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Summarizing
Paraphrasing
is the act or process
of restating or rewording something. Why is it
done? For two reasons: clarity and simplification.
Restating an idea in different words can make it
more easily understood.
Sometimes when you read, you will notice that
an author states an idea then paraphrases it in
order to explain it further. You can tell that a writer
is paraphrasing when he or she uses introductory
phrases such as, “In other words...” or “To put
it another way....” Sometimes, however, an
Paraphrasing | K-1
COMPREHENSION SKILLS PR
Level K-1
idea is simply restated in different words. But no
matter how an idea is paraphrased, its meaning will
remain the same.
Like authors, readers also find paraphrasing
a helpful skill. Readers paraphrase when they
thoughtfully consider what they read and then
accurately express the same idea(s) in their own
words. If you paraphrase as you read, ideas
become clearer, and you will remember them
because you understand them. There is no one
way to paraphrase. However, there are three basic
techniques employed in paraphrasing.
•
One way of paraphrasing is by word substitution. This involves using
different words to express the same concept or idea.
•
Another method is to change the order of words or ideas within a sentence
or paragraph.
•
Still another paraphrasing technique is to shorten or eliminate unnecessary
details or phrases.
Read the passage below on the left. Then read it the way it has been paraphrased. Note the paraphrasing
techniques that have been employed
Original
Paraphrase
Survival of the fittest is the rule in the dog world as
it is elsewhere. If you were to abandon a mongrel, a
greyhound, and a bulldog on a desert island, which
of them after six months would be alive and well?
Unquestionably, it would be the despised cur. He does
not have the speed of the greyhound, but neither does
he bear the seeds of lung and skin diseases. He hasn’t
the strength or reckless courage of the bulldog, but
something a thousand times better must be ascribed
to him: he has common sense. Health and wit are no
mean equipment for the life struggle, and when the
dog world is not “managed” by human beings, it has
never yet failed to bring out the mongrel as the sole and
triumphant survivor.
Only the strong survive in the dog world as everywhere
else. If you were to abandon a mongrel, a greyhound,
and a bulldog on a desert island, which of them would
still be alive and well a half a year later? Without a
doubt, it would be the lowly mongrel. He is not as fast as
the greyhound, but neither is he prone to lung and skin
ailments. He lacks the bulldog’s strength and daring,
but he has something far better: common sense. Health
and common sense are basic to survival. Without
human “interference” in the dog world, the mongrel has
always emerged as the survivor.
In the paraphrased passages, synonyms were substituted for some words, phrases were repositioned, or
both, and unnecessary wording was eliminated. But the important ideas were maintained and, as a result,
the meaning remains the same.
However you paraphrase, you will find that using your own words to express ideas can help you to
understand and remember them better.
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Inc.
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Main
ReadingIdea
Plus and Themes
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Taylor Associates
Summarizing
Paraphrasing | K-1
COMPREHENSION SKILLS PR
Level K-1
E
Student Name_______________________________________________________________
Read the following sentences. Then paraphrase each on the lines provided.
1. In 17th-century colonial America, many people accused of being witches swore to the end that they were innocent, while others confessed their guilt and described their feats at length.
2. Art experts who, over many years, have become acquainted with the work of a particular artist, can often sense
an imitation of one of his or her paintings because something about it just seems wrong.
3. Most inaugural speeches are timely, but soon forgotten, with no further interest expressed in them by anyone
except historians.
4. Natural gas heats and cooks with just a little help from the thumb and forefinger, turning a knob here and adjusting a dial there.
5. In 1954, the Coca-Cola™ Company, to meet the growing competition of other soft drinks that were marketed in
varying sizes, began to produce Coke in bottles larger than the familiar six-and-one-half ounce container.
Continued
Copyright © 2013 Taylor Associates/Communications,
Inc.
Main
ReadingIdea
Plus and Themes
®
Taylor Associates
Summarizing
Paraphrasing | K-1
COMPREHENSION SKILLS PR
Level K-1
E
Student Name_______________________________________________________________
Read the following paragraphs and then paraphrase each on a separate piece of paper for practice.
6. About the time of the American Revolution many
men wore wigs, but they did so only reluctantly.
During his Presidential term, George Washington
used his wig as little as possible. But he powdered
his hair to create the impression that he was wearing a wig. Not long after that, men gave up wearing wigs. However, even today, English judges and
lawyers wear wigs while in court.
7. Although liquefied, synthetic, and imported versions of gas are all top performers, their allure is
diminished by the expenses involved in producing
and transporting them. The costs currently run from
three to four times higher than for locally produced
natural gas. Domestic natural gas, even if the price
were doubled, would still be the consumer’s best
energy buy and given the proper economic “climate,”
there is plenty of it to be produced within the territorial boundaries of the United States. In fact, according to a U.S. Geological survey estimate, billions of
cubic feet of domestic gas remain to be discovered
and produced. That is enough to supply the nation’s
needs well into the future. The challenge arises in
finding and producing these volumes at rates that
will keep pace with growing requirements.
8. A prison debating society was formed and all
manner of subjects were discussed, bringing to light
a goodly number of eloquent speakers who have
since achieved fortune and distinction throughout
the country. One raucous form of amusement when
the lights were out consisted of loud questions and
answers, mimicries and cries, which, when combined and in full blast, made a pandemonium, compared with which a madhouse or a boiler foundry
would have been a peaceful refuge.
Copyright © 2013 Taylor Associates/Communications,
Inc.
9. During a thunderstorm, you may not be safe from
lightning, even if it strikes some distance away,
because a lightning bolt can travel quite far in an
abnormal zigzag pattern. A lightning stroke once hit
a tree 30 feet from an Oregon camp, dug underground to the camp site, leaped through a floor to
a steel bed and jumped to the ankle of a standing man. The lightning then went through his chest,
leaped out to a steel spike in the wall, and from
there traveled to a power line. It followed the power
line to another cabin and into the telephone, blowing the instrument to pieces.
10. The French biologist, Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck,
is credited with being the first scientist to publish
a logically developed theory of organic evolution.
Lamarck published his ideas between 1801 and
1809. He believed that there was no doubt about
evolution. There were two major ideas presented
by Lamarck to account for the adaptation of organisms to different environments. The first idea was
the use and disuse of parts and the second idea
was the inheritance of acquired characteristics.
Lamarck had observed that structures or parts not
used tended to become small, and parts used a
great deal tended to enlarge. The familiar example
used by Lamarck was his explanation of the long
neck of the giraffe. According to Lamarck, generations of giraffes stretched their necks to get leaves
and over a long period of time the acquired characteristic of a longer neck was inherited.