PARAPHRASING

What is paraphrasing?

Paraphrasing is writing the same information using different vocabulary, phrases, and structures.

How do I paraphrase?

Paraphrasing can be a daunting task. Here are some simple techniques that can help you paraphrase well
in your writing:

1. USE SYNONYMS

Synonyms are words that have the same meaning. Using synonyms is an easy way to create a new
sentence that has the same meaning.

Ex 1: Some people think that parents should teach their children how to be good members of society.

Some individuals believe that parents should teach their children how to be a positive part of their
community.

* *Make sure that the synonyms you are using have the same meaning, and not similar, as this could
change the meaning of the sentence.

Ex 2: Some people believe that car emissions have a massive impact on the environment.

Incorrect: Some people believe that car emissions have a large impact on the environment.

Correct: Some people believe that car emissions have an enormous impact on the environment.

** Be careful because some synonyms can be used in some situations but not in others.

Ex 3: The amount of fish consumed in the world has increased dramatically.

Incorrect: The amount of fish used in the world has increased dramatically.

Ex 4: The amount of fuel consumed when driving largely depends on the vehicle.

Correct: The amount of fuel used when driving largely depends on the vehicle.

** Also, grammar is important when using synonyms.

Ex 5: Wealth does not necessarily guarantee happiness.

Having money does not necessarily ensure satisfaction.

2. CHANGE WORD ORDER

Putting words and phrases in different places within the sentence is another simple way to paraphrase.

Ex 1: The percentage of stressed children in western society has increased by 15% in the last ten years.

In the last ten years, the percentage of stressed children in western society has increased by 15%.

** Again, the meaning of the sentence may change when changing the word order.

Ex 2: Successful sports professionals earn more money than people in other important professions.

Incorrect: People in other important professions earn more money than successful sports professionals.

Correct: People in other important professions earn less money than successful sports professionals.

3. CHANGE WORD FORM

Along with word order, you can change word form. This involves changing vocabulary from nouns to
verbs, adjectives to adverbs, and so on.
Ex 1: Nowadays, crimes are becoming more violent.

Nowadays, crimes are being committed more violently.

** Once again, grammar is important when changing word form.

Ex 2: The level of crime has increased noticeably in different ways.

Incorrect: There was an increase noticeably in the level of crime in different ways.

Correct: The increase in the level of crime has been noticeable in different ways.

A. Make a different word, using the prompt in brackets.

e.g. development (change to verb) - to develop
e.g. economise (change to noun) - economy

1. To analyse (change to noun) 6. To expect (change to noun)

2. To analyse (change to adjective) 7. To agree (change to opposite verb)
3. Evaluation (change to verb) 8. Organised (change to opposite adjective)
4. Theoretical (change to verb) 9. To prove (change to noun)
5. Problem (change to adjective) 10.To prove (change to opposite verb)

B. Finish these paraphrased sentences by changing the word/word type and

grammar.
e.g. We studied the statistics then applied for funding.
- After _________ the statistics, we made an _________ for funding.
- After studying the statistics, we made an application for funding.
1. We were concerned about her health.
We had some _________ about her health.
2. The council cut funding so we could not provide free parking.
Because of council funding _________, there was no_______
3. His proposal was a failure as it was too theoretical.
His proposal_________ because it relied too much on _________ .
4. As the emphasis was only on the UK, there were weaknesses in the evidence.
By _________ the UK only, the evidence was _________ .
5. As the emphasis was only on the UK, there were weaknesses in the evidence.
As the emphasis was only on the UK, the evidence was not_________ .

4. ACTIVE TO PASSIVE

Changing your sentences from active to passive voice can be more difficult than the other techniques;
however, it shows a variety in your grammar structures.

Active: Technological advances have replaced people in the workforce.

Passive: People in the workforce have been replaced by technological advances.

**Make sure you know how to change the structure of a sentence before trying to use the passive voice.

Ex 1: Children today play very violent video games.

