The précis is a short summary of the main ideas and connections between ideas of the non-textbook texts we will be reading. This can be as short as a few paragraphs, but can be longer if the material requires it. The aim is to be as organized and concise as possible in your thinking, as this helps you to understand your own relationship to reading better–seeing where you grasped something well, and perhaps places their are parts of the text that still vex you. These will also help you remember what were reading, and will give you food for thought for discussion in class.