The Rhetorical Précis
The formal rhetorical précis is a highly structured four sentence paragraph that records the essential
elements (both the content—the what and the delivery—the how) of a unit of spoken or written discourse. A
four sentence précis paragraph must include (1) the name of the speaker/writer, the context of the delivery, the
major assertion, (2) the mode of development and/or support, (3) the stated and/or apparent purpose, (4) and the
relationship established between the speaker/writer and the audience (the last element is intended to identify the
tone of the work). Each of the four sentences requires specific information; students are also encouraged to
integrate brief quotations to convey the author’s sense of style and tone. Practicing this sort of writing fosters
precision in both reading and writing, forcing a writer to employ a variety of sentence structures and to develop
a discerning eye for connotative shades of meaning.
Format:
Sentence 1
The first sentence must include the NAME of the speaker/writer [optional: a phrase describing the author],
genre and title of the work, [optional: date and additional publishing information in parenthesis], a rhetorically
accurate VERB (such as: “asserts,” “argues,” “suggests,” “implies,” “claims,” etc.), and a THAT clause
containing the major assertion (thesis statement) of the work.
Example 1: Statesman and philosopher, Thomas Jefferson, in The Declaration of Independence (1776),
argues that the God-given rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness entitle the colonists to freedom
from the oppressive British government and guarantee them the right to declare independence.
NOTE: As long as all of the required information (name, genre, title, publishing information, verb, and a “that”
clause) appears in the first sentence, placement of each element doesn’t matter much. Also, if an author has
directly stated their claim feel free to quote their thesis exactly as it appears in the original text, but be sure to
include page numbers to comply with MLA formatting. If you are writing a précis paragraph on an online
publication, page numbers are not necessary.
Example 2: In “The Ugly Truth About Beauty” (1998) humorist, Dave Barry argues that “women generally
do not think of their looks in the same way that men do” (4).
NOTE: It is possible to split the verb and the word “THAT” in the first sentence, but you must be careful not
to stick words like “about” and “how” in between the verb and the THAT clause. The following example is
done correctly, but separating the verb from the THAT clause is not highly recommended. This type of
sentence construction which is meant to paraphrase often slips into summary—a less specific statement of the
author’s intentions.
Example 3: In “The Ugly Truth About Beauty” (1998), Dave Barry satirizes the unnecessary ways that
women obsess about their physical appearance.
Utilizing a rhetorically accurate VERB followed by the word “THAT” helps students avoid the use of more
general words such as “writes” and “states.” The THAT clause is designed to demand a complete statement: a
grammatical subject (the topic of the discourse) and predicate (the claim that is made about that topic). If the
THAT clause is not employed students will end up allowing “about” and “how” to slip out in stating the thesis:
i.e.., “Sheridan Baker writes about attitudes in writing” or “…states how attitudes affect writing”—neither of
which reports what the author claims to be true about attitudes. “About” and “how” are elementary words used
in summaries, and précis paragraphs are written to prove that we not only understood the gist of a piece, but that
we can pinpoint an author’s thesis, analyze his/her rhetorical strategies, and identify tone and style.
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Sentence 2:
The second sentence is an explanation of HOW the author DEVELOPS and/or SUPPORTS the thesis,
usually in chronological order, or organized by identifying the shift in rhetorical mode(s) throughout the
work.
Example 1 (chronological): He supports his claim by first invoking the fact of our inalienable rights; then,
he establishes the circumstances under which a people can throw off an oppressive government; he next
proceeds to show that these circumstances have been created by King George III, whose oppressive rule now
forces the colonists to the separation.
Example 2 (by shifts in rhetoric): Barry illuminates this discrepancy by juxtaposing men’s perceptions of
their looks (“average-looking) with women’s (“not good enough”), by contrasting female role models (Barbie,
Cindy Crawford) with make role models (He-man), and by comparing men’s interests (the Super Bowl, lawn
care) with women’s (manicure).
NOTE: Since there are a variety of ways to structure the second sentence, it can get a bit long. This is fine,
since it is your main chance to prove to your audience that you really did the reading; better a sentence be long
and detailed than short and over-simplified. This is the sentence where sophisticated punctuation marks like the
semicolon (;) and the comma (,) are your best friends.
Example 3 (chronological with semicolons and commas used to connect clauses): The author develops this
assertion first by applying these techniques to two poems; secondly, he provides definitions; lastly, he
explains the history of each approach.
