4.3.1 Now, read the following note on ‘The Techniques of Paraphrasing a Text’ in the box given below. Then, in pairs/groups, discuss what you have learnt from the note. Later, share your understanding with the whole class.
Note
The techniques of paraphrasing a text:
Paraphrasing is a process of rewriting a statement/text in your words and your own way. When you paraphrase any text, the first thing you need to do is to understand the meaning of the text. Then, write the whole text in simple language. Make sure that you have not changed any of its original ideas or information. We can paraphrase a text following these three techniques:
- a) By using synonyms:
You can use words with similar meanings to replace the original words or phrases to paraphrase a text. For example: Fazlul Haque was a great leader. He is well known as Sher-e Bangla too. His father was a pleader at Barishal Bar. In his childhood, he was a meritorious boy. His father was glad to see the extraordinary memory of his son. After using synonyms of the words, the text will be: Fazlul Haque was a great leader. He is known as Sher -e-Bangla too. His father was a lawyer at Barishal Bar. In his childhood, he was a talented boy. His father was delighted to see the exceptional memory of his son.
- b) Changing sentence structure:
To paraphrase a text, you can change the structure of a sentence or reorder the words of a sentence. But, you cannot change the meaning of the sentence. For example, read the following text: Ms. Najmun Nahar is a teacher. She has to work a lot. Because of her tight work schedule, she feels exhausted and that is why she needs leisure time for relaxation and recreation. After changing the structure of the sentences, the text is- Ms. Najmun Nahar is a teacher and she has a lot of duties. Sometimes she feels
exhausted as she has a tight work schedule. This is the reason she needs leisure time for relaxation and recreation. Notice, here the structures of the sentences have changed but the meaning remains the same.
- c) By adding or removing words:
Another way of paraphrasing is to add or remove words from a sentence/text. For
example; read the following sentences- Purnima is a girl. She lives in a remote village of Chattogram. She has many dreams. One of her dreams is that one day, she will have her own identity and support her family. Due to poverty, sometimes she feels it challenging to fulfil her dream.
Now, let’s paraphrase the text by adding or removing words.
Purnima is from a remote village of Chattogram. Among many of her dreams, the long-cherished one is to establish her identity. Also, she plans to earn money and help her family. But due to poverty, she finds it challenging to fulfil her dreams.
Here, expressions like Purnima is a girl and one of her dreams are removed. On the other hand, expressions like among many of her dreams, also, but, and plans are added. So, to paraphrase a text, you have to use synonyms, change structures and add or remove words. But you cannot change the information and the original message of the text. We may conclude by saying that paraphrasing refers to some techniques to present the same ideas in different ways.