Precis writing solved exercise with Title “The Effect of Books” for Class 10, 12 and Competitive Examination.

Precis exercise on “The Effect of Books”

The effect of books is twofold; they preserve knowledge in time and spread it in space. Suppose for example, that you think of an important idea or a beautiful poem. Unless you can write it down, your idea or poem will probably die when you do. Even if you do write it down, it perishes as soon as the mice cat the paper, which they often do and do quickly. But one printing had been discovered, it did not matter how soon you died or how many copies of what you had written were eaten by mice, for, so long as one copy remained the idea or the poem could be made to last for just as long as people chose to go on printing. And so it could live long after you had died. Not only could it live in time it could spread through space, for by making enough copies of it you could bring it to the notice of hundreds and thousands of people, until today you can send it all over the world.

Books are the chief carriers of civilization, because of them ideas live and spread. How important books are, you can judge from the fact that very hot countries, as is well-known, have little civilization. There are many reasons for this, but one of the most important is that the white ants who live in the tropics, cat up all the books. For example, in tropical South America, there are practically no books more than forty or fifty years old. Where there are no books, there are no records and no literature, the ideas and knowledge of one generation are not handed on to the next and it is much more difficult for the race to progress and become civilized.

Words in the original passage = 298

Solved Precis:

Title: The Effect of Books

Books preserve knowledge and spread it far and wide. Writing gives life to ideas and printing makes them permanent. Printed books spread ideas in all parts of the world. They are the carriers of civilization. Hot countries have little civilization because books are soon destroyed by white ants there. In South America, books last only for half a century. Without books, people lag behind in progress and civilization. In the absence of books, the knowledge of one generation cannot be passed on to the next and progress thus becomes impossible.

Words in the precis = 99