NOTE: The verbs used in a précis are always in present tense, which helps the author’s writing (and your
writing) seem alive. In works of literature, the second sentence may provide a short account of the plot
Example 4 (plot-based sentence): Hemingway develops this idea through a sparse narrative about the
‘initiation’ of a young boy who observes in one night both a birth and a death.
Sentence 3
The third sentence is a statement of the author’s PURPOSE for writing the text. This sentence must use the
infinitive “to” as in the phrase, “IN ORDER TO” to connect the purpose with the action the author wants his
audience to take. Remember that one’s purpose is always to put forward a thesis, but there are others as well.
The “to” phrase should transcend a phrase such as “Her purpose is to inform”; look beyond such a simplistic
response to assess what the author wants the audience to do or to feel as a result of reading the work.
Example 1: The purpose of this document is to convince all readers of the necessity to officially declare
independence from Great Britain in order to establish a separate independent nation: the United States of
America.
Example 2: Barry uses exaggerations and stereotypes to achieve his purpose of calling attention to gender
differences in order to prevent women from so eagerly accepting society’s expectations of them; to this end,
Barry claims that men who want women to “look like Cindy Crawford” are “idiots,” implying that women who
adhere to the Crawford standard are fools as well (10).
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Sentence 4
The fourth sentence in a précis paragraph includes a DESCRIPTION of the intended AUDIENCE and the
RELATIONSHIP the author establishes with the audience. Students need to ask how the language of the work
excludes certain audiences (non-specialists would not understand the terminology; children would not
understand the irony) in order to see that the author did make certain assumptions about the pre-existing
knowledge of the audience. The sentence should also report the author’s TONE.
Example 1: Jefferson establishes a passionate and challenging tone for a worldwide audience, but
particularly the British and King George III.
Example 2: Barry ostensibly addresses men in this essay because he opens and closes the essay directly
addressing men (as in “If you’re a man…”) and offering to give them advice in a mockingly conspiratorial
fashion; however, by using humor to poke fun at both men and women’s perceptions of themselves, Barry
makes his essay palatable to women as well, hoping to convince them to stop obsessively “thinking they need
to look like Barbie” (8).
Put it all together and you sound incredibly sophisticated!
Student Sample
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; if they are not
prodigious, they are never noticed by mainstream publishers. She supports her position first by describing
her early writing experiences that taught her to “not 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.” Her two-pronged purpose is to
respond to critics and encourage minority writers to develop their own voice. Although at times her writing
seems almost didactic, Hooks ultimately establishes a companionable relationship with her audience of both
critics and women who seek the effectiveness of their own writing.
To prepare to write a précis paragraph you might want to TAP(S) the passage first. Identify the TOPIC,
AUDIENCE, PURPOSE, and SPEAKER of the piece you are meant to write about. This is a good place to
start. Then, just identify the remaining information, and then plug it in to the précis formula. A précis is only a
précis if you follow the four sentence formula.
Sentence 1
AUTHOR/SPEAKER’S NAME: ____________________________________________________________
TITLE OF WORK (often suggests the TOPIC): ________________________________________________
PUBLICATION DATE: ___________________________________________________________________
THESIS: ________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Sentence 2
DEVELOPMENT/SUPPORT:
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Sentence 3
PURPOSE: _____________________________________________________________________________
Sentence 4
AUDIENCE:_____________________________________________________________________________
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Fill-in-the-Blank Précis Paragraph Practice
In “_________________________________________________” (
), ___________________________
title of work
date published Author/Speaker’s full name
____________________ that _________________________________________________________________
present tense verb
state the thesis
_________________________________________________________________________________________.
_______________________ __________________________________________________________________
Author/Speaker’s last name
use active verbs to tell HOW the thesis is developed or supported
_________________________________________________________________________________________
(separate independent clauses with semicolons if you need to)
_________________________________________________________________________________________.
_______________________ purpose is to _______________________________________________________
His/her
_________________________________________________________________________________________
in order to________________________________________________________________________________.
