GuidedPrecisWriting

1、Lecture 131. Teaching task: Guided Precis Writing2. Teaching target and object:(1) Let students know the differences among abstract, summary and pr cis.e(2) Let students know how to write the guided pr cis.e3. Teaching focus:(1) The differences among an abstract; a summary and a pr cis.e(2) The guid

2、elines for pr cis wrieting(3) Guided pr ceis writing stages4. Teaching method: free writing- -commentary - iscussion-guided writing-commentary =comparis on with the samples-summery5. Teaching procedures:(1) Checking the studentsassignments: resume writinga. Ask one review panel to do the classroom r

3、eport about resume writing.b. The teacher does the classroom report about the assignment : resume writing(2) Let students know the teaching tasks, target and teaching focus for this lectureThe word of the day: pr ecis: n. a short version of a speech or a piece of writing that gives the main ideas or

4、 points. E g. to write/give/make a pr cis of a report. Ve.to pr cies a scientific report.The quotation of the day: “Write it on your heart that every day is the best of the year.”-by Ralph Waldo Emerson)(3) Discuss the differences among an abstract; a summary and a pr cis.eA pr ecis is a brief state

5、ment of a speech or a piece of writing such as a report, a newspaper article, or perhaps a chapter in a book in your own words to give only the main idea of the original.Abstract: a shortened form of a statement or speech especially of a scholarly sort. E.g. the abstract of a thesis; the dissertatio

6、n.Summary: short amount of something longer, giving the main points. Summary is often used loosely to refer to pr cis. Actuaelly, there are subtle differences between the two terms. First, the pr cis foellows the order and proportion of the material in the original, whereas the writer of the summary

7、 is free to change the order and proportion if he wishes to do so. Second, the pr cis estates only the thought of the original; the writer of the summary is free to interpret the material and to comment on it. Therefore , the summary is a loose type of pr ecis.(4) Discuss the purpose of writing a pr

8、 cis:eWe write a pr ciseto state the important or main ideas of the original which is usually much longer so that the reader can spend less time in reading.(5) Discuss the guidelines for pr cis writing: ePrecis writing should follow these guidelines:1) State the important ideas and omit the specific

9、s. Record the bare bones of the original, leaving out any repetition, lists of examples , detailed descriptions, subordinating ideas and modifiers. Use the most economical wording possible.2) Write accurately and faithfully. Report exactly what you read in the order in which it ispresented. Write as

10、 if the original author were explaining his own ideas to the reader. Do not include your personal comments or opinions. For example, instead of sayingThis article is about ” you simply state the idea of the article.3) Keep the same proportion of part to part. If the original devoted 70 percent of it

11、s space to one idea and only 30 to another, your pr cis should refleet that emphasis.4) Maintain the same tone of the origi nal. If you pr cis a humorous article, you should use an informal tone to indicate that the article was humorous. Similarly, if you pr ecis a serious article, use a factual, ob

12、jective tone to reflect that substance of the original work.5) Write clear, continuous sentences in your own words. Your pr ecis must not be a patchwork made up of phrases and sentences quoted from the original. It should be a connected whole in your own words.6) Observe the word limit given in the

13、instruction. Often the required pr cis is about one e third or one fourth in the length of the original. Do not go above the word limit, but doinclude enough information to convey the main ideas.7) Always remember to give your pr cis an aeppropriate title.(6) Discuss the advantages of practicing wri

14、ting a pr cis:e1) It trains us to read more actively and accurately. In order to get the main ideas out of a piece of writing, we have to thoroughly understand the original.2) It is a good way to practice composition. Precis requires brevity and clarity. To write a good pr ecis, we have to put ideas

15、 in the briefest and clearest possible grammatical arrangement. Therefore, pr ecis writing teaches us to choose their words carefully and express our ideas clearly, concisely and logically.3) Precis writing can also sharpen our skills for grasping the main idea of the original, organizing informatio

16、n, and expressing ourselves in idiomatic English.(7) Discuss the process of writing a pr cis:eSituation 1: You are given a passage and after the passage, there are a series of questions with transitional expressions given in brackets. You are required to write simple, compound or complex sentences,