Incorrect: Children today are played by very violent video games.

Correct: Very violent video games are played by children today.

5. COMBINE SENTENCES

The ability to combine sentences gives you more opportunity to change word order as well as shows off
more variety in your writing.
Ex 1: Some people believe that animals should have the same rights as humans. Other people believe
that animals should be used for various needs such as food and research.

Some people believe that animals should have the same rights as humans, while others believe they
should be used for various needs such as food and research.

**When combining sentences, make sure that the transitions you are using are correct.

Ex 2: Some people believe that logging is a serious problem. They believe that it may lead to the
extinction of animal life.

Incorrect: Some people believe that logging is a serious problem, while others believe that it may lead to
the extinction of animal life.

Correct: Some people believe that logging is a serious problem and it may lead to the extinction of animal
life.

PRACTICE
Part A: Add Synonyms
Find a synonym for the underlined words/phrases. Re-write each sentence using these new words
and phrases

1. Around 30,000 children may be helped by the proposed “free lunch” program.

2. All of the people in class studied hard. The effect was a big increase in test scores.

3. If you use cheap paper and discount ink, the quality of your printed documents will suffer. This
situation can be avoided by switching to high quality products.

4. The weather forecast says it will be mostly windy and rainy over the next few days. In
addition, a strong typhoon is expected to hammer the coast next Wednesday.

5. A science teacher caught two high school students smoking outside the school cafeteria. This
action forced the principle to expel them for violating the school’s no smoking policy.

6. The engineer must judge how much dynamite to use according to the quantity of material to be
removed from the tunnel.

7. Skateboarding is a fun way to exercise, meet people and look cool. It is a popular sport with
around 10 million skaters worldwide. Based on this information, skateboard companies work hard
to develop new products for this large group of consumers.

Part B: Paraphrase the Text

Paraphrase the text by replacing the underlined words and phrases with synonyms. Some
sentences might need to be changed.

Cell phone usage has exploded over the past decade and continues to rise. Today there are over one
billion phone users worldwide. Concern has arisen over whether cell phone usage can harm a person’s
health. Brain cancer rates in the United States have risen since cell phones were introduced, leading some
people to wonder if cell phone usage is the reason for the increase.

Part C: Which sentences are closest in meaning to the five sentences below?

1. 25% of adolescents who have one baby have a second baby within two years of the first baby's birth.
a. 25% of babies are born to mothers who are adolescents.
b. One out of four adolescent mothers has another baby before the first baby reaches his
second birthday.
c. A quarter of adolescent mothers gives birth when their first born is two.
d. 25% of adolescent mothers become pregnant again when their first babies are two years old.
2. It has been reported that the richest one percent of Americans own 40% of the country's wealth.
a. The richest 1% are 40 times as wealthy as the rest of Americans.
b. If the gap between rich and poor continues to grow at the current rate, the richest one percent
 will soon own 40% of the country's wealth.
c. 40% of the country's wealth is in the hands of only 1% of Americans.
d. 99% of Americans own 40% as much as the richest 1%.
3. The judge was relieved when the jury was finally ready to announce its verdict.
a. When the jury announced its verdict, the judge was relieved.
b. The judge asked the jury to arrive at a verdict.
c. The judge welcomed the prospect of an imminent verdict.
d. The jury welcomed the judge's relief.
4. Research data suggest that girls who witnessed maternal abuse may tolerate abuse as adults
more than girls who did not.
a. Women who witnessed the abuse of their mother as teens are more likely to become abusive
adults.
b. Women who observed the abuse of their mothers when they were young are more likely to
endure abuse themselves.
c. Women who were abused as children are more likely to abuse their own children.
d. Girls who testify about maternal abuse tolerate abuse as adults more readily.
5. Martha thinks that the issue of adolescent problems is important to write about.
a. Martha thinks that adolescents like to write about their problems.
b. Martha feels that writing about adolescent problems is worthwhile.
c. Martha believes that the dream of most adolescents is to write something important.
d. Martha thinks that adolescents can write about their problems.
Part D: Write your own paraphrase for the following sentences:
1. A local newspaper claims that 75% of all homeless people do not like homeless shelters and prefer
to live as they do now.