_______________________ address an audience of _______________________________________________
Author/Speaker
___________by ____________________________________________________________________________
explain HOW the author develops a relationship or uses a particular tone with his/her audience
_________________________________________________________________________________________.
As you get better are writing précis paragraphs, you will want to challenge yourself to vary the structure of the
four sentences. For example, sometimes you may want to begin with an author’s name instead of the title of the
work. Even though the structure of the individual sentences may change, you should never vary the purpose or
order of the sentences. If you cannot highlight a verb and the word “that,” the word “purpose,” and the word
“audience” in your final précis, you might need to revise or even rewrite your paragraph. Similar to math,
writing a précis is a task which requires a language formula that must be strictly followed. Plug in the right
information in the right spot, and you are on your way to becoming a more educated and informed
communicator. Précis can also be used as part of an introductory paragraph in a literary response and analysis
essay. If you can’t think of a way to begin your analysis, write a précis and then develop your own thesis
statement to launch into a deeper analysis of text! Learn the formula, practice, and watch your analysis skills
soar!
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Here is a list of verbs you might find helpful. Strive to employ the most connotatively precise words you can.
Accentuates
Accepts
Achieves
Adds
Adopts
Advocates
Affects
Affirms
Alleges
Alleviates
Allows
Alludes
Amplifies
Analogizes
Analyzes
Approaches
Argues
Ascertains
Asserts
Assesses
Assails
Assumes
Attacks
Attempts
Attests
Attributes
Augments
Avoids
Bases
Believes
Bolsters
Bombards
Challenges
Champions
Changes
Characterizes
Chooses
Chronicles
Claims
Clarifies
Comments
Compares
Completes
Concerns
Concludes
Condemns
Condescends
Conducts
Conforms
Confronts
Connotes
Considers
Constrains
Constructs
Contends
Contests
Contradicts
Contributes
Conveys
Convinces
Creates
Critiques
Declares
Deduces
Defends
Defines
Defies
Delineates
Demonstrates
Denigrates
Denotes
Denounces
Depicts
Describes
Details
Determines
Develops
Deviates
Differentiates
Differs
Directs
Disappoints
Discerns
Discovers
Discusses
Dispels
Displays
Disputes
Disrupts
Dissuades
Distinguishes
Distorts
Downplays
Dramatizes
Elevates
Elicits
Elucidates
Embodies
Empathizes
Emphasizes
Empowers
Encounters
Enhances
Enlightens
Enriches
Enumerates
Envisions
Escalates
Establishes
Evokes
Evaluates
Excludes
Exhibits
Expands
Experiences
Explains
Explicates
Expresses
Exemplifies
Extends
Extrapolates
Fantasizes
Focuses
Forces
Foreshadows
Forewarns
Fortifies
Fosters
Functions
Generalizes
Guides
Hints
Holds
Honors
Heightens
Highlights
Identifies
Illuminates
Illustrates
Imagines
Impels
Implements
Implies
Includes
Indicates
Infers
Initiates
Inspires
Intends
Intensifies
Interprets
Interrupts
Introduces
Inundates
Provides
Provokes
Purports
Juxtaposes
Justifies
Rationalizes
Reasons
Recalls
Recapitulates
Recites
Recollects
Records
Recounts
Reflects
Refers
Refutes
Regales
Regards
Regrets
Relates
Reinforces
Rejects
Remarks
Represents
Repudiates
Reveals
Reverts
Ridicules
Lampoons
Lists
Maintains
Magnifies
Manages
Manipulates
Masters
Meanders
Minimizes
Moralizes
Motivates
Muses
Notes
Observes
Opines
Opposes
Organizes
Outlines
Overstates
Paints
Patronizes
Performs
Permeates
Permits
Personifies
Persuades
Pervades
Ponders
Portrays
Postulates
Predicts
Prepares
Presents
Presumes
Produces
Projects
Promotes
Proposes
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Qualifies
Questions
Satirizes
Sees
Selects
Serves
Solidifies
Specifies
Speculates
States
Strives
Suggests
Summarizes
Supplies
Supports
Suppresses
Sustains
Symbolizes
Sympathizes
Traces
Transcends
Transforms
Understands
Understates
Unpacks
Uses
Vacillates
Values
Verifies
Views
Wants
Wishes
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Works Cited
Barry, Dave. “The Ugly Truth about Beauty.” Mirror on America: Short Essays and Images from
Popular Culture. 2nd ed. Eds. Joan T. Mims and Elizabeth M. Nollen. NY: Bedford, 2003.
109-112. Print.
Bean, J.C., Chappell, V.A., & Gillam, A.M. Reading Rhetorically, 3rd ed. New York, NY: Longman.
2011. Print.
Koster & Hudson. “Rhetorical Precis.” Rhetorical Review, Vol. 7. No. 1. 2004. Web.
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