Identifying Paraphrases

Aim:

To develop students’ ability to recognise paraphrasing and to improve their scanning skills.

Target Audience:

Teachers and students

Relevance to ICFE:

Parts 4, 5 and 6

Organisation:

Pairs or small groups

Materials needed:

A financial text

  1. Choose 7 sentences or phrases from the original text and paraphrase each one. E.g. As the company grew / When the firm expanded; the partners / the two owners; raised money by / acquired financing through; a business angel / an outside investor

  2. Make a list of your paraphrases, but change the order. Make a copy for each pair or small group.

  3. For the first phrase, show students how the language of the paraphrase matches that of the original, e.g. 'It is important - a firm needs to - for a firm to follow - adhere to - an existing procedure - an established ….. process, ...'

  4. Give students the original text. Allow a short time for them to find where the sentences are taken from in the text.