WRITING THE
RHETORICAL PRECIS
The Rhetorical Precis
• The précis (pronounced pray-see) is a highly structured
four sentence paragraph that records the essential
aspects of a text or argument. Each of the four sentences
requires specific information.
A diagram of the rhetorical précis
1. What
• Include author, genre, title and a rhetorically
active verb
• (argues, suggests)
2. How
• Explain how the author develops his or her
thesis
3. Why?
4. To Whom?
• Describe in a sentence the author’s apparent
purpose, including an “in order to” phrase.
• …in order to show
• …in order to point out
• Describe the likely intended audience and/or
the relationship the author establishes with his
or her audience
• Discuss tone
1. What
A (genre)
• (news/magazine/
journal) article
book review, editorial,
first-hand report,
personal or
biographical essay,
biography,
research report
2. How
B (Rhetorical verb)
2. How
C (by)
• analyzes/analysis
argues/argument,
asserts/assertion,
discusses/discussion,
focuses on/focus
explains/explanation
• comparing /
contrasting
retelling, explaining,
illustrating, defending,
demonstrating,
defining, describing,
listing, arguing,
showing,
justifying, relating,
reporting, noting,
emphasizing, pointing
out, highlighting the
fact
3. Why
D (in order to)
• argue,
call attention to,
deny,
show,
point out,
prove
suggest,
inform,
persuade,
disclose,
report,
Convince
4. To Whom?
E (register/tone)
• formal, impersonal
casual, informal
• humorous,
emotional,
friendly,
reasoned,
logical,
exaggerated
The Rhetorical Precis Format
• Sentence 1
• In a single coherent sentence give the following:
• Name of the author, title of the work, source and date (in
parentheses);
• A rhetorically accurate verb such as “asserts,” “argues,” “refutes,”
“proves,” or “explains.”
• A that clause containing the major claim (thesis statement) of the
work.
THE WHAT
The Rhetorical Precis Format
• Sentence 2
• In a single coherent sentence give an explanation of how
the writer develops and supports the major claim (thesis
statement).
THE HOW
The Rhetorical Precis Format
• Sentence 3
• In a single coherent sentence give a statement of the
author’s purpose, followed by an “in order to” phrase.
THE WHY
The Rhetorical Precis Format
• Sentence 4
• In a single coherent sentence give a description of the
intended audience and/or the relationship the author
establishes with the audience.
• TO OR FOR WHOM
Student Sample Rhetorical Precis
Sentence 1
bell hooks, in her essay, “Women Who Write Too Much,”
from Remembered Rapture (1999), suggests that all
dissident writers, particularly black female writers, face
enormous time pressures, for if they are not prodigious,
they are never noticed by mainstream publishers.
Sentence 2
Student Sample Precis
• She supports her position first by describing her early
writing experiences that taught her “not to be afraid of the
writing process”; second by explaining her motives for
writing, including “political activism”; and lastly by affirming
her argument, stressing that people must strategically
schedule their writing and “make much of that time.”
Student Sample Sentence 3
• Her two-pronged purpose is to respond to critics and to
encourage minority writers to develop their own voice.
Student Sample Sentence 4
• Although at times her writing seems almost didactic,
hooks ultimately establishes a companionable relationship
with her audience of both critics and women who seek to
improve the effectiveness of their own writing.
Sources:
Center for Teaching and Learning. The
Rhetorical Précis. University of Texas at Austin.
Web. March 2012
Ellerhoff, Jean D. Writing the Rhetorical Précis.
Central Academy. Web. March 2012