Precis Writing -How to write a Precis in 50 words? Watch this video to learn A-Z of Precis Writing.

Summary

In this educational video, Ranjana Mam addresses the common challenges faced by students in 'pressy' writing—a concise form of writing with a word limit. She explains the differences between ICSC and ISC students' experiences with pressy writing, emphasizing the importance of staying within the word limit. Ranjana Mam provides a step-by-step guide on how to approach pressy writing, including creating a rough draft, refining it, and presenting a fair draft. She also stresses the need for practice and offers tips on how to improve this skill, ensuring students can effectively convey information within the constraints of pressy writing.

Takeaways

• 📝 Pressy writing is a type of writing task where students must answer questions based on a passage within a restricted word limit.
• 🎯 The word limit for ICSC students is 50 words, while ISC students have a limit of 100 words, requiring different approaches to the task.
• 🤔 Pressy writing is the opposite of essay writing; instead of expanding on a topic, students must condense information from a passage.
• 📚 To start pressy writing, identify the relevant paragraphs from the passage that answer the given question.
• ✏️ Use your own words to write the answer; direct quotations from the passage are not allowed.
• 📏 Create a rough draft using a grid to ensure you stay within the word limit, with 5 words per line and 10 lines for a 50-word limit.
• 🔍 After drafting, review to ensure all key points from the passage are included and make necessary cuts or additions.
• 📝 Practice is essential for mastering pressy writing, as it helps in identifying key points and eliminating unnecessary information.
• 🏅 Pressy writing requires careful reading of the question and understanding what is being asked to avoid including irrelevant information.
• ✂️ Make corrections in the rough draft, and ensure the final draft is neat and free of errors, as rough drafts are also graded.
• 📈 Regular practice of pressy writing will improve the ability to write concisely and effectively, reducing the 'student's block' during exams.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video?

The main topic of the video is 'pressy writing', a specific type of writing exercise that involves summarizing a passage within a restricted word limit.

Who is the speaker in the video?

The speaker in the video is Ranjana Mam, who is addressing her students and YouTube subscribers about pressy writing.

What is the difference between pressy writing and essay writing as explained by Ranjana Mam?

Pressy writing involves summarizing a passage within a word limit, whereas essay writing involves expanding on a given topic within a certain word count.

What is the word limit for ICSC students according to the video?

The word limit for ICSC students is 50 words.

What is the word limit for ISC students as mentioned in the script?

The word limit for ISC students is 100 words.

What is the advice given for creating a pressy draft?

The advice given for creating a pressy draft is to make a grid of 50 words with five words per line and ten lines, then fill it in with the summary.

Why is it recommended to use a pencil when creating the rough draft of a pressy?

Using a pencil allows for easy erasure and substitution of words to manage the word limit effectively.

What is the significance of the word 'pressy' and how should it be pronounced?

The word 'pressy' is short for 'press report essay' and should be pronounced with a silent 's', as 'pray-c' or 'press-c'.

What is the importance of reading the question attentively before starting a pressy?

Reading the question attentively is important to understand what is being asked and to ensure the answer is focused and within the word limit.

How should one approach the passage when preparing to write a pressy?

One should identify the relevant paragraphs, mark the important points, and frame the answer using those points without adding personal comments.

What is the suggestion for practicing pressy writing?

The suggestion is to practice pressy writing regularly, starting with once every fortnight, and then reducing the frequency as one becomes more comfortable with the format.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Precis Writing

Ranjana Mam introduces the topic of precis writing, addressing a common issue faced by her students. She reassures viewers that precis writing is straightforward and aims to guide them through the process. She encourages viewers to subscribe to her YouTube channel and like the video before proceeding with the tutorial. The paragraph sets the stage for a detailed explanation of precis writing, emphasizing the importance of adhering to a word limit and the contrast between ICSC and ISC students' experiences with it.

05:03

📝 Crafting a Precis: Steps and Techniques

This paragraph delves into the mechanics of precis writing, focusing on selecting relevant paragraphs from a passage and avoiding unnecessary details. Ranjana Mam advises creating a rough draft using a grid system to maintain the word limit, suggesting the use of pencil for easy corrections. She emphasizes the need for original wording and the importance of not exceeding the word limit, providing strategies for refining the draft to fit within the prescribed word count.

