Paragraph and precis writing
LUG-105 English and Legal Language, Unit III: Paragraph and précis writing. · LLB · 60 min
The paragraph as the unit of all legal writing: the topic sentence, unity, coherence and order, and how a 100-word examination paragraph is planned and written on the topics the papers set (Lok Adalat, human trafficking, honour killing, corruption, legal education, the role of courts). Then the precis: its rules (one-third, own words, title, third person, no comment), its method, and worked precis of the three passages the papers have set (the good character of the accused, the defect of our civilisation, liberalism). Paragraph and precis together are worth up to 14 marks in a paper.
Objectives
- Explain what a paragraph is and the four qualities of a good one (topic sentence, unity, coherence, completeness).
- Plan and write a paragraph of about 100 words on a legal or social topic within ten minutes.
- State the rules of precis writing and explain its use in legal practice.
- Make a precis of a given passage in about one-third of its length, with a suitable title, in your own words.
- Avoid the common faults: copying, commenting, first person, missing the main idea.
Slides
- What a paragraph is
- Structuring a coherent paragraph in legal writing
- The examination paragraph: planning in three minutes
- Model paragraphs I: Lok Adalat and human trafficking
- Model paragraphs II: honour killing and corruption
- What a precis is, and its rules
- The method of precis writing, step by step
- Worked precis 1: the defect of our civilisation (2019-20, Q.B6)
- Worked precis 2: liberalism and free will (2022-23, Q.3c)
- Worked precis 3: the good character of the accused (2017-18, Q.C2)
- How the examiner asks it
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