University - Paraphrasing text

About this free course

This free course is an adapted extract from the Open University course L185 English for academic purposes online http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/course/l185.htm.

This version of the content may include video, images and interactive content that may not be optimised for your device.

You can experience this free course as it was originally designed on OpenLearn, the home of free learning from The Open University - http://www.open.edu/openlearn/languages/english-language/paraphrasing-text/content-section-0.

There youll also be able to track your progress via your activity record, which you can use to demonstrate your learning.

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Introduction

Reading at university usually leads to writing: for example, an essay, notes for a seminar, or ideas for a presentation. This is really a process of turning reading into your own words. The two main ways of doing this are paraphrasing and summarising.

In this course you will practise strategies for paraphrasing sentences.

This OpenLearn course is an adapted extract from the Open University course L185 English for academic purposes online.

Learning outcomes

After studying this course, you should be able to:

• understand the process of paraphrasing

• practise paraphrasing strategies.

1 Activity 1

The following activity uses the text A force in human history. Take a moment to read it now.

View document

Activity 1 Finding and paraphrasing the main point in a sentence

Much academic study can be seen as a process of turning reading into writing:

Turning reading into your own words is called paraphrasing.

In order to paraphrase a sentence, it is important to recognise the main point of the sentence. Look at the following three sentences and identify the main point in each one. Type your answers into the text box below.

1. AIDS has claimed many lives.
2. By the year 2001, AIDS had claimed over 21 million lives.
3. By the year 2001, AIDS had claimed over 21 million lives, in spite of medical inventions, such as antibiotic therapy and mass vaccination, introduced after World War 2.

Provide your answer...

2 Activity 2

ActivityFinding the main point in a sentence

Using your mouse, highlight the main point in each of the following sets of three sentences.

Interactive content is not available in this format.

Activity 2

3 Activity 3

Activity 3Paraphrasing the main point in a sentence

Identifying the part of a sentence you want to paraphrase may be the first step. The second step is to put it in your own words.

In Activity 2, the main part AIDS has claimed many lives was paraphrased as Many people have died of AIDS.

Paraphrase the following sentences by changing the words in any way.

Activity 3.1

1 HIV has been growing fastest in Europe.

Provide your answer...

Activity 3.2

2 The number of new infections in Western Europe doubled to more than 365,000.

Provide your answer...

Activity 3.3

3 Many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) also tackle health issues around the world.

Provide your answer...

Activity 3.4

4 UNAIDS launched the 3 by 5 initiative.

Provide your answer...

4 Activity 4

Activity 4Paraphrasing strategies: synonyms

In this activity you will practise showing your understanding of a word or concept by using a synonym.

Match the meaning of the original word in italics below by selecting the right synonym. When you are working with a text, the synonym you choose will depend on the context. Just looking up words in your dictionary might not work.

Question 1

The impact

force

effect

shock

Question 2

of HIV/AIDS on the economies and hence the political stability

balance

tendency

strength

Question 3

of heavily affected countries is a major cause for international