Advanced ENGLISH Teacher’s Notes

Module 4 • New and Improved Reading

Paraphrasing Information from a Manual

Objective
 y the end of the lesson, students will be able to paraphrase information from an instruction manual. They will
B
also be able to assess whether or not a particular instruction manual is clear and user-friendly.

Student Worksheets
• Worksheet 1: The Wrinkle Remover – Instruction Manual
• Worksheet 2: Paraphrasing an Instruction Manual
• Worksheet 3: Tips for Paraphrasing an Instruction Manual

Lead-In (5 minutes)
• Begin the lesson by asking:
When you buy a new gadget or appliance, how do you learn how to use it?
Possible answers: by asking others, by trying it, by reading the instruction manual
• Point out that most new gadgets / appliances are accompanied by an instruction manual. Ask:
What information would you expect to find in an instruction manual?
Possible answers: how to use the device, how to maintain / look after the device, precautions and warnings
Why might some instruction manuals be difficult to understand?
Possible answers: the vocabulary might be too technical, the layout might be unclear, the references to the 
device might be confusing

Activity 1 (30 minutes)

• Tell students that they are going to read an instruction manual for a new appliance. Explain that the manual is
difficult and unclear. Remind students that when they encounter unfamiliar language and attempt to use context
clues for comprehension, paraphrasing can be used to help them understand a text.
• Elicit the things that can be changed when we paraphrase a text.
Possible answers: vocabulary, word order (sentence structure), grammar
• Instruct students to look at Worksheet 1: The Wrinkle Remover – Instruction Manual, but not to start reading yet.
• Ask: What are the things that immediately catch your eye?
Possible answers: a labeled diagram of the appliance, headings, a numbered list
• Point out that visual representations and graphic organization of the information can be helpful when reading a
manual.
• Write the following questions on the board:
What is the name of the appliance?
What does the appliance do?
How is it used?
• Instruct students to read the Overview of the manual and answer the questions on the board. As they are reading,
they should underline any difficult words or phrases that they find. Review the answers with the class.
Answers:
The Wrinkle Remover
It removes wrinkles from clothes.
It is placed directly on the fabric and moved up and down.

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Advanced ENGLISH Teacher’s Notes
Module 4 • New and Improved Reading

• Have students share the difficult words that they underlined. Write them on the board. Ask students to guess the
meanings of these words from the context and to suggest alternatives (synonyms or paraphrasing) for them. This
should be a short activity, which prepares students for a later vocabulary activity.
Possible words: enables, prior to, refer to, verify, suitability, eