A rhetorical pr\u00e9cis differs from a summary in that it is a less neutral, more analytical condensation of both the content and method of the original text. (\u201cPr\u00e9cis\u201d means \u201cconcise summary.\u201d) Its structure is designed for presentation of insights about a text from the perspective of a rhetorical reader. If you think of a summary as primarily a brief representation of what a text says, then you might think of a rhetorical pr\u00e9cis as a brief representation of what a text both says and does. Although less common than summary, a rhetorical pr\u00e9cis is a particularly useful way to sum up your understanding of how a text works rhetorically.<\/p>\n
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Part summary and part analysis, the rhetorical pr\u00e9cis is also a powerful skill-building exercise often assigned as a highly structured four-sentence paragraph. As laid out below, these sentences provide a condensed statement of a text\u2019s main point (the summary part), followed by brief statements about its essential rhetorical elements: the purpose, methods, and intended audience (the analytical part). Note the Pr\u00e9cis\u2019 Format:<\/p>\n
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How to Structure a Rhetorical Pr\u00e9cis (in APA format)<\/p>\n
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Sentence 1: Include genre, \u201cTitle of work\u201d, (publication year parentheses), name of author; a<\/p>\n
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rhetorically accurate verb (such as \u201cclaims,\u201d \u201cargues,\u201d \u201casserts,\u201d \u201csuggests\u201d); and a THAT clause<\/p>\n
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containing the major assertion or thesis statement in the work.<\/p>\n
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Sentence 2: An explanation of how the author develops and supports the thesis, usually in<\/p>\n
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chronological order (Does the author use stats? summarize data? use personal experience? etc.).<\/p>\n
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Sentence 3: A statement of the author\u2019s apparent purpose, followed by an \u201cin order to\u201d phrase.<\/p>\n
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(The author\u2019s purpose is to_____, \u201cin order to\u201d _____).<\/p>\n
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Sentence 4: A description of the intended audience and \/or the relationship the author establishes<\/p>\n
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with the audience (who is the intended audience, and what is your assessment of the intended<\/p>\n
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audience based on?).<\/p>\n
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Example<\/p>\n
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In her online article \u201cSeven secrets to a great nap\u201d (2007), Sarah Kliff reports that<\/p>\n
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mid-afternoon naps are good for adults and lists seven tips from researchers for getting the most<\/p>\n
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out of a nap. Kliff supports her claim by summarizing advice from a sleep researcher on the<\/p>\n
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benefits of drinking coffee just before a nap, on the best ways to schedule a nap, and on ways to<\/p>\n
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avoid problems with naps. Her purpose is to inform readers that naps are beneficial from a<\/p>\n
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scientific perspective and to offer surprising, helpful, and positive information about naps in an<\/p>\n
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upbeat, easy to digest way in order to encourage her readers to try napping. Her intended<\/p>\n
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audience seems to be busy young professionals who surf the Web (this is an online article) and<\/p>\n
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who must be hooked into a quick read through casual vocabulary (such as \u201csleep doc,\u201d \u201ccup of<\/p>\n
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joe,\u201d \u201csnoozing habits\u201d), and upbeat advice.<\/p>\n
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*Remember that the precis must be typed using APA format\u2013times new roman, 12 pt font, double spaced, etc., and it must follow the 4-sentence order outlined above.<\/p>\n
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Word Bank: Feel free to use any of the words below to help you complete the rhetorical pr\u00e9cis.<\/p>\n
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Genre:<\/p>\n
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news story,<\/p>\n
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magazine article,<\/p>\n
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book review,<\/p>\n
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editorial personal<\/p>\n
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essay, research<\/p>\n
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report<\/p>\n
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Rhetorically<\/p>\n
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Accurate<\/p>\n
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Verbs:<\/p>\n
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analyzes,<\/p>\n
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argues,<\/p>\n
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asserts,<\/p>\n
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discusses,<\/p>\n
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focuses,<\/p>\n
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explains,<\/p>\n
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suggests<\/p>\n
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How author<\/p>\n
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accomplishes<\/p>\n
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his\/her goal:<\/p>\n
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comparing,<\/p>\n
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contrasting,<\/p>\n
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comparing,<\/p>\n
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retelling,<\/p>\n
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explaining,<\/p>\n
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justifying, pointing,<\/p>\n
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highlighting.<\/p>\n
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Author\u2019s<\/p>\n
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Purpose:<\/p>\n
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argue, call<\/p>\n
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attention to,<\/p>\n
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deny, point out,<\/p>\n
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prove, suggest,<\/p>\n
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persuade,<\/p>\n
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convince.<\/p>\n
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Tone:<\/p>\n
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humorous,<\/p>\n
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emotional,<\/p>\n
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friendly,<\/p>\n
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reasoned,<\/p>\n
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logical,<\/p>\n
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exaggerated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A rhetorical pr\u00e9cis differs from a summary in that it is a less neutral, more analytical condensation of both the content and method of the original text. (\u201cPr\u00e9cis\u201d means \u201cconcise summary.\u201d) Its structure is designed for presentation of insights about a text from the perspective of a rhetorical reader. If you think of a summary … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-essaywr"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40517\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}