Common Precis Mistakes and How to Choose a Good Title
A good precis loses marks not by missing the central idea, but by small, fixable habits. Below are the most common mistakes CSS examiners flag in answer scripts.
Mistake 1: Reproducing the author's words
Copying phrases verbatim is the single biggest mark-killer. Examiners scan for stretches of identical wording and deduct accordingly.
Original: "The book demands of us sustained, silent attention." Weak precis: "Reading demands sustained, silent attention from us." (Almost verbatim.) Strong precis: "Books require us to focus quietly and at length."
The information is preserved, but the diction is yours.
Mistake 2: Including your own opinion
A precis is not an essay. Phrases like "I agree with the author that…" or "This is a wonderful argument…" violate the genre. Stick to the author's claims, neutrally restated.
Mistake 3: Wrong length
If the target is one-third, missing by 10% is fine. Missing by 30% is not.
- A 600-word passage → 200-word precis. A 250-word answer is too long; a 120-word answer is too short.
- Count carefully and write the word count at the end: (Words: 198).
- A precis that is 20% over the target loses marks for verbosity.
- A precis that is 30% under has almost certainly dropped a main idea.
- Use the margin of the rough sheet to write the original word count, the target, and your draft count.
Mistake 4: Bullet points or fragments
Even if the original passage was in bullets, your precis must be a flowing prose paragraph. Use connectives — however, therefore, moreover, although, in contrast — to glue ideas together.
Weak (fragmented): Reading rewards us. People prefer screens. Cost is high. Society loses wisdom. Strong: Although reading rewards us deeply, people increasingly prefer screens, at a high cost to society's inherited wisdom.
Mistake 5: Distorting the author's emphasis
If the author devoted three sentences to the cost and one to the cause, your precis should reflect that ratio — roughly three times as much space on cost as on cause. Don't promote a minor remark to centre stage just because you liked it.
Mistake 6: Using first person
Even if the passage is written in the first person ("I have often wondered…"), your precis must be in the third person and reported tense: "The author has often wondered…" — though typically you skip "the author" and just state the claim.
Mistake 7: Missing or weak title
The title is graded separately. A weak title throws away easy marks.
Choosing a strong title
A precis title should be:
- Short — ideally 3 to 8 words.
- A noun phrase, not a sentence. ("The Cost of Distraction", not "Distraction is costly.")
- Accurate — it must point to the central idea, not a sub-theme.
- Specific — "Reading" is too vague; "The Decline of Reading in the Digital Age" is sharp.
A title captures the spirit of the passage and stands above your precis. A heading, by contrast, labels a section of a longer document. CSS precis questions always ask for a title.
Worked examples — titling
| Passage central idea | Weak title | Strong title |
|---|---|---|
| Climate change threatens coastal cities | "Climate Change" | "Climate Change and the Coastal City" |
| Importance of female education | "Education" | "Why Educating Women Transforms Societies" |
| Dangers of social media | "Social Media" | "The Hidden Costs of Social Media" |
| Reading vs digital distraction | "Books" | "What a Society Loses When It Stops Reading" |
Final checklist before you submit
- Word count within ±10% of target.
- Coherent paragraph, not fragments.
- Your own diction throughout.
- Third person, reported style.
- Title written above, short and specific.
- No personal opinion.
- Sequence of ideas matches the original.