Paraphrasing Practice for Grade 12

Paraphrasing Practice: Grade 12 ELA

Read each section carefully and follow the instructions for each task. This worksheet will help you practice effective paraphrasing strategies essential for academic writing.

Read the following passage from 'Walden' by Henry David Thoreau, then answer the questions below.

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion.”

1. Paraphrase the first sentence of the passage in your own words, ensuring you capture the main idea without quoting directly.

2. In the second part of the passage, Thoreau discusses his desire to 'live deep and suck out all the marrow of life'. Paraphrase this sentiment, explaining what you think he means by it.

3. Which of the following is the most effective paraphrase of the statement: 'The rapid advancement of technology has dramatically reshaped global communication patterns.'

4. Paraphrasing involves summarizing the main points of a text in fewer words than the original.

5. When paraphrasing, it is crucial to avoid   by always citing the original source.

6. An effective paraphrase will maintain the original meaning but use different   and sentence structure.

Match each description with either 'Paraphrasing' or 'Summarizing'.

10. Explain why accurate paraphrasing is a critical skill for avoiding plagiarism in academic writing.