Paraphrasing CESL- READING 60 SAMANTHA EASTER

What is paraphrasing?  Paraphrasing is when you put the writers idea into your own words  When you paraphrase, you not only change the words, you change the structure of the sentence  Good ways to paraphrase are by using synonyms and reversing the order of the sentence.

Example:  Original sentence:  “Star Trek was a TV show about people in the future exploring space and meeting aliens.”  Paraphrased sentence:  In the TV series “Star Trek”, the characters spend time with people from other planets and discovering the universe.

Bad Examples:  Original Sentence:  “NASA is working to identify new planets so that people can live on them in the future.”  Bad paraphrase: Too Similar  “NASA is looking at different planets so maybe humans may be able to have homes on them in many years.”  Bad paraphrase: Inaccurate  Humans are able to live on another planet because NASA is identifying alternative stars.

Your Turn  Original Sentence:  “The most important thing a new planet needs to have for people to live on it is drinking water.”  -

When will you use paraphrasing?  TOEFL exam  University writing  Research

Paragraph paraphrasing  1. Get into groups of 2-3  2. Read the “original paragraph”  3. Read the three paraphrased paragraphs  4. Write:  -too similar  -inaccurate  -best in the space next to the number

 1. ______________________  Space experts and climate experts wrote a paper about the future of vacations. They say that the place that people will want to visit the most are the Sun and Mars. The paper was published on a website about space which gave ideas of how vacations will be in a hundred years. The paper was called, ‘The Future of Travel 2024’. The paper wrote about the kind of places that people would like to visit and it said that people will want to travel slowly and to go to very exciting places.

 2._______________________  People who are experts in vacations and technology around the world wrote a paper about the future of travel. They say that the place that people will want to visit the most are the moon. The paper was published on a website about travel and gave ideas of how travel will be in ten years. The paper was called, ‘The Future of Travel 2024’. The paper wrote about the kind of places that people would like to visit and it said that people will want to travel very fast and to go to very exciting places.

 3.______________________  A website that compares prices for airplane tickets, motels and cars has said what vacations will be like in 10 years. It said that people will want to visit the moon. The website wrote a paper called ‘The Future of Travel 2024’. It talks about places that people will travel that you cannot even imagine, exciting and fast. People who are experts in travel and technology are the ones who wrote the report.

Activity 2:  Directions:  1. Get a sentence and an answer paper  2. Look at the color on the paper ead your sentence  3. STAND UP  4. Say (DO NOT SHOW) your sentence to a classmate with the same color and they will write a paraphrased sentence.  5. Ask (DO NOT LOOK) for the classmates sentence and write it down  6. Write a paraphrase of your classmates sentence  7. Find a new classmate with the same color paper

Activity 2  8. Sit in a group of 3-4 classmates with the same colors  9. Read your original sentences and the paraphrases  10. In the group, decide if they are too similar, inaccurate or good 

 1. There might be other life in space.  2. The sun is not a planet, it is a star.  3. Scientists think that traveling to other planets is important.  4. Space can be a cold, dark place.  5. I want to visit the moon before I die.  6. Earth is one planet, there are 7 others.  7. Mars is a planet closer to the Sun than Earth.  8. Scientists do not know if Pluto is a planet.  9. Right now, there is no water or air in space.  10. Humans need water to live.

Activity 3  1. Sit in a group with 4-5 people  2. What do you want to study?  Examples:  Business  Engineering  Medicine

 Tomorrow, a ship with aliens from another world comes to Earth!!!!  How will this change your job?  How will this change your life?  3. In your groups, discuss these questions