Precis Writing, Comprehension & Counter-Argument Craft — Practice

Question 1

What is the target length for a precis, relative to the original passage?

Accepted Answer

Roughly one-third of the original passage's length.

Question 2

Should a precis be written as a paragraph or a bulleted list?

Accepted Answer

A single continuous paragraph of prose — never a bulleted list.

Question 3

Correct this sentence: 'She has completed the report yesterday.'

Accepted Answer

'She completed the report yesterday.' — a specific past-time marker like 'yesterday' requires simple past tense, not present perfect.

Question 4

A passage argues traffic worsened after a new metro line due to induced demand. An answer option states 'the metro failed due to low ridership.' Why is this option wrong, even though low ridership is a common real-world explanation for transit problems?

Accepted Answer

Because the passage specifically attributes the congestion to induced demand, not low ridership — comprehension questions test what the given passage states, not general knowledge about the topic.

Question 5

Correct this sentence: 'Neither the commander nor his officers was aware of the change.'

Accepted Answer

'Neither the commander nor his officers WERE aware of the change.' — with neither/nor, the verb agrees with the noun closer to it (the plural 'officers').

Question 6

A candidate's precis reproduces several sentences from the original passage almost verbatim. What is the risk, and what should they do instead?

Accepted Answer

Examiners read this as copying rather than genuine comprehension. The candidate should state the passage's core claim in their own words first, then build the precis from that restatement rather than lightly editing the original sentences.

Question 7

Original position: 'Remote work should be the default for all knowledge-work roles since it improves work-life balance.' Construct a counter-argument using the four-step method.

Accepted Answer

Assumption: employee autonomy over location is what best serves work-life balance. Where it breaks: roles depending on close collaboration or mentorship, especially for junior employees, suffer under a blanket remote default. Alternative case: role-dependent hybrid arrangements protect collaboration-heavy roles while preserving autonomy elsewhere. Overlap acknowledged: autonomy genuinely helps balance for many roles, but the blanket 'default for all' claim overreaches past that genuine case.

Question 8

A ~180-word passage argues that a firm's declining customer satisfaction stems from long call-centre wait times rather than product quality, since satisfaction surveys show product ratings unchanged while wait-time complaints tripled. Write a ~60-word precis.

Accepted Answer

"The passage attributes a firm's declining customer satisfaction to long call-centre wait times rather than product quality. Satisfaction surveys show product ratings have remained unchanged, while complaints specifically about wait times have tripled, indicating that service responsiveness, not the product itself, is driving the decline and should be the focus of any corrective action." (~55-60 words, one paragraph, no added opinion.)

Practice — Precis Writing, Comprehension & Counter-Argument Craft

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