When students begin their CSS, PMS, PCS, or UPSC journeys, the first thing they ask is, “Which book should I use to practice precis writing?” And without hesitation, the answer from every senior, mentor, and teacher is the same: “Start with Precis Writing by R. Dhillon” as it is hailed as the best book to practice Precis Writing.
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Certainly, there’s a reason this book has become a classic among English learners and competitive exam aspirants: for decades, it has helped thousands of students build the foundation they need to get to grips with one of the most feared yet rewarding parts of English writing, the art of precis.
However, as a teacher who has guided hundreds of students through this journey, I can say one thing with confidence: Dhillon’s book, although a good starting point, is not the final destination. Undoubtedly, it lays the groundwork beautifully, but to truly grasp the core of precis writing at the CSS, PMS, or UPSC level, you need a more refined direction, updated examples, and a deeper understanding of how examiners think. And that’s where modern resources like PrecisWritingLet come in.
The Reason Why R. Dhillon’s Book Became a Classic
Let’s start by understanding why Precis Writing by R. Dhillon has stood the test of time. The book isn’t ostentatious; instead, it is simple, structured, and extremely practice-oriented. It offers what every learner truly needs, i.e., a wide variety of passages and the chance to practice freely.
It includes
- Dozens of passages of varying lengths and difficulty levels
- A blend of solved and unsolved exercises that encourage both learning and self-assessment
- Helpful tips and vocabulary aids that explain the basics of compression, tone, and structure
For a beginner, that’s indeed a complete world of practice. Thus, whether you’re a university student or a competitive exam aspirant, this book helps you train your mind to read, understand, and reframe ideas concisely.
And because its passages cover social issues, philosophical arguments, educational insights, and reflective essays, it helps students get comfortable with the type of language and reasoning they’ll encounter in exams.
Precisely, this is the reason that even today, I advise aspirants who want to learn precis writing with self-study to start their practice with Dhillon.
The Challenge of Outdated Model Solutions
While the book is excellent for learning, it was written in an era when exam expectations were simpler and English writing standards were less demanding. The solved examples, though correct in structure, don’t match today’s CSS, PMS, or UPSC precision level.
Conversely, in modern competitive exams, a precis isn’t judged just on length; rather, it’s marked for coherence, tone, clarity, and linguistic maturity. Likewise, a good precis, instead of sounding like a summary, reads like a polished paragraph that captures the very essence of the passage while maintaining logical flow and professional expression.
Unfortunately, many of Dhillon’s solved passages miss that finesse. They do serve as helpful illustrations of what a precis looks like, but not of how to score in a real paper.
And this is the reason why, when I guide my students, I always suggest that they use Dhillon’s passages, not his solutions, for practice.
How PrecisWritingLet Complements Dhillon’s Book
To bridge the gap between practice and performance, I created PrecisWritingLet, a comprehensive digital learning platform where aspirants can find everything they need to excel in precis writing, with a particular focus on competitive examination requirements.
Here’s how it builds on the strengths of Dhillon’s book and goes beyond to meet the modern standards of competitive exams.
R Dhillon Solved Precis Category
I revisited the original passages from Dhillon’s book and rewrote the solutions at multiple difficulty levels, catering to beginner, intermediate, and advanced level students and aspirants. Each passage comes with detailed vocabulary explanations, main ideas, supporting details, and professionally structured precis examples.
CSS Solved Precis Category
This category includes real past paper precis from the FPSC CSS exams, solved to meet the latest marking criteria. Each one is analyzed for title accuracy, logical structure, and language balance.
PMS Solved Precis and PCS Solved Precis Categories
Tailored for provincial exams like PPSC, SPSC, and BPSC, these solutions follow the word limits and tone expected in those papers. At the same time, they help you adapt your writing for exam-specific standards while maintaining quality and precision.
For Indian aspirants preparing for the IAS under the UPSC syllabus, this section features authentic UPSC past paper passages solved according to current exam language and clarity standards.
Vocabulary Resources
A strong precis depends on a strong vocabulary. Thus, on PrecisWritingLet, I have ensured that every passage includes an expanded vocabulary bank with contextual meanings, drawing references from trusted sources like Cambridge Dictionary and Collins Dictionary.
Guidance Articles
Among other helpful resources, the website also features Precis Resources and Blogs, libraries of guidance material covering topics like common mistakes in precis writing, how to identify the main idea, and how to preserve tone and sequence. These are the same principles I teach in my live classes and lectures in the Extensive English Essay and Precis Course, and these are the very methods that have trained some of Pakistan’s top CSS qualifiers.
Why This Is an Ideal Combination
The reason I recommend using both Dhillon’s book and PrecisWritingLet together is simple: they complement each other. Where Dhillon provides you with material to practice precis writing, PrecisWritingLet takes it a step further and offers direction and additional resources to help you perfect your skill with as much guided practice as an aspirant needs.
Thus, by combining traditional book-based learning with modern digital guidance, you train yourself for both comprehension and expression, two skills CSS and PMS examiners reward most.
I have observed that students who use both resources appropriately usually notice improvement in three key areas.
- Speed: They grasp the main idea faster.
- Clarity: Their writing becomes cleaner and more coherent.
- Confidence: They stop guessing and start writing with structure.
And such students outperform others in exams like CSS, PMS, and IAS English papers.
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Final Words of Advice
In short, if you’re beginning your journey, don’t get overwhelmed by all the resources around you. Instead, work smart; start small; practice regularly; and learn with direction. First, use “Precis Writing by R. Dhillon” to train your understanding and then refine that practice with PrecisWritingLet, where every passage, explanation, and vocabulary set is prepared to help you meet today’s CSS, PMS, PCS, and IAS standards.
On the other hand, if you are my student, revise all lectures I have delivered on Precis Writing and start your practice with PrecisWritingLet as your guide, beginning with the easy practice passages and eventually advancing to more complex and lengthy ones.
Where Can I Find Free CSS English Essay and CSS English Precis and Composition Papers Solutions
You may visit the CSSPrepForum CSS Solved Precis category if you are looking for complete CSS English Precis and Composition past paper solutions, and the CSS Essays category on Howtests for solved CSS English Essays. Both websites are run under the guidance and mentorship of the esteemed Sir Syed Kazim Ali and also contain solved past paper resources by Sir himself.
