Paraphrasing Text

When paraphrasing, a synonym must be found for each word in the original document.

• True

• False

It is okay to include your own original ideas when paraphrasing information from another source.

• True

• False

When paraphrasing, you should not change the sentence structure of the original information.

• True

• False

To help yourself paraphrase a text, identify the main idea of the passage.

Read this passage:

Thanks to the efforts of volunteers, people in Sauri, Kenya, have much better lives today than in years past. Their hospital now has a generator and running water, and it provides free medications for diseases that are widespread in the community. Cases of malaria have declined as people have been given mosquito nets for beds.

What is the main idea?

• Their hospital now has a generator and running water.

• It provides free medications for diseases.

• People in Sauri have much better lives than in years past.

• Cases of malaria have declined.

A friend tells you, "I am absolutely livid. Jamie shared confidential information with Caroline!"

You respond, "So, you're saying that you're angry that Jamie told Caroline your secret?"

When you retell information in your own words, you are __________________.

• Summarizing

• Paraphrasing

• Quoting

Paraphrasing, or restating ideas in your own words, helps you check your understanding of what you hear and read.

Read the passage below and decide which sentence best restates the ideas presented:

"Although television was not widely used in American homes until the 1950s, small, experimental television images were broadcast in the 1920s."

• Television was not widely used in American homes until the 1950s.

• Television became popular in the 1950s, but the first televisions were used thirty years earlier.

• Television became popular in the 1920s, and again in the 1950s.

Is the passage below an accurate paraphrase that helps clarify the meaning of the original text? Select Yes or No.

Original Text:

Toward the end of the 1800s, the Industrial Revolution caused a change in many people's employment. When agricultural work in rural areas became harder to find, many left to seek industrial work in urban areas.

Paraphrase:

The Industrial Revolution in the late 1800s changed what jobs were available. People left farms in the country to work in factories in the cities.

• Yes

• No

A paraphrase is more than a summary of a text's main ideas—it restates each key idea in about the same number of words. Is this passage an accurate paraphrase that helps clarify the meaning of the original text? Select Yes or No.

Original Text:

During the Industrial Revolution, working-class families took for granted that their children would need to be employed to help support the family.

Paraphrase:

At the time of the Industrial Revolution, some children wanted to work in factories.

• Yes

• No

Read the passage below and choose the best paraphrase:

Thanks to the efforts of volunteers, people in Sauri, Kenya, have much better lives today than in years past. Their hospital now has a generator and running water, and it provides free medications for diseases that are widespread in the community. Cases of malaria have declined as people have been given mosquito nets for beds.

• Their hospital now has a generator and running water, and it provides free medications for diseases that are widespread in the community.

• Cases of malaria have declined as people have been given mosquito nets for beds.

• Thanks to the efforts of volunteers, people in Sauri, Kenya, have much better lives today than in years past. Their hospital now has a generator and running water, and it provides free medications for diseases that are widespread in the community.

• Life in Sauri has recently improved.The hospital offers electricity and plumbing, and Free medicine and mosquito nets help prevent common diseases and malaria.

Which of the following require a parenthetical citation and an entry on the Works Cited page?

• Summary

• Paraphrase

• Quote

• All: Summary, Paraphrase, Quote