What do you mean by the art of condensation? What are the principles of the art of condensation? Explain.

The art of condensation is also known as Precis (pra-se) (summary of essential points) writing.

PRINCIPLES OF THE ART OF CONDENSATION

Here are some principles of the art of condensation.

• Be brief and precise: While writing a précis we must try to condense the matter without losing the essence or soul of the matter. Therefore, it needs to be short, brief and focused. It should not come to the length of the original piece of writing. The length a précis is one-third of the original passage. 

• Be complete: While reproducing an idea, we cannot leave out any of its important aspects. Therefore, before writing a précis we must read the passage and note the important points and try to incorporate it in the précis version. A précis should, in fact, be as complete and comprehensive as the original one. It should be expressed in a less number of words. 

• Be choosy: In order to achieve a good précis of the original, we need to avoid all the unimportant and unnecessary material present in the form of examples, illustrations, instances, quotations, citations, anecdotes, parables, and any other such material that is included in the original to elaborate the basic idea. 

• Be original: Most of the time in a précis, we may notice that there is copying from the original text. A good précis is both creative and original. While writing a précis, keep in mind not to distort or modify the author's viewpoint. Without adding any new idea to it, rewrite the précis using your own expressions. 

• Be coherent : While writing a précis, follow the order the author has chosen to arrange his/her idea. Since a précis is not the mere imitation of the original, a good précis always has a coherent structure of its own. It should not look as though some unrelated and disjointed sentences have been put together. The purpose of a précis is to help the reader gather the whole idea in a compact, complete, and coherent way. 

• Be clear: Clarity in a précis is often lost in our attempt to reduce the précis into one-third size of the original passage. Hence, our overemphasis on the need to compress the ideas expressed in the original often leads to obscurity in expression, which confuses the reader. However, since the précis has to serve as a substitute for the original, we cannot afford any type of vagueness.