Precis Writing is one of those sections of RBI Grade B Descriptive English where many aspirants know the basic definition but still struggle when they actually sit down to write.

They read the passage, understand most of it, and then face several questions:

Which ideas should I retain?
What should I remove?
How do I shorten the passage without changing its meaning?
Can I use words from the original passage?
How should I write the title?

That is why Precis Writing should not be treated merely as a test of shortening a passage.

It is a test of:

Comprehension -> Selection -> Compression -> Reconstruction

For RBI Grade B 2027 aspirants, developing this skill systematically can make Precis Writing far more manageable.

Important: The exact RBI Grade B 2027 examination pattern and instructions should be followed as given in the official notification/information handout when released. Preparation should remain flexible enough to accommodate any change in pattern, marks or word-limit instructions.

What Is Precis Writing?

A precis is a concise and coherent reconstruction of a longer passage containing its essential meaning.

You are not expected to reproduce every example, explanation or illustration.

Instead, you must identify the author’s central message and preserve the important supporting ideas in a much shorter form.

A good precis should be:

Concise

Complete in central meaning

Coherent

Written largely in your own words

Objective

Grammatically correct

Think of it this way:

If someone reads only your precis without reading the original passage, they should still understand the passage’s essential argument.

Why Precis Writing Is Challenging

The difficulty is not simply writing fewer words.

The real difficulty is deciding what deserves to survive the compression.

Suppose a passage contains:

one central argument;
four major supporting ideas;
three examples;
two quotations;
statistics;
explanations; and
repetition.

You cannot carry everything into the precis.

You must separate:

Essential Ideas from Supporting Details.

This ability comes through practice rather than memorising a template.

Rule 1: Understand the Passage Before You Start Writing

Never begin writing the precis immediately after reading the first few lines.

Read the complete passage first.

Ask:

What is the passage fundamentally about?

Then identify:

What is the author’s central argument?

On the second reading, identify the major ideas supporting that argument.

For example, if a passage discusses an ageing population, the core structure might be:

Declining Fertility + Rising Longevity -> Ageing Population -> Economic and Social Consequences -> Need for Policy Adaptation

Once this chain becomes clear, compression becomes much easier.

Rule 2: Identify the Central Idea

Every good precis begins with correct identification of the central idea.

A passage may discuss ten different things but still have only one central message.

For example, a passage may mention:

climate change, deforestation, rainfall, biodiversity, indigenous communities and government policy.

These are not necessarily six separate topics.

They may all support one broader idea:

The degradation of a major ecosystem creates environmental and human consequences that require coordinated protection.

Before writing, try to express the passage’s central message in one sentence.

If you cannot do that, you probably need to understand the passage better.

Rule 3: Separate Major Ideas from Examples

This is one of the most important Precis Writing skills.

Consider:

Digital technology has transformed financial services by reducing transaction costs. UPI, mobile banking applications and digital wallets illustrate this transformation.

The essential idea is:

Digital technology has reduced transaction barriers in financial services.

UPI, mobile apps and wallets are examples supporting that point.

Depending on the required compression, you may not need all of them.

Whenever you read a passage, classify information mentally into:

Must Keep | Useful if Space Allows | Can Remove

This makes selection far easier.

Rule 4: Remove Repetition

Long passages often explain the same idea in different ways.

Suppose a passage says:

“Automation can replace routine jobs.”

Later:

“Workers performing repetitive tasks are particularly vulnerable to technological substitution.”

These may largely represent the same core idea.

Your precis should not preserve repetition simply because the original passage contains it.

Combine overlapping ideas into one clear sentence.

That is genuine compression.

Rule 5: Remove Unnecessary Illustrations and Details

A precis generally does not require every:

Suppose the original passage provides three examples showing how climate change affects agriculture.

Your precis may simply state:

Climate change threatens agricultural productivity and rural livelihoods.

You have preserved the meaning while removing unnecessary detail.

But be careful.

Do not remove an example if it is essential to understanding the author’s main argument.

Rule 6: Write in Your Own Words

Precis Writing is not a copy-paste exercise.

Simply lifting sentences from the passage and deleting a few words does not demonstrate real comprehension.

After identifying the meaning, reconstruct it naturally.

For example:

Original idea:
“Rapid technological advancement has fundamentally altered the nature of employment across several industries.”

Possible precis version:

“Technological change is reshaping employment across industries.”

The meaning remains, but the expression is compressed.

However, technical terms need not be replaced unnecessarily. Words such as inflation, monetary policy, artificial intelligence, financial inclusion or biodiversity may be the most accurate terms available.

Rule 7: Preserve the Original Meaning

Paraphrasing does not mean changing the author’s argument.

Suppose the passage says:

AI may create new employment opportunities while displacing certain routine jobs.

Writing:

“AI will cause mass unemployment.”

would distort the original meaning.

A precis must remain faithful to the source passage.

Do not add your own:

Opinion | Criticism | Recommendation | Assumption

Your job is to reconstruct the author’s message, not debate with the author.

Rule 8: Maintain Logical Flow

A precis should not look like disconnected notes.

Weak version:

“Technology is growing. Jobs may disappear. Skills are important. Governments have responsibilities. Productivity increases.”

These points may all come from the passage, but there is no flow.

