Download Rhetorical Precis A précis is a concise summary of a work. When the

Rhetorical Precis
A précis is a concise summary of
a work. When the work is
rhetoric, the precis is called a
rhetorical precis.
It comprises four coherent
sentences following this format:
1. In a single, coherent sentence
give the following:
-name of the author, title of
the work, genre, date in
parentheses and…
1. (contd.) -a rhetorically
accurate transitive verb (such as
"assert," "argue," "deny,"
"refute,"
"prove,"
disprove," "explain," etc.) and
1st (contd.) …and a that clause
containing the central claim
(thesis statement) of the
work.
In the essay “Get A Knife, Get a
Dog, But Get Ride of Guns”
(1993) Molly Ivins argues that
guns pose a serious threat to
Americans and should be banned.
2nd sentence: summarizse the
strategies the author employs to
develop the central claim,
followed by the phrase “in order
to” which…
2nd (contd.) which introduces a
very brief summary of the effect
the author seems to be trying to
create in the hearts and minds of
the audience.
2. Ivins develops her thesis by
using examples, an analogy and a
counterargument regarding the
Second Amendment in order to
persuade her audience to feel
concern about gun violence in
America.
3rd sentence: gives a statement of
the author's purpose
3. Her purpose is to ridicule the
notion that the Second
Amendment gives ordinary
citizens the right to bear arms and
use them against each other.
4th sentence gives a description of
the intended audience and/or the
relationship the author establishes
with the audience.
4. Her audience seems to be people
who do not own guns and are
concerned about gun violence.