Precis

Directions: You will write three (3) short (one page) critiques of the articles or chapters you read for your research, one of which must relate to your report topic and two of which must relate to your research paper topic (you will submit the one for your report topic on the day of the report). Each of these must contain a full MLA style reference and an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the piece you read. You may include enough summary for readers to understand the main thrust of the article, but keep summary to a minimum and focus on your analysis. No more than a third of the page should be summary.

A precis should include the following:
• Name of author, genre, and title of work, date in parentheses; a rhetorically accurate verb (such as “claims,” “argues,” “asserts,” “suggests”) and a THAT clause containing the major assertion or thesis statement in the work.
• An explanation of how the author develops and supports the thesis, usually in chronological order.
• A statement of the author’s apparent purpose, followed by an “in order to” phrase.
• A description of the intended audience and/or the relationship the author establishes with the audience.

* Note: Typically, a precis is made up of three paragraphs and should fill an entire page , single spaced (including source citation at the bottom). The first paragraph should include the information from the previous slide and may include some summary information. The next may include the strengths of the article. The last may include the weaknesses of the article.