Précis writing in a nutshell

Much ado is made about the difference between a précis and a summary. It is said that while both are brief, a précis—as the word itself suggests—is more precise or exact in matching the language and structure of the original passage (and so less brief), while the summary is more interpretive and freer. 

For CSS students however, these differences are minutiae that can be safely set aside. 

The nitty-gritty of summary writing is identical to that of the précis writing process.

1. Locate the central idea or the thesis. 

2. Distill each paragraph down to one point (maybe a single phrase or even a complex sentence).

3. Figure out how each paragraph point is related to the thesis. For each paragraph, ask: Is the paragraph about a cause or factor that motivates or explains the thesis? Is it an effect or outcome of the thesis claim? Is it an aspect, sign or manifestation of the central idea? And so forth. 

4. Connect these paragraph points into relation clusters: For example, all paragraph points that express a cause should be lumped together. 

5. Rewrite the original passage in your own words, with the help of (1) and (4).