10:03

🖊️ Refining Your Precis: Drafting and Revising

The paragraph discusses the refinement process of a precis, highlighting the need for a fair draft after the rough draft. It explains the importance of writing in a structured manner to ensure clarity and adherence to the word limit. The speaker also touches on the correct pronunciation of 'precis' and stresses the significance of including all relevant points from the passage, avoiding personal commentary, and using reported speech in the past tense.

15:04

✍️ Finalizing Your Precis: Tips and Best Practices

Ranjana Mam provides guidance on finalizing a precis, emphasizing the need for a clean and error-free fair draft. She advises on the importance of including a suitable title or heading and maintaining the word limit throughout. The paragraph also stresses the need for practice, suggesting regular precis exercises to improve proficiency and overcome any writing blocks, and encourages viewers to practice regularly to master the skill.

20:05

🗣️ Enhancing English Proficiency: Future Content Preview

In the concluding paragraph, Ranjana Mam expresses gratitude for her viewers' support and hints at upcoming content that will focus on improving spoken English and incorporating useful phrases into essays and everyday conversations. She acknowledges the importance of spoken English for students post-12th grade and assures viewers that she will be creating videos to help them enhance their language skills, promising more valuable content in the future.

Keywords

💡Pressy Writing

Pressy writing refers to a concise form of writing where the writer is required to answer a question based on a passage within a restricted word limit. In the video, the term is central as the educator, Ranjana Mam, aims to demystify the concept for students who find it challenging. The video provides a detailed guide on how to approach pressy writing, emphasizing the importance of selecting relevant paragraphs from a text and condensing information to fit within a word limit, as illustrated by the contrast between ICSC and ISC students' experiences.

💡Word Limit

A word limit is a specified maximum number of words that a piece of writing can contain. In the context of the video, the word limit is a critical aspect of pressy writing, with different limits for ICSC and ISC students (50 words for ICSC and 100 words for ISC). The video script uses the word limit to highlight the challenge students face in either condensing information or expanding upon it to meet the required length, which is a key skill in pressy writing.

💡Rough Draft

A rough draft is a preliminary version of a written work that allows for the exploration of ideas and the making of initial errors before refining the content. In the video, the rough draft is emphasized as an essential step in pressy writing where students can freely write, make corrections, and manage their word count within the grid pattern. The script illustrates how the rough draft helps students to organize their thoughts and content before creating a final, polished version.

💡Fair Draft

A fair draft, also known as a final draft, is a refined and polished version of a written piece that is ready for submission or publication. The video script explains that after completing the rough draft, students should create a fair draft where the writing is clean, neat, and free of errors. This draft should adhere strictly to the word limit and present the information in a structured manner, either in a grid pattern or in a paragraph form that clearly indicates the word count to the examiner.

💡Paragraphs

Paragraphs are blocks of text that deal with a single theme or idea. In the video, the selection of relevant paragraphs from a passage is highlighted as a crucial step in pressy writing. The script uses the example of a passage from 'Tom Sawyer' to demonstrate how students should identify and focus on the paragraphs that contain the necessary information to answer the given question within the word limit.

💡Direct Speech

Direct speech is a method of quoting where the exact words of the speaker are used, enclosed in quotation marks. The video script clarifies that in pressy writing, students should not use direct speech but rather report the information in their own words. This is important to demonstrate understanding and paraphrasing skills, as opposed to simply copying text from the passage.

💡Reported Speech

Reported speech, also known as indirect speech, is a way of conveying what someone has said by rephrasing it in the writer's own words rather than using direct quotes. The video emphasizes the use of reported speech in pressy writing to ensure that the response is in the writer's own language and does not exceed the word limit, aligning with the educational objective of demonstrating comprehension and expression.

💡Past Tense

The past tense is a verb form used to describe actions or states that occurred in the past. In the video, the script specifies that pressy writing should be done in the past tense, which is a grammatical requirement to maintain consistency and coherence in the narrative. This is exemplified in the script where the educator instructs students to write about events from the passage as they occurred, using the appropriate past tense forms.

💡Personal Comment

A personal comment is an expression of one's own opinion or interpretation. The video script advises against including personal comments in pressy writing, emphasizing that the focus should be on conveying information from the passage as accurately as possible. This guideline ensures objectivity and adherence to the task's requirements, as students are expected to report on the content, not provide their own analysis or opinion.