2. Ronny told his aunt that a bear had attacked him, which she found difficult to believe.

3. Anyone who has ever driven through the Mojave Desert knows that one should always carry
a supply of extra water.

4. Of the 138 million acres of land that Native Americans owned in 1887, 90 million acres were taken
away by whites by 1932.

5. A woman who was nominated by the president to head the department was quickly
approved by the board of trustees.

6. The student requested that the professor excuses her absence, but the professor refused.

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7. There will be a music concert next to Vienna coffee shop. Would you like to go?

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8. International Center is hosting English Conversation classes. They help non-native speakers of English
practice their English speaking skills.

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9. The office of International Students and Scholars (ISS) at Purdue University is located in Schleman
Hall.

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10. The car that was pulled over by the police officer yesterday just had an accident. That driver is not
careful.
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Part E: Paraphrase the following sentences from student paragraphs to avoid plagiarism.

1. The student requested that the professor excuses her absence, but the professor refused.
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2. There will be a music concert next to Vienna coffee shop. Would you like to go?
__________________________________________________________________________________

3. International Center is hosting English Conversation classes. They help non-native speakers of English
practice their English speaking skills.
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4. The office of International Students and Scholars (ISS) at Purdue University is located in Schleman Hall.
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5. The car that was pulled over by the police officer yesterday just had an accident. That driver is not
careful.
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6. However, college students today are the first groups of students to need the Internet for most of their
schoolwork.

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7. Chinese speculators are able to realize profits from this buy-and-sell practice as property prices are
currently on the upswing.

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8. Researchers have found a strong association between computer and Internet use in adolescents and
engagement in multiple-risk behaviours (MRB), including illicit drug use, drunkenness and unprotected
sex.

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9. Drug resistance remains a major problem in combating HIV infection, but a different approach to drug
development could be the answer.

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10. North China's Shanxi Province, the country's largest coal supplier and most polluted region, has the
dubious distinction of having 16 cities on the list. Neither Beijing nor Shanghai appear on the list. The
report found that only 22.94 percent of sewage was treated adequately in the cities surveyed and less than
20 percent of household garbage met with proper handling. It said 178 cities examined had not built any
sewage treatment facilities and 130 cities had not been equipped with garbage disposal plants.

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Part F: Please read the following passages carefully and paraphrase it.

1. “In the United States, about six out of ten students in graduate schools are women. The same is true of
today’s young adults who already have a degree beyond college. As a result, the Census Bureau expects
that more women than men will hold professions such as doctors, lawyers and professors.” (Women Edge
Past Men in Getting Doctorates, Voice of America, learningenglish.com)

2. “The Human Relations Commission (HRC) was established by the City of West Lafayette to protect the
rights of our citizens and to ensure that West Lafayette remains a fair and inclusive community.” (What is
the Human Relations Commission?, City of West Lafayette Indiana, westlafayette.in.gov)

3. “The years after World War One were an important turning point in the making of the American nation.
The country turned away from the problems of Europe. Now it would deal with problems of its own.”
(American History Series: The United States Turns Inward After World War One, Voice of America,
learning English.voa.com)
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Part G: Paraphrase the following.

1. For many people across Europe, the introduction of the Euro has lead to price rises
in many everyday goods.
2. Women have traditionally been seen as mothers and home makers and it is only in
recent years that they have been making significant inroads into the job market.
There is still a long way to go before they achieve complete equality with men but
the situation has definitely improved.
3. In the 1920s, an American academic, Elton Mayo, researched the effects of the
physical environment on the productivity of workers. The result, known as the
Hawthorne Studies, named after the electrics company where it took place,
showed that workers could be motivated to work harder by making small changes
to the workplace, such as altering the lighting or the layout of a room.
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Part J: Build a paraphrase. Read the original text below and build a paraphrase from the selection
of phrases provided.

