This step-by-step guide explains how to break down any text using a rhetorical précis. It also outlines key writing steps to help you craft an effective précis—keep reading to learn more!
Teachers often ask students to break down a complex article or concept and precisely distil its essence. This can devastate students, as they don’t know how to analyse intricate studies. That is where rhetorical precis comes into play, a secret weapon for investigating complex articles.
However, using powerful rhetorical techniques is not a walk in the park for most students, as most have weak comprehension skills. According to a study by Sage Journal, 54% of students have weak comprehension skills, which makes it difficult to understand complex ideas.
To help them out, in this article, we’ll discuss how to break down a text using rhetorical techniques and the steps to write winning a precis. Before moving further, let’s get to know what the rhetorical precis is.
What is a Rhetorical Precis?
The University of Wisconsin-Madison defines the rhetorical precis as “It is a short summary consisting of the four-sentence paragraph which captures the important message that the author mentioned in the text.” Furthermore, it is a powerful tool that enables students to break down and comprehend complex ideas. In other words, it is the best way to create a condensed summary containing the main idea of the text.
Have a look at some of the advantages of this precis:
- This summary improves the ability of students to articulate concepts coherently.
- It helps to deliver the essence of a complex scholarly work.
- The best thing is that it can easily break down complex ideas for deeper understanding.
- It enables students to get a deeper understanding of the topic.
- This precis allows for establishing a deeper engagement with the subject matter.
Teachers often assign rhetorical analysis essays to students to improve their rhetorical analysis skills. However, students often find it challenging to complete this important academic task. To overcome this problem, they can hire London-based essay writing services that know how to guide students through writing a successful essay using rhetorical techniques.
Step-by-Step Guide to Break Down Any Text Using Rhetorical Precis
The rhetorical precis format is based on investigating someone else’s writing. This technique focuses on how the author presents his arguments to persuade his readers rather than what he is trying to say. A precis is like a summary, which only consists of a four-sentence paragraph, and it gives holistic insights into a complex idea by breaking down the original text.
Are you wondering how this technique could break down the text to get the article’s essence? We have got you covered. Let’s have a look at how you can break down any intricate concept using this technique.
- Understand the Basics of the Text
The first thing that you must do while breaking down any text for the rhetorical analysis is to identify the information about the author, acquire publication details, and understand the topic. To explore these elements, you must follow the below tips:
- To get to know about the author of the study, explore his/her bio in the journal. You can also search for details about him/her on Google. Figuring out the background of the writer will aid you in comprehending the context of the text.
- Now, come to the publication details. You must explore the article type, whether it is a book, a section of the local newspaper, or a scholarly journal. Also, knowing the publication details will eventually play a significant role in readers’ understanding.
- At the end, research the article topic. This will empower you to use strong rhetorical verbs to state the writer’s claim.
- Craft an Outline
In the next step, you must explore precisely how the author organised and developed the text. In simpler words, you must create a condensed rhetorical precis outline reflecting how the writer structured the document and presented the evidence to support the arguments.
To go through this stage successfully, ask the following questions by yourselves.
- What type of evidence did the author present in the text?
- What approach did the writer use to present his stance? Whether it is comparing or contrasting, defining, or illustrating.
- Does the text start with a narration or description of particular studies?
By getting answers to all these questions, you will better understand the text’s key purpose, which ultimately helps you break it down effectively.
- Find the Purpose of the Text
During this step, you have to explore the purpose of the writer behind writing the text. This will help you to understand what the author wants the audience to feel, believe, or think about the text. Further, by knowing the purpose of the text, you will articulate your rhetorical analysis in this precis.
For example, if the first sentence of the article comprises the author’s arguments, then it’s the right time to understand the reasons behind these arguments. Just keep in mind while writing this third sentence in your precis to use the phrase ‘in order to’ to indicate that you are going to state the purpose of the study.
- Identify the Audience
In the last step, you have to know the actual intended audience for whom the writer has crafted the paper. Additionally, at this stage you also should present some rationale reasons for why you are sure about the intended audience.
To identify the audience, follow the tips below:
- Look again at the publication details and think about what kind of audience will be more likely to read this text.
- Take into account the language that the author used for crafting this piece of paper. By taking into account the language, you must better know about the audience for whom this text is written.
- Identify why the writer thoughts that it is the best way to persuade his/her intended audience.
- Thus, learning about the audience will allow you to know how rhetorically effective the particular text is.
Now that you have learned how to break down a text using rhetorical analysis precis, it’s the perfect time to get to know how to write a rhetorical precis.
How to Write a Rhetorical Precis?
Generally, there are no specific rules for writing a rhetorical precis; however, some general guidelines you may follow to write a successful precis using rhetorical analysis.
Check out what these are.
- The first thing that you must do to write a precis using rhetorical analysis is to read the given content carefully by paying close attention to the author’s main arguments.
- After understanding the context, craft an outline to highlight the major elements of the text. This outline will guide you throughout your writing process and keep you on track.
- Now, come to the writing process and craft the opening sentence of the precise, comprising the details about the author, title, and background.
- It’s time to write the second sentence of the precis, which is the summary sentence containing the crux of the text.
- Then write the purpose sentence highlighting the main purpose of the text.
- In the end, close your precis with a concluding sentence stating the importance of the text.
- Once you have written the precis using the rhetorical technique, take a break and start proofreading your document to ensure the clarity of your arguments.
- After proofreading, it is essential to revise your precise several times. This revision will allow you to refine your precis with more precision.
By following these rules, you will surely write a powerful rhetorical summary. And in case, you are still confused about writing this summary, you may reach out to trustworthy essay-writing companies which are experienced enough to write a successful precis using rhetorical analysis.
Rhetorical Precis Examples
Let’s explore some rhetorical precis samples, to better understand this precis type.
The first example is by Slideplayer.
Check out the next one by SlideServe.
Conclusion
Rhetorical precis is an important technique in the dynamic academic landscape. This technique empowers students to analyse complex concepts and summarise them effectively. However, the main problem that students face while using this technique is that they don’t know how to break down the text while using rhetorical analysis.
We have shared detailed steps for breaking down the context to assist them. These steps include understanding the basic text, crafting an outline, finding the purpose of the text, and identifying the audience. Additionally, we have outlined some general writing steps that can help you write an impactful precise, which ultimately enables you to score higher grades.
Author Bio
Jonathan Stokes is a professional essay writer who knows how to weave words effectively to create a compelling narrative in essays. He aims to help students who are juggling to write successful academic documents. To guide them, Stokes wrote various writing guides comprising effective rules and tips to structure impactful educational papers.
