Rhetorical Precis

The rhetorical précis is a structured four-sentence paragraph designed to help you break down a reading to its essential components.

1) Name of author, (optional – a phrase describing the author), genre and title of work, a descriptive verb such as “assert,” “argue,” “imply,” “suggest,” “claim,” etc., and a “that” clause containing the essay’s main assertion or thesis statement.

2) An explanation of the author develops and/or supports the thesis, usually in chronological order.

3) A statement of the author’s apparent purpose, followed by an “in order” phrase.

4) A description of the intended audience and/or the relationship the author establishes with the audience.

The rhetorical précis may appear in your academic paper; however, this format will also be used for the annotated bibliography. For the annotated bibliography, there will be five sentences, the fifth and last sentence should indicate how and why you intend to use this source.

Sample:

In her article “Who Cares if Johnny Can’t Read?,” Larissa MacFarquhar asserts that Americans are reading more than ever before despite claims to the contrary and that it is time to reconsider why we value reading so much, especially certain kinds of “high culture” reading. MacFarquhar supports her claims about American reading habits with facts and statistics that compare past and present reading practices, and she challenges common assumptions by raising questions about the intrinsic value of reading. Her purpose is to dispel certain myths about reading in order to raise new and more important questions about the value of reading and other media in our culture. She seems to have a young, hip, somewhat irreverent audience in mind because her tone is sarcastic, and she suggests that the ideas she opposes are old-fashioned positions.