certain well-defined sections. Observe carefully the connections between them and write down a suitable heading for each section.
☑ Note down the important points and number them at the side. Otherwise you may miss something important. When all the points are numbered, go through them and strike out which are really not essential to the meaning. You may find that there are repetitions or what are called redundant expressions. You may find illustrations which are not necessary to the meaning. Or you may find that there are stylistic effects, such as exaggeration or expansion or bombast or lack of restraint, which have to be removed.
☑ No additional matter should be inserted by way of personal comment or historical explanation.
☑ All superfluous details such as long quotations or lengthy enumerations, added merely to illustrate the argument, must be omitted.
☑ When the process of selection and elimination is completed, proceed to weave the various ideas into a concise and lucid narrative. To do this effectively requires considerable experience in the use of felicitous and comprehensive words.
☑ Now you also see whether the points are arranged in the best possible way in the passage before you. For it is the arrangement which gives point or emphasis to what you want to say.
☑ Before you begin to write you must remember that you are going to translate the idea and the spirit. Every writer has his own style, and your own style too is different from that of the writer of the passage. You will be tempted to reproduce the style as well as the matter but if you do reproduce the whole phrase in your precis, you are not likely to score high marks.
☑ Further, your precis will not be lucid unless the principle of continuity is observed. It is not sufficient that the sentences should express the ideas of different sections as briefly as possible, but they must also follow each other in logical sequence, and welded together by means of suitable connectives into a vigorous and organic whole.
☑ In the competitive examinations, the incidents of the passage given for making a precis refer to the past and therefore, the past tense should be used throughout. It is advisable to use third person unless it is found that the form of the original extract does not admit of its being converted into indirect speech.
☑ A precis is always in indirect form of speech except in very rare case where it is necessary to incorporate a few words in the precis in their original form so that the meaning is not distorted.
☑ Finally, the cardinal requirement of a good precis may be summed up in three words: clarity, coherence and brevity.
TITLE OF PRECIS
A title must be assigned to a precis whether asked or not. Fielden says, "Title shall be, in effect, a precis of the precis." The title of a precis should give the central idea of the precis. It should not exceed five of six words. A precis title neither contains a verb nor form a question.
PRACTICAL HINTS & TIPS FOR CANDIDATES BEFORE THE EXAMINATION
✦ Precis writing demands a wide and accurate knowledge of the language and ability to sift the essential facts from the chaff of the standard English prose.
✦ Practice makes a precis-writer perfect. A man will not learn swimming unless he actually dresses himself in bathing trunks and jumps into the river under the guidance of an expert. No one can be a good blogger or great YouTuber unless he works hard and keeps practicing and tries to learn new things again and again. This is equally true of precis writing. Candidates for the competitive examinations should choose passages from the previous questions papers and try to write the precis within the stipulated time.
✦ Last but not the least, DO NOT PANIC. Remember, the passage in the examination paper before you is there because it can be made into a precis, otherwise it would not have been there. Keep a cool mind and be confident about your ability.
Overall, the features of a good precis are as below:
➣ It should be brief and concise.
➣ It should be lucid and clear.
➣ It should be written in your own words and the order of ideas should remain the same.
➣ It should be read as a continuous whole.
➣ It should contain only the important / essential points.
➣ It should be written in the Indirect form of speech and the Active Voice.
➣ It should have the same tense throughout, generally, the Past Tense.
➣ It should be written in the third person.
➣ Its length should generally be one-third of the original.
➣ The title should be able to sum up the central idea of the precis.
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