💡Practice

Practice refers to the act of repeatedly performing an activity or exercise to improve one's skill in it. The video script stresses the importance of practice in mastering pressy writing. The educator encourages students to regularly engage in pressy writing exercises to overcome the 'student's block' and to become proficient in identifying key points and expressing them concisely within the word limit.

Highlights

Introduction to pressy writing and addressing common student concerns.

Explanation of the difference in word limits for ICSC and ISC students.

Comparison of pressy writing to essay writing and the unique challenges it presents.

Guidance on selecting relevant paragraphs from a passage for pressy writing.

Example using a passage from 'Tom Sawyer' to illustrate pressy writing technique.

Emphasis on using one's own words and avoiding direct quotations in pressy writing.

Technique of creating a rough draft with a 50-word grid to manage word limit.

Suggestion to use pencil for rough drafting to facilitate easy corrections.

Advice on writing a fair draft after the rough draft, either in grid pattern or paragraph form.

Importance of writing exactly five words per line in the fair draft for clarity.

Clarification on the correct pronunciation of 'pressy' as 'press' with a silent 's'.

Instructions on how to prepare for pressy writing by understanding the question and passage.

Advice on marking relevant points in the passage with a pencil before drafting.

Stress on not including personal comments and staying true to the passage content.

Recommendation to practice pressy writing regularly to overcome the 'student's block'.

Encouragement to practice pressy writing at least once a week to improve proficiency.

Promise of future videos on improving spoken English and incorporating useful phrases.

Transcripts

hello viewers

yes

this is ranjana mam and you are watching

yes

it's yours as well as my channel

so

many of you

have requested me ma'am ma'am please a

video on pressy writing

i have found the same problem faced by

many of my students my online students

as well as offline students

they also seem to be quite puzzled

this pressy what is it

so i keep telling them there is nothing

to be afraid

there is nothing to be worried about

pressy writing it's very simple

so

i have decided to upload a video on

pressy writing for all my youtube

subscribers also

but

before i begin

you know what's coming

if you have not subscribed to my channel

up till now please do

and don't forget to press the like

button

after you have

seen this video

so what are we waiting for

let's start

[Music]

sophiet you are

to answer certain questions

so they are short shut questions 2 marks

and this pressy here also they ask you

to write something from the passage but

here the word limit is restricted

earlier it was 60 and now for my icsc

students it's 50. whereas the same

question

for my isc student the word limit is

100

so just see the contrast

here in icc you are struggling

to keep to the word limit

you have to see that you don't exceed

not more than 50

and in isc

you're biting your pen what to write

in icsc you are thinking what to

eliminate so that it fits in that 50

word and in isc my god what to write

what more to write to make it a hundred

so as nerissa said in merchant of when

is too much of everything is bad

the both the extremes are bad

when you are given too less to write

also you find what to eliminate and when

you get too much you feel what to run

okay so let's forget that

i would also say that

pressy is the opposite of

essay writing

in essay writing you're given a topic

and then you have to expand

you have to expand the idea

and within 300 to 350 you are supposed

to present your idea and here what you

are supposed to do you are given a

passage from that passage a particular

question

you are given and you are told to

write your answer within that restricted

word limit

50 words

and not one word more some schools they

are saying you can write 51 to 52.

