English/Schwartz

Four-Sentence Rhetorical Précis

A rhetorical précis is a summary or abstract of a written work.  Learning how to write in its rigid structure will help you to develop your critical reading skills, especially of nonfiction texts.

Sentence #1 will include the following:

·         Name of the author and, if possible, a phrase describing the credentials of the author.

·         The type (e.g. essay, lecture, research paper, etc.) and title of the work

·         The date of publication of the work, if available (inserted in parentheses)

·         A rhetorically accurate verb (such as “assert,” “argue,” “suggest,” “imply,” “claim,” etc.) that describes what the author is doing in the text

·         A THAT clause in which you state the major assertion (thesis statement) of the author’s text

Sentence #2 will include the following:

·         An explanation of how the author develops and/or supports the thesis (such as by comparing and contrasting, narrating, illustrating, defining, etc.)

·         (Present your explanation in the same chronological order that the items of support are presented by the author in the text.)

Sentence #3 will include the following:

·         A statement of the author’s purpose

·         Followed by an IN ORDER TO clause in which you explain what the author wants the audience to do or feel as a result of reading the work

Sentence #4 will include the following:

·         A description of the intended audience

·         A description of the tone the author uses

Example Rhetorical Précis:

Historian Howard Zinn, in his essay “Unsung Heroes” (2000), argues that there is no need to be disillusioned by the unmasking of our public heroes because among us, both in the past and in the present, are the real heroes, those who have advanced the cause of equality and justice in our society but have not been recognized for it.  He supports this claim by questioning our choices of heroes from the historical past and offering alternatives, and then questioning our choices of present-day heroes and offering alternatives to those, and, finally, establishing that all the alternative choices were/are unsung heroes who live(d) unnoticed among us, not revered above us.  Zinn’s purpose is to persuade his audience that our idols are flawed and that we would do well to choose them from among the ordinary folks who risked their lives, their reputations, and their honor to advance the cause of social justice in our society, in order to have us re-evaluate the criteria by which we choose our heroes.  He writes in a somewhat informal tone for the readers of The Progressive magazine.

Framework for a rhetorical précis:  (If you use this, copy/complete on your own paper, without the italicized reminders.)

1.       _____________ (credentials)    _________ (author’s first and last names), in his/her ______________  (type of text) ____________________ (title of text) (____) (date), ____________(verb such as “argues”) that ________________________________________________ (thesis of the text).

2.       S/he supports this claim by first _____________________________, then ___________________, then ___________________________, and finally ______________ . (Explanation of development/support of argument; you may take more or fewer “blanks” depending on the text.)

3.       ____________’s (author’s last name) purpose is to ________________ in order to ________________________.

4.       S/he adopts a ________________ tone for ______________________________________ (intended audience).