Writing the Rhetorical Precis

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Writing the Rhetorical Precis

• Jean G. Ellerhoff
• Central Academy
• Des Moines, Iowa

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The Rhetorical Precis

• The precis is a highly structured four sentence
  paragraph that records the essential elements of
  a unit of spoken or written discourse. Each of
  the four sentences requires specific information.

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The Rhetorical Precis Format

• Sentence 1
• In a single coherent sentence give the following
• Name of the author, title of the work, source and
  date (in parentheses)
• A rhetorically accurate verb such as asserts,
  argues, refutes, proves, or explains.
• A that clause containing the major claim (thesis
  statement) of the work.
• THE WHAT

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The Rhetorical Precis Format

• Sentence 2
• In a single coherent sentence give an explanation
  of how the writer develops and supports the major
  claim (thesis statement).
• THE HOW

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The Rhetorical Precis Format

• Sentence 3
• In a single coherent sentence give a statement of
  the authors purpose, followed by an in order
  to phrase.
• THE WHY

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The Rhetorical Precis Format

• Sentence 4
• In a single coherent sentence give a description
  of the intended audience and/or the relationship
  the author establishes with the audience.
• TO OR FOR WHOM

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Sources

• http//www.teachand learn.org/rhetorical_precis.ht
  m
• http//oregonstate.edu/instruct/ph1201/modules/rhe
  torical-precis/sample/peirce_sample_precis

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Student Sample Rhetorical Precis

• Sentence 1
• bell hooks, in her essay, Women Who Write Too
  Much, from Remembered Rapture (1999), suggests
  that all dissident writers, particularly black
  female writers, face enormous time pressures, for
  if they are not prodigious, they are never
  noticed by mainstream publishers.

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Sentence 2 Student Sample Precis

• She supports her position first by describing her
  early writing experiences that taught her not to
  be afraid of the writing process second by
  explaining her motives for writing, including
  political activism and lastly by affirming her
  argument, stressing that people must
  strategically schedule their writing and make
  much of that time.

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Student Sample Sentence 3

• Her two-pronged purpose is to respond to critics
  and to encourage minority writers to develop
  their own voice.

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Student Sample Sentence 4

• Although at times her writing seems almost
  didactic, hooks ultimately establishes a
  companionable relationship with her audience of
  both critics and women who seek to improve the
  effectiveness of their own writing.