The Central Superior Services (CSS) exams in Pakistan are known for their challenging nature, particularly the English Precis and Composition paper. Scoring well in this section is crucial for candidates aiming to secure top bureaucratic positions. This paper assesses not just English language proficiency but also analytical skills, comprehension, and the ability to present complex ideas concisely. Here’s a guide on how to effectively tackle the Precis and Composition section.
Understanding Precis Writing
A precis is a concise summary of a passage that preserves the original ideas while presenting them in a more condensed form. The art of precis writing involves extracting the essence of the text, identifying key points, and restructuring them in a clear and straightforward manner.
Key Elements of a Good Precis
- Clarity: A precis should be clear and free of ambiguities. Avoid using jargon or overly complex vocabulary. The objective is to present the main ideas as simply and accurately as possible.
- Brevity: The hallmark of a precis is its conciseness. Typically, a precis should be one-third the length of the original passage. The challenge lies in summarizing the content without omitting essential details.
- Objectivity: A precis must represent the author’s views without inserting personal opinions. It is an exercise in summarizing, not critiquing.
- Cohesion: Despite being shorter, the precis must flow logically, connecting the main ideas seamlessly.
Steps to Writing an Effective Precis
- Read Thoroughly: Read the passage multiple times to grasp the main idea. Identify the thesis statement, supporting points, and any key phrases.
- Underline Important Points: Highlight or underline crucial information. These could be facts, arguments, examples, or conclusions that the author emphasizes.
- Draft a Rough Outline: Before jumping into writing, outline the main ideas and their sequence. This will serve as a blueprint for your precis.
- Write the Precis: Using your outline, write the precis in your own words, ensuring it reflects the original passage’s tone and message. Do not copy phrases directly from the text unless quoting is absolutely necessary.
- Edit for Length and Clarity: Ensure that your precis meets the required word count and is free from errors. Refine sentences to make them more concise, and double-check that the main points are covered accurately.
Common Mistakes in Precis Writing
- Consider the following text taken from CSS 2010 Precis and Composition Paper
Of all the characteristics of ordinary human nature envy is the most unfortunate; not only does the envious person wish to inflict misfortune and do so whenever he can with impunity, but he is also himself rendered unhappy by envy. Instead of deriving pleasure from what he has, he derives pain from what others have. If he can, he deprives others of their advantages, which to him is as desirable as it would be to secure the same advantages himself. If this passion is allowed to run riot it becomes fatal to all excellence, and even to the most useful exercise of exceptional skill. Why should a medical man go to see his patients in a car when the labourer has to walk to his work? Why should the scientific investigator be allowed to spend his time in a warm room when others have to face the inclemency of the elements? Why should a man who possesses some rare talent of great importance to the world be saved from the drudgery of his own housework? To such questions envy finds no answer. Fortunately, however, there is in human nature a compensating passion, namely that of admiration. Whoever wishes to increase human happiness must wish to increase admiration and to diminish envy.
What cure is there for envy? For the saint there is the cure of selflessness, though even in the case of saints envy of other saints is by no means impossible. But, leaving saints out of account, the only cure for envy in the case of ordinary men and women is happiness, and the difficulty is that envy is itself a terrible obstacle to happiness. But the envious man may say: ‘What is the good of telling me that the cure for envy is happiness? I cannot find happiness while I continue to feel envy, and you tell me that I cannot cease to be envious until I find happiness.’ But real life is never so logical as this. Merely to realize the causes of one’s own envious feeling is to take a long step towards curing them.
Precis
In my opinion, envy is the worst human trait because it causes both misery to the envious and those around them. Envious people do not find joy in their possessions but feel sad seeing others happy. They are also unfair because they want to take away what others have, as we see in the example of why doctors get to use cars while laborers have to walk. If left unchecked, envy can destroy excellence and creativity. I think admiration is the solution to this problem. Saints can cure envy through selflessness, but for regular people, happiness is the answer. However, the envious might argue that finding happiness is hard when you are already full of envy. Still, it is important to realize the causes of one’s envy to work towards overcoming it.
Explanation of Mistakes:
Using the First Person: The use of “I” and “my” makes the precis seem more like a commentary rather than an objective summary. Precis writing should avoid first-person pronouns to maintain an unbiased tone.
Including Personal Opinions: The use of phrases like “In my opinion” and “I think” injects personal opinions into the precis, which should objectively summarize the original passage without the writer’s subjective thoughts.
Over-Summarization: The precis simplifies the content too much, missing important nuances of the original passage. For instance, it overlooks the complexity of the envy-happiness cycle discussed by the author.
Lets try one more time keeping in mind the do’s and don’ts of precis writing. Let’s firat underline the important information:
“Of all the characteristics of ordinary human nature envy is the most unfortunate; not only does the envious person wish to inflict misfortune and do so whenever he can with impunity, but he is also himself rendered unhappy by envy. Instead of deriving pleasure from what he has, he derives pain from what others have. If he can, he deprives others of their advantages, which to him is as desirable as it would be to secure the same advantages himself. If this passion is allowed to run riot, it becomes fatal to all excellence, and even to the most useful exercise of exceptional skill.
Why should a medical man go to see his patients in a car when the labourer has to walk to his work? Why should the scientific investigator be allowed to spend his time in a warm room when others have to face the inclemency of the elements? Why should a man who possesses some rare talent of great importance to the world be saved from the drudgery of his own housework? To such questions envy finds no answer.
Fortunately, however, there is in human nature a compensating passion, namely that of admiration. Whoever wishes to increase human happiness must wish to increase admiration and to diminish envy.
What cure is there for envy? For the saint, there is the cure of selflessness, though even in the case of saints, envy of other saints is by no means impossible. But, leaving saints out of account, the only cure for envy in the case of ordinary men and women is happiness, and the difficulty is that envy is itself a terrible obstacle to happiness.
But the envious man may say: ‘What is the good of telling me that the cure for envy is happiness? I cannot find happiness while I continue to feel envy, and you tell me that I cannot cease to be envious until I find happiness.’ But real life is never so logical as this. Merely to realize the causes of one’s own envious feeling is to take a long step towards curing them.”
The underlined sections highlight essential ideas, arguments, and examples that are vital for understanding the passage. Let’s re-write it.
Precis
Envy is a harmful trait that brings misery to both the envious person and those around them. An envious individual finds pain in others’ successes and often seeks to take away their advantages. This mindset stifles excellence and questions the fairness of others’ privileges. However, admiration can counter envy and enhance human happiness. For ordinary individuals, the cure for envy lies in achieving happiness, but envy itself hinders this pursuit. While the envious might feel trapped in this cycle, simply recognizing the root causes of envy is a significant step toward overcoming it.
Title: “Envy Obstructs Happiness”
Conclusion
Writing a compelling precis and an effective composition for the CSS exam demands practice, patience, and a solid grasp of concise writing principles. By emphasizing clarity, brevity, and objectivity, candidates can master precis writing while refining their composition skills through structured practice. With dedication and a strategic approach, success in the CSS Precis and Composition paper is well within reach.