PMS Punjab 2017 Solved Precis

• Efficacy (noun): The ability to produce a desired result

  • Contextual Explanation: Acknowledges that the pleasure principle is effective in driving human motivation

• At loggerheads (idiom): In strong disagreement or conflict

  • Contextual Explanation: Describes how the pursuit of happiness often clashes with reality and nature

• Macrocosm (noun): The large-scale world or universe

  • Contextual Explanation: Refers to the vast external forces of the universe that oppose the pleasure principle

• Microcosm (noun): A small or individual system, like the human mind or body

  • Contextual Explanation: Indicates that even the inner world of individuals contradicts the constant pursuit of pleasure

• Episodic (adjective): Occurring occasionally or in isolated episodes

  • Contextual Explanation: Happiness is described as a temporary, short-lived experience

• Constitution (noun): The physical or psychological makeup of a person

  • Contextual Explanation: Refers to the inherent human limitation that restricts sustained happiness

• Gratuitous (adjective): Unnecessary or uncalled for

  • Contextual Explanation: Describes how suffering from human relationships is often perceived as avoidable or extra, though it is also inevitable

The passage discusses the human pursuit of happiness and the certainty of suffering. It explains that the pleasure principle drives human life, yet true happiness is largely episodic and limited. Thus, suffering arises from the body, the external world, and human relationships, making unhappiness more easily experienced than happiness. Moreover, the author seeks to explain that human happiness is constrained by nature and circumstance, governed by the pleasure principle, and that suffering is an inevitable aspect of human life arising from internal, external, and social sources.

Main Idea of the Passage

• Human happiness is limited and episodic while suffering is inevitable due to the constraints of the human body, the external world, and human relationships.

Supporting Ideas Helping the Main Idea

• The pleasure principle dominates human mental life but conflicts with the universe's regulations.
• Happiness results from the sudden satisfaction of strong needs and is naturally episodic.
• Prolonged satisfaction of desires only produces mild contentment, limiting human happiness.
• Humans derive intense enjoyment only from contrasts, not from constant states.
• Unhappiness is easier to experience than happiness.
• Suffering comes from three sources: the body (decay and pain), the external world (destructive forces), and human relationships (often most painful).
• Social suffering is perceived as gratuitous but is as inevitable as other forms of suffering.

Confused About Main and Supporting Ideas?

Kindly make sure to revise all five lectures on Precis Writing that I have already delivered. In these sessions, we discussed in detail:

• What a precis is and its purpose.
• What the main idea means and how to extract it effectively.
• What supporting ideas are and how to identify them.
• How to coordinate the main and supporting ideas while writing a concise, coherent precis.

Additionally, go through the 20 examples I shared in the WhatsApp groups. These examples highlight the Dos and Don’ts of Precis Writing, and revising them will help you avoid common mistakes and refine your technique..

Precis 1

The pleasure principle governs human life but conflicts with universal regulations, preventing them from complete fulfillment. Undoubtedly, true happiness is episodic, arising from the sudden satisfaction of strong human needs while prolonged gratification yields only mild contentment in humans. Therefore, they enjoy contrasts more than steady states. Furthermore, unhappiness is easily experienced, arising from the body, the external world, and human relations, the latter being the most painful. Although social suffering may seem superfluous, it is as inevitable as other forms, thus making the pursuit of constant happiness naturally limited in humans.

• Original Words in the Passage: 292
• Precis Word Count: 92
• Title: The Limits of Human Happiness

Precis 2

The pleasure principle drives human purpose but often conflicts with universal rules, hindering their full fulfillment. In reality, true happiness is brief, stemming from the immediate satisfaction of intense human needs; however, lasting gratification yields only mild contentment to them. Moreover, humans inherently prefer contrasts to uniformity. Consequently, unhappiness arises from the body, the external world, and particularly human connections. While social suffering may appear unnecessary, it is unavoidable, thus naturally limiting a person’s quest for constant and complete happiness.

• Original Words in the Passage: 292
• Precis Word Count: 80
• Title: Happiness and Human Suffering

Precis 3

Human life follows the pleasure principle but is limited by universal laws, making complete happiness impossible. Indeed, happiness occurs occasionally with sudden satisfaction, yet prolonged fulfillment gives only mild pleasure. Moreover, humans naturally enjoy contrasts. Therefore, human unhappiness stems from his inner self, the external world, and human relationships, the latter being most painful. Thus, though social suffering may seem unnecessary, it remains inevitable for humans.

• Original Words in the Passage: 292
• Precis Word Count: 66
• Title: Human Happiness and Inevitable Pain