A better reconstruction might be:

Technological advancement can improve productivity while disrupting routine employment. This transition increases the importance of reskilling workers and requires institutions to prepare the labour force for emerging forms of employment.

Now the ideas are connected.

Use transitions naturally:

But do not overuse them.

Rule 9: Respect the Prescribed Word Limit

Word-limit discipline is crucial.

If a passage has to be reduced to a specified length, your ability to prioritise ideas becomes part of the task.

Do not first write an extremely long precis and then randomly delete words.

Instead:

Understand -> Select -> Organise -> Draft -> Compress -> Review

If your draft is too long, remove:

repeated ideas;
secondary examples;
unnecessary modifiers;
verbose expressions; and
minor details.

Do not remove essential logic merely to save words.

Always follow the word-limit instruction given in the actual examination.

Rule 10: Write a Suitable Title

A good title should capture the central theme, not one minor detail.

Suppose a passage discusses how changing demographics affect pensions, healthcare, labour markets and economic growth.

Weak title:

“Healthcare for Old People”

Better title:

“Economic and Social Challenges of an Ageing Population”

A useful title is:

Short + Relevant + Representative

You can decide the title after completing the precis because, by then, the central idea is usually clearer.

A Step-by-Step RBI Grade B Precis Strategy

Use this process during practice:

Step 1: Read for Overall Meaning

Do not worry about individual sentences yet.

Understand the passage.

Step 2: Read Again for Core Ideas

Identify the central argument and major supporting points.

Step 3: Create a Rough Skeleton

Write 4-6 essential ideas in short form.

For example:

Problem -> Causes -> Consequences -> Challenges -> Response

Step 4: Remove Secondary Material

Eliminate examples, repetition and unnecessary explanation.

Step 5: Reconstruct in Your Own Words

Convert the skeleton into connected paragraphs or a coherent passage.

Step 6: Check the Word Limit

Compress intelligently if required.

Step 7: Add the Title

Choose a title reflecting the overall message.

Step 8: Review

Check:

Common Mistakes in RBI Grade B Precis Writing

Avoid these recurring errors:

copying entire sentences from the passage;
writing a summary of only the first half;
including too many examples;
missing a major argument;
adding personal opinions;
changing the author’s position;
using unnecessarily difficult vocabulary;
writing disconnected points;
exceeding the prescribed word limit;
giving a title based on a minor detail; and
spending too much time trying to make every sentence “perfect.”

A precis does not need decorative English.

It needs accurate compression.

How to Practise Precis Writing for RBI Grade B 2027

Do not begin by attempting one full precis after another without analysing your mistakes.

A better progression is:

Stage 1: Central Idea Identification

Read passages and write only their central idea in one sentence.

Stage 2: Core Idea Extraction

Reduce each paragraph to one essential point.

Stage 3: Compression Practice

Take long sentences and rewrite them in fewer words without changing meaning.

Stage 4: Full Precis Writing

Combine the extracted ideas into a coherent precis.

Stage 5: Timed Practice

Once the technique becomes comfortable, practise under realistic time constraints.

Stage 6: Evaluation and Rewrite

Identify what you omitted unnecessarily, what you retained unnecessarily and where your language became inaccurate.

Then rewrite.

Do Not Judge Your Precis Only by Word Count

A precis can meet the exact word limit and still be weak.

For example, you may write 140 words perfectly when 140 words are required, but if you have omitted the author’s main argument, the compression has failed.

Evaluate your attempt on:

Central Idea Identification

Selection of Key Points

Compression

Logical Flow

Own-Words Expression

Grammar and Sentence Formation

Faithfulness to Original Meaning

Word-Limit Discipline

Title

This gives you a much more meaningful picture of your performance.

The Bank Whizz Approach to Precis Improvement

At Bank Whizz, Precis Writing should follow a correction-based learning cycle:

Diagnostic Attempt -> Evaluation -> Diagnosis -> Correction -> Rewrite -> Improvement

Suppose your first attempt reveals that you understand the passage well but retain too many examples.

Your next task should focus on selection and compression.

If you identify the right points but your sentences are grammatically weak, the priority becomes reconstruction and language control.

If you write beautifully but omit important ideas, the problem is comprehension and selection.

Different weaknesses require different corrections.

That is why simply attempting more mocks is not always the answer.

Final Takeaway

RBI Grade B Precis Writing becomes much easier once you stop treating it as an exercise in “making a passage shorter.”

The real process is:

Understand -> Identify -> Select -> Compress -> Reconstruct -> Review

Read for meaning before writing.

Preserve the central argument.

Remove repetition and secondary details.

Use your own words without distorting the author’s message.

Maintain logical flow.

Respect the prescribed word limit.

And choose a title that represents the passage as a whole.

Most importantly, do not measure preparation merely by the number of precis attempts completed.

Measure it by whether the weaknesses identified in your previous attempt are disappearing.

For RBI Grade B 2027 preparation, you can begin with the Bank Whizz RBI Grade B 2027 Precis Diagnostic Mock and attempt it independently—without ChatGPT, Google, Grammarly, model answers or external notes.

Your first attempt does not need to be perfect.

It needs to reveal your actual level.

From there, follow:

Attempt -> Evaluate -> Correct -> Rewrite -> Improve

That is how Precis Writing gradually changes from an uncertain exercise into a controllable examination skill.

Bank Whizz | RBI Grade B 2027 Descriptive English Mentorship