Human Rights Council picks up again after COVID suspension, to hold racism debate

George Floyd killing provides impetus

“The tragic events of 25 May in Minneapolis in the US which led to the death of George Floyd led to
protests throughout the world against injustice and police brutality that persons of African descent face on
a daily basis in many regions of the world”, said Dieudonné W. Désiré Sougouri, Permanent
Representative of Burkina Faso to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in
Geneva. “The death of George Floyd is unfortunately not an isolated incident.”
Insisting that many other persons of African descent had “faced the same fate because of their origin and
police violence”, Mr. Sougouri said that it would be “inconceivable” if the Council did not address the issue.
“This is why the African Group calls upon the Human Rights Council to organise an Urgent Debate on
current violations of human rights that are based on racism, systemic racism, police brutality against
persons of African descent and violence against peaceful demonstrations to call for an end to be put to
these injustices”, he said.
After the request was endorsed, Ambassador Tichy-Fisslberger fixed the provisional date of the Urgent
Debate on “current racially inspired human rights violations, systematic racism, police brutality and the
violence against peaceful protests” for Wednesday 17 June at 3pm.
Speaking later to journalists, the Council President confirmed that the request from the African Group
came after “what happened in America with George Floyd and the whole tragedy which showed the
problems of racism, of police violence and the follow-up to that”.
It was not clear whether any members of Mr. Floyd’s family had been invited to address the Council, but a
draft resolution would be prepared by the Group, she added.
The group’s initiative came after a call from more than 600 rights groups last Monday to investigate alleged
police violence after the killing of Mr. Floyd.
The issue was universal, the Ambassador maintained, highlighting the large number of Black Lives Matter
protests that have been held in many countries. “As you have seen with demonstrations all over the world,
including here in Geneva, so this is a topic that is not about just one country, it goes well beyond that,” she
explained.
“When I said it’s not against the United States, I mean there are complaints about a lot of racism in many
countries of this world, of course in Europe, but not only; you find it all over the world.”
New physical distancing measures
For seasoned Council-watchers, the day will also be remembered for the fact that Member States and non-
governmental organisations convened in the cavernous Assembly Hall, where the near 2,000-seat
capacity had to be slashed by around 90 per cent in line with Swiss government health directives.
In more normal times, deliberations happen in the Council’s altogether more colourful - if smaller - home
elsewhere in the Palais des Nations, in the Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room – although
voting on some 40 draft resolutions is expected to be held there on Thursday afternoon and Friday.
To further prevent possible transmission of the respiratory disease, facemasks – and a few pairs of
protective gloves - were almost universally in evidence.
Delegations were also parsed to just one representative rather than the usual two or three people in line
with coronavirus social distancing measures.
The decision to resume the Council’s work mirrors deconfinement moves in Switzerland and beyond, as
the country reopens its borders with Austria, France and Germany on Monday 15 June.
To date, Switzerland has confirmed more than 31,000 cases of COVID-19 infection and more than 1,670
deaths, according to latest WHO data.
UN experts on racial discrimination call for US reforms
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on Monday called on the United States to
make immediate structural reforms to end racial discrimination, and to uphold its obligations under the
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. In its formal statement
published online, the Committee urged the US to fully respect the Convention, which it ratified in 1994, and
to ensure a wide understanding of the Convention among its law enforcement officials through training and
education curricula.
“No one shall be victim of racial discrimination, it’s the essence of the Convention,” said Noureddine Amir,
Chairperson of the Committee, adding, “we cannot afford any delay in the promotion of understanding
among all races, discontinuing racial profiling and criminalizing racially motivated attacks.”
The Committee, made up of 18 independent experts, expressed its deep concern at the tragic death of
George Floyd in Minneapolis, and the recurrence of killings of unarmed African Americans by police
officers and individuals over the years.
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