no but not more than 50 word means not

more

so

in this what have you to do how do you

start

first you try to

think in your mind which are the

paragraphs that are required

for your pressy or for this question

suppose like you are given a passage

from tom sawyer

many of you have read it

so tom saw is white washing the fence

so he's given a punishment to white

washer fans

on

a saturday which is a holiday

so what happens tom uses his brains

and he makes his friends do the job and

they do it happily and in return for it

rather they bribe him to get a turn to

whitewash

so you might be given

the question in not more than 50 words

right how tom

got the fence whitewashed

so then in 50 words you will have to

think of the important points

so tom found one of his friend passing

by and how he tried to make the job

lucrative

and then each of his friends they wanted

a turn and in return for this white

washing what gifts they gave him

and at the end of the day

the fence had three coats of

whitewashing

and

still there were many who wanted to

quite wash the fence so this past this

part is important

how did he get it done so you don't have

to write that he was given a punishment

and

his he was trying to

persuade the servant boy into doing it

but he did not agree and all that

nothing you have to start exactly from

where tom

gets an idea

how to get the job done or how to get

the fence whitewashed

by someone else

while he sits and enjoys

so only that part so every whichever

passage it is you will have to first

select which are the paragraphs that

need to be

read and read in order to form your

answer then go make

go uh step by step

don't take a line here and a line there

another thing which is very important in

your pressy writing is

that the words have to be your own you

just cannot pick up and write it's not

quotation

your own words

so that means you have to frame in your

mind the answer and then you start

writing and what if you exceed the word

limit that is why you need to make a

rough draft

rough draft yes you will be making a

grid

50 words so five words in a line one two

three four five words in a line and ten

lines so make a grid

you can use the pencil and the ruler

and make a grid

fifty words five words in one line and

go for the ten

so you will write in this your answer

when you finish writing you might be

wanting some more words to write

some blanks are still left to make it a

perfect 50. so you can add up a few one

or two words which are relevant to your

answer

while writing once you finish you might

find that oh you one or two more words

you have written exceeded the word limit

of 50.