17、and then join these sentences together, using the given transitions, to form a continuous paragraph by answering the questions in a single statement.Deliver the students a handout with a passage and questions in it and ask the students to follow the following pr cis writing perocesses:1) Read the pa

18、ssage carefully two or three times.2) Write a full answer to each question. When several questions are given together, join up your answers with the conjunctions or phrases given in brackets. Each answer you write must be a complete sentence.3) Your answers to the questions must follow each other so

19、 that all your sentences will form a complete paragraph.4) Read through your work and correct your mistakes.5) Count the number of words in your paragraph. Do not go over the word limit. At the end of your paragraph, write the number of words used.6) Give your paragraph a title.An example:The passag

20、eMy neighbor s children love playing hide-and-seek as all children do, but no one expected that a game they played last week would be reported in the local newspaper.One afternoon, they were playing in the street just outside the post-office. Young Ian, who is only five years old, found the perfect

21、place to hide. His sister, Janet, had shut her eyes and was counting up to ten when Ian noticed that the small metal door of the letter box had been left open. The postman has just taken all the letters out and had gone into the post-office to see if there were any parcels. Ian climbed into the lett

22、er box and pulled the door from the inside so hard that it locked. Soon realizing what he had done, he became very frightened and started crying. Meanwhile, Janet was looking for him everywhere but could not find him. It was lucky. She happened to stop outside the letter box and hear her brother s c

23、ries. She immediately ran to tell the postman who hurried out to unlock the metal door. Ian was now free, but he had had such a bad fright that he could not stop crying. The postman, however, soon found a way of making him laugh again. He told him that next time he wanted to hide in a letter box, he

24、 should remember to stick a stamp on himself!Questions:Your answers must not be more than 80 words.1) What were my neighbor s children playing outside the post office one afternoon?2) Had the letter box been left open or not? Where did young Ian climb? Did he lock himself in or not ?(Finding that )

25、( and )3) When did his sister Janet realize where he was hiding? What did she do? (so)4) How did the postman make Ian stop crying after he had let him out?(After lettingby telling )The possible answer:A Strange “Letter “One afternoon my neighbor s children were playing hide-and-seek outside the post

26、 office. Finding that the letter box had been left open, young Ian climbed into it and locked himself in. His sister, Janet, realized where he was hiding when she heard his cries, so she ran to tell the postman. After letting him out, the postman made Ian stop crying by telling him that next time he

27、 wanted to hide in a letter box he should remember to stick a stamp on himself!(80 words)Situation 2You are still provided with transitional expressions so that you can write different types of sentences. But there are no more questions and answers. Instead, you can give note-form “answers” to imagi

28、nary questions. These note-form answers” are, in fact, the main points of a pr eis. You will be asked to put the notes together to make a paragraph by using the given questions.An example:The passageForty-two horses had taken their positions on the starting line for the greatest raceof the seas on.

29、The course was extremely difficult and few horses were expected to fini sh. All eyes were on the favorites, College Boy and Sweet Seven tee n. Both horses had won a great many races in the past and they had the equal cha nces of winning now.Though the horses got off to a good start, it was not long

30、before over half of them were out of the race. As was expected, College Boy and Sweet Seventeen had got well in front with the remaining horses grouped together some way behind. On a starting corner, three of the horses leading the group fell, throwing the riders behind into great con fusi on. As th

31、e race progressed, the tract became full of horses without riders. Towards the end, there were only three horses left: College Boy and Sweet Seve ntee n were still leadi ng with an unknown horse, Tom Thumb, a very long way beh ind. The crowd was very disappo in ted whe n on the last jump in the race

32、, the riders of both favorite horse failed to keep in the saddle. Every one roared with delight whe n College Boy continued himself andwon ” the race without the rider! Tom Thumbnow took his time and the crowd cheered and applauded as he crossed the finishing line without a rival in sight.In structi

