Integrated writing assignments target listening and/or reading comprehension as well as your writing ability. One way to demonstrate advanced comprehension is to vary your word choice and sentence structure while maintaining the ideas. 

Simple Paraphrasing

An application of the strategies of word choice and sentence variation can be seen through the writing task of paraphrasing. You will learn more about paraphrasing in greater detail in a later chapter of this textbook. In this practice, you will see how these strategies can be used to do basic paraphrases.

Paraphrasing is to share the same meaning as what was originally stated using different words. A restated thesis is essentially a paraphrase because it retains the original meaning but says the information in a new way. Paraphrasing occurs in conversations when you ask someone to repeat what they said because we rarely repeat ourselves word for word.

Therefore, at its most basic, paraphrasing requires you to search for and use synonyms. Often, it requires an adjusted sentence structure as well. These changes provide clarity about what was most important in the original statement. 

As discussed previously in this chapter, it is imperative not to alter the meaning of the original ideas when you restate them. You will need to pay particular attention to word choice so that there is no interference from connotations used in your paraphrase. Additionally, you will need to check the grammar of any restructured sentences to ensure that you have preserved the intention of the original.

Exercises