Vocabulary Box
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vicious circle
vested interests
rent seeking
to establish a solid rule of law
to impose discipline of law
incentives to go underground
uneven rule of law
to freeze the transformation
virtuous circle
to spread the benefits of reform
to engender confidence
to provide an adequate social safety net
market-friendly environment
stark contrast
market-friendly environment
to foster competition
to encourage savings
to allow open entry to the market
to provide for full liberalization
Important Steps for Précis Writing
Read the text; as you read, note the topic dealt with in each paragraph, underline the topic sentence, key words, and important facts as you go along.
Analyse how the facts are connected, how the topic of a paragraph is connected with that of a preceding paragraph.
Make a list of all the points you are going to mention in your précis. Write them down using the necessary key terms. These notes must contain all the essential facts. You must add no information of your own or your personal judgement.
When writing your précis, put aside the original text and work from your notes, putting information into complete sentences in your own words. You, certainly, cannot avoid using key terms and word-combinations.
Rules for Writing an Abstract
Keep the abstract short. A 200-word limit is recommended.
Write it as one paragraph.
Do not use abbreviations.
Do not include citations or references unless they are essential.
Briefly describe the subjects, the structure of the study, the methods, approaches and procedures.
Summarize the main results, indicating whether they are significant.
Stick mainly to Simple Present tense form.
Do not present detailed discussion or explanation.
Never write it in the first person.
To acquire skills of writing a good précis or abstract one should focus on three main characteristic features of this genre: specific composition, grammar structures and clichés. Thorough analysis of various précis and abstracts in SUPPLEMENT I will give you a clear picture of tradition and techniques in précis and abstract writing.
Task 7. Précis / Abstract Writing
C O M P O S I T I O N F O C U S
1 Analyse the composition of the abstracts (Patterns 1, 2, 3, 4) according to the following basic elements:
the subject matter of the work
the basic aspects of the work under analysis
addressee and / or evaluation of the work
L A N G U A G E F O C U S
2 Analyse the language of the abstracts (Patterns 1, 2, 3, 4) in terms of the following parameters:
the use of tenses and voice forms in the abstracts
participial constructions and the function they perform
types of sentences (simple, compound or complex with maximum two subordinate clauses)
clichés specific for this genre
C L I C H E S i n A B S T R A C T S a n d P R É C I S