33、o ns:In not more tha n 80 words describe what happe ned from the mome nt the horse set off to the end of the race.Tran siti onsAs soon asOnand Towards the endHowever一 though一Si neePoi nts1) Race bega n2) Favorites , C. Boy ,S Seve ntee n, ahead3) Bend -riders over4) Horses following-out of race5) Th

34、ree left: favorites, unknown6) Riders fell7) C. Boy won by himself8) T. Thumb alone real winnerSituation 3:We are give n n either questi ons nor tran siti onal expressi ons to join your senten ces. We have only a list of main poin ts. We should join the points together to write our pr eis. (examples

35、 omitted )(8) Analyzing the two passages with the class and try to find out the purpose of writing these two passages; what are the main ideas and what the specific descriptions; the tones of the two writers in the passages;(9) Commenting on the possible answers especially in the aspects of writing

36、purpose (whether the writing purpose is the same with that of the original );the contents in your pr cis (whether the information is important); the tone (whether the tone is the same with that in the original );the wording (whether the most economical words are used and whether it is written in you

37、r own words or just a patchwork made up of phrases and sentences quoted from the original); the grammar ( whether the ideas are expressed and organized properly and correctly.);the word limit (whether your pr cis has gone over the word limit or not ); the title ( whether you have put a title to your

38、pr eis or not and whether the title is appropriate.)(10) Summary:A pr acis is a brief statement of a speech or a piece of writing such as a report, a newspaper article, or perhaps a chapter in a book in your own words to give only the main idea of the original.We write a pr cis to state the importan

39、t or main ideas of the original which is usually much longer so that the reader can spend less time in reading.Precis writing should follow these guidelines:1) State the important ideas and omit the specifics. Record the bare bones of the original, leaving out any repetition, lists of examples detai

40、led descriptions, subordinating ideas and modifiers. Use the most economical wording possible.2) Write accurately and faithfully . Report exactly what you read in the order in which it is presented. Write as if the original author were explaining his own ideas to the reader. Do not include your pers

41、onal comments or opinions. For example, instead of saying This article is about ” you simply state the idea of the article.3) Keep the same proportion of part to part. If the original devoted 70 percent of its space to one idea and only 30 to another, your pr cis should reflect that emphasis.4) Main

42、tain the same tone of the original. If you pr cis a humorous article, you should use an informal tone to indicate that the article was humorous. Similarly, if you pr cis a serious article, use a factual, objective tone to reflect that substance of the original work.5) Write clear, continuous sentenc

43、es in your own words. Your pr cis must not be a patchwork made up of phrases and sentences quoted from the original. It should be a connected whole in your own words.6) Observe the word limit give n in the in struct ion. Often the required pr cis is abouteone third or one fourth in the length of the

44、 original. Do not go above the wordlimit, but do include enough information to convey the main ideas.7) Always remember to give your pr cis an appropriate title.Pr ecis writing processes:1) Read the passage carefully two or three times.2) Write a full answer to each question. When several questions

45、are given together, join up your answers with the conjunctions or phrases given in brackets. Each answer you write must be a complete sentence.3) Your answers to the questions must follow each other so that all your sentences will form a complete paragraph.4) Read through your work and correct your

46、mistakes.5) Count the number of words in your paragraph. Do not go over the word limit. At the end of your paragraph, write the number of words used.6) Give your paragraph a title.How to self-evaluate your pr cis: eComparing your pr eis with the original especially in the aspects of writing purpose

47、(whether the writing purpose is the same with that of the original ); the contents in your pr cis (whether the information is important); the tone (whether the tone is the same with that in the orig in al ); the wordi ng (whether the most econo mical words are used and whether it is written in your

48、own words or just a patchwork made up of phrases and sentences quoted from the original); the grammar( whether the ideas are expressed and orga ni zed properly and correctly.); the word limit (whether your pr cis has gone over the word limit or not); the title ( whether you have put a title to your

49、pr cis or not and whether the title is appropriate.)(11) Exercises:Read the follow ing passage carefully, and the n join the no tes below them to form a pr cis. Use the transitional expressions on the right to give your pr cis cohere nee.We were about to gather up our belongings and return our car when a man appeared. He looked ver