Page 158 - DENG101_Communication Skills-I

Unit 13: Basic Cohesive Paragraph Writing

13.9 Keywords Notes

Elaborate: Explain what is written

Precis: Concise summary of a paragraph

13.10 Self Assessment

Fill in the blanks:
1. The purpose of a précis is to .................... the original.
2. The topic sentence is the ....................sentence in a paragraph. It introduces the main idea of
the paragraph.
3. What the writer thinks about the topic of the text is .................... when writing a précis.

13.11 Review Questions

1. Elaborate the following Precis into a 3 times longer paragraph:

In his classic short horror novel The Turn of the Screw, Henry James tells a tale concerned with
a curse of evil which has permeated the lives of two beautiful children, Miles, aged ten, and
Flora, eight. James reveals how the supernatural forces of two “ghosts” of former servants,
steward Peter Quint and governess Miss Jessel, channel through the consciousness of a
new, neurotic governess who desperately tries to protect her charges. The ghosts appear to
her as real people, but are invisible to the children and the housekeeper. Her efforts with

Flora succeed only in arousing the girl’s terror; in the final scene, moreover, Miles dies in
her arms while the specter she tries to obliterate stands looking through the window.
2. Write a precis of the following:
Qualities That Make or Mar Success
A Speech by Knute Rockne

I don’t know anything about selling automobiles; I never sold one in my life; but perhaps
a few remarks that apply to a football organization might not be out of place, because it
seems to me that the same psychology that makes for success in a football organization will
make for success in any organization, particularly in a selling organization.

Now, in the fall when we make our first call for the team, for the lads to come out, about
three hundred fifty of them assemble in a large room somewhat like this one; and it is my

idea to talk to them on the correct psychology before I take them out on the field. I talk to

them on ambition, and I tell them that most of that which I read about ambition is bunk.
There is not plenty of room at the top. There is room at the top only for the few who have
the ability, the imagination, the daring, the personality, and the energy that makes them
stand out from their fellow men. But there is success for any man in his own job if he does
it as well as it can be done. As far as I am able to observe, the greatest satisfaction I can get
on this earth is to do the particular job I am doing as well as it can be done; and I think that
holds good for anyone. There may be other things that are easy, but they generally leave a
headache or a heartache the day after.

I tell the lads there are six types that I do not want. The first type that I have in mind is the
swelled head, the man who was a success a year ago, who is content to rest on his laurels,
who wants to play on his reputation. Dry rot sets in, and he ceases to make an effort. To
that kind of boy, there will come quite a shock, because the chances are someone will be
playing in his place.

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