so then you'll again read and go for

some

eliminations

ok

and in this way you will write your

pressy

of 50 words in the rough draft so in

many schools they suggest that you can

write your rough draft in pencil

quite a good idea why because when you

write in pencil you can erase those

words and put a substitute you can use

it is three words and instead

put one word

so in that way you can manage the 50

words

so one word for a

full sentence like a person who treats a

patient

so many words

instead of that you write a doctor

so

this correction work will have to be

done in your rough draft so if your

school suggests right in pencil it's a

quite a good idea right intensive

because then

you just need to rub erase

but when you write in pen

the cuttings cutting it and all that

sometimes it looks a bit

untidy

some of you might do it very

artistically and just a small

stand sitting what should we say a side

line

a hyphen sort in that way and then write

very neatly on top of it

or you cut two words and instead write

one word

so if you are

an artistic person you can do it very

nicely otherwise but don't cut boldly

and then start writing it makes your

even if it is a rough draft eye to make

it presentable

and don't think just because oh without

any cuts i have finished it completed my

answer in these 50 words so why should i

go for a fair draft no

you have to make a rough draft in that

grade form

and after that you will have to also

write or make a fair draft

and in the fair draft

you have an option

you can again write your fair draft in

the grid pattern

or

you can write it in a paragraph but

write the paragraph in such a way that

the examiner can see that you have

written it in 50 words so how do you do

that

you will write exactly five words in a

line yes you haven't drawn the line but

you will write exactly first line you'll

write five words and each the sixth word

will come just under the first word

seventh word under the second word so in

a column form write your answer

so in this case without making a grid

also you will be writing your pressy in

50 words and the examiner will know that

yes make things easy for him

and at the end you will in brackets

write 50 words that means yes you have

completed your pressy in the 50 words

and one thing don't pronounce it tresses

phrases

no s pray c or press c

ins uh

different pronunciations but the s is

silent

you can pronounce it this way p r a y

pray c s e e okay or press c

but the s is silent

so what more

so this is the basic you have to prepare

a rough draft you do all the cuttings

and adding and the elimination

contraction whatever you do you are

doing it there

and then in the final draft or which we

call the fair draft there should be no

cut

so decide first which are the things you

have to write and then write it should

be clean and neat that is why it is

called the fair draft

and fair draft i told you again you can

write it again in the grid pattern or

you might write it in the paragraph but

paragraph should be written in such a

way that the examiner gets to know that

yes it's 50 words and after that you can

you give a title to your pressy

earlier i told you nope title or heading

earlier what happened two marks was

allotted for this and that made the ten

marks

so eight for your pressy rough and fair

included so rough draft there it also

carries marks

okay so rough draft carries marks so

please write please do

some of you i have heard my students say

ma'am i have completed it in one graft

only no cuts nothing

so should i go for the fair draft yes

you have to because rub draft carries

marks

so this is your pressy

but how will what are the things you

need to pay attention to the points

in writing the pressy

so first you read the question very

attentively and get the idea what you're

really asked to do

in not more than 50 words of your own

blah blah

blah so

see that what you are expected because

this is also a question only and what

you are going to write is an answer to

that question many times you are told

not describe this

describe

what you read describe how porsche

fought the child scene

so it is like that it is you are

describing or you are writing it's an

answer

so there is nothing to be afraid of

pressy

so you pay attention to the question try

to get the idea what they are asking you

to do

and then

go through the passage or that

particular place

which is required those three may be

three to four paragraphs

that is required

in order to frame your pressy

okay so go through it twice thrice and

then

you can in pencil mark the relevant

points

they have asked me so this is the point

point number one point number two point

number three point number four in this

way you can mark the points

do it in pencil whatever you are doing

so this is the place yes so one two

three four maybe

yeah four points needed or maybe five

points needed

to frame your answer

as much as is needed

there is nothing

like five

it has to have five points or six points

depends

it might be in one point also you might

be required to write the whole 50 words

but you will underline these are the

important places and these are the ones

i require these are the lines i require

to frame my answer

and then

after you have

written the rough draft go through it

very carefully and see

whether you have included all the points

in it

don't miss any point

that is why is your rough draft you have

to see whether you have included all the

points or not so i told you first that

you make

points

one two five one two three or whatever

these are needed and the other parts of

the passage not needed the previous part

not needed you have checked out that

part which is

required for your pressy and then you

write it once you write it in your rough

draft go through it again and see if you

have missed any point

so you can do the correction elimination

and all that in that rough draft and

then don't give any personal comment of

your own comment of your own sorry

don't give any personal comment of your

own

no one is asking for your comment

they are asking what is in the passage

so your answer should strictly stay to

the passage whatever is said in the

passage

and then

since it has to be your own language you

will write it in the

reported speech no

direct speech you will write it in the

reported speech in the past tense

okay not in the present not in the

future you will write it in the past

tense and yes i told you

both the drafts should have your own

words you cannot just take the lines and

put it here

from here to here is the answer so i

pick up the lines and put it here

nothing doing you don't get anything you

get a big zero

they are asking you not to quote

they are asking your answer

so write your own

and then once you have checked i said

then write your final draft and i told

you be very careful that there is

nothing of

rectifying or error correction in your

fair draft or final draft

and then

i told you write a suitable

title or heading for it

so these are the things you require to

write a pressy but one thing i need to

tell you that pressy needs practice

pressy needs practice just what mam has

said i'll keep it in mind and go and

start only writing in the exam hall will

not help you so try to solve those

test papers whether it is total english

or

whatever different different

workbooks you all have for your language

so solve a pressy because it's like

essay writing

essay writing also you know when you

don't practice writing essays

you have the

you get stagnated you have the writers

block no so you have the students block

your mind is blocked those thoughts

don't flow spontaneously

same in pressy

you'll be sitting there chewing the pen

and thinking which point is important

what to write what to eliminate but if

you practice at home you know

very fast you will start oh these are

the points i have to write these are the

ones i have to eliminate that will come

when when you practice it at home

so please practice your pressy it is

difficult

be if you don't practice and if you

practice everything is easy

so

i'm sure after watching this video you

will start practicing pressy don't go

for a pressy every day

maybe in a fortnight go for one

or

in a month go for one no in a month

would be too scarce

in a fortnight go for one i'm not saying

weekly

or once you have your grammar class

every week you can do that also

every week okay every week one and when

you get accustomed when the flow starts

coming oh pricey is not a problem

anymore then you can stop it then you

can do once in a week once in a blue

moon once in a month

when you get a

grasp on your pressy then you can

reduce the numbers

but first at least go for once

a week

after your grammar class think oh yes

pressy is that

problem

problem maker so let me practice one

pressy

ok and then once as i told you once you

get hold of it you catch it on the hip

and then

then reduce the numbers once in a moment

just to keep in track

just to remember the rules

so i think this will be of some help

and

yes

don't forget to subscribe to my channel

and press the like button yes i'm

heading towards my 100k and i need your

support you've been supporting me

constantly and i still need it please so

bye for the time being and will soon

come up with some more useful videos on

how to

frame your answers or rather how to

write good english some nice phrases

which you can add in your essays you can

add in your spoken english when you are

talking because one thing

many of you or rather all of your

english medium students

but many times i have found

you all can write well but you can't

speak

you get tongue tied why

so i'll be coming up with some topics

rather unspoken english how to speak

well because you will be so needing it

after 10 okay 12 11 and 12 you don't

need that much but after 12

spoken english will be required a lot

okay so bye for the time being and wait

for my next videos

you