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Paraphrase Activity

The document discusses paraphrasing activities that involve rewriting sentences from a passage about the history of the automobile industry using different techniques like replacing synonyms, changing word classes, and rearranging word order. The goal is to practice paraphrasing skills. A second activity has the reader paraphrase a passage about shipwrecks on the seafloor in a similar manner.

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67 views3 pages

Paraphrase Activity

The document discusses paraphrasing activities that involve rewriting sentences from a passage about the history of the automobile industry using different techniques like replacing synonyms, changing word classes, and rearranging word order. The goal is to practice paraphrasing skills. A second activity has the reader paraphrase a passage about shipwrecks on the seafloor in a similar manner.

Uploaded by

littudavid6
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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1

Paraphrasing activities:

Activity 1:

Read the following text and do activities 1a) - d) to practise the paraphrasing techniques.

Four wheels good

The growth of the car industry parallels the development of modern capitalism. It began in France
and Germany, but took off in the United States. There, Henry Ford adapted the moving production
line from the Chicago meat industry to motor manufacturing, thus inventing mass production. In
the 1920s, Alfred Sloan’s management theories helped General Motors to become the world’s
dominant car company. After the Second World War, the car makers focused on the styling of
their products to encourage more frequent model changes. From the 1970s, there was criticism
of the industry due to the inefficiency of most vehicles, which used petrol wastefully.

a. Find synonyms for the underlined words to create a paraphrased sentence.


For example
Original: The growth of the car industry parallels the development of modern capitalism.
Paraphrase with synonyms only: The rise of the automobile industry matches the progress
of contemporary capitalism.

i) It began in France and Germany, but took off in the United States.

ii) There Henry Ford adapted the moving production line from the Chicago meat industry
to motor manufacturing, thus inventing mass production.

iii) In the 1920s, Alfred Sloan’s management theories helped General Motors to become
the world’s dominant car company.

b. Change the word class of the underlined words, and then re-write the sentences.
For example:
Original: In the 1920s, Alfred Sloan’s management theories helped General Motors to
become the world’s dominant car company.
Paraphrase with changed word class: In the 1920s with the help of Alfred Sloan’s
managerial theories, General Motors dominated the world’s car companies.
2

i) After the Second World War, the car makers focused on the styling of their products to
encourage more frequent model changes.

ii) There Henry Ford adapted the moving production line from the Chicago meat industry
to motor manufacturing, thus inventing mass production.

iii) From the 1970s, there was criticism of the industry due to the inefficiency of most
vehicles, which used petrol wastefully.

c. Change the word order of the sentences below (other changes, i.e. subject-verb
agreement) might be necessary.
For example:
Original: The growth of the car industry parallels the development of modern capitalism.
Paraphrase with changed word order: The development of modern capitalism was
paralleled by the growth of the car industry.

i) There Henry Ford adapted the moving production line from the Chicago meat industry
to motor manufacturing, thus inventing mass production.

ii) In the 1920s, Alfred Sloan’s management theories helped General Motors to become
the world’s dominant car company.

iii) After the Second World War, the car makers focused on the styling of their products to
encourage more frequent model changes.

d. Combine all techniques to write a paraphrase of the whole paragraph.

Activity 2:

Using the paraphrasing techniques, write a paraphrase of the text below.


3

The past below the waves

More than three million shipwrecks are believed to lie on the seabed, the result of storms and
accidents during thousands of years of sea-borne trading. These wrecks offer marine
archeologists valuable information about the culture, technology and trade patterns of ancient
civilisations, but the vast majority have been too deep to research. Scuba divers can only operate
down to 50 meters, which limits operations to wrecks near the coast, which have often been
damaged by storms or plant growth.

[The activities were extracted and adapted from Bailey, S. (2011). Academic Writing. A Handbook
for International Students (3rd Ed.). New York: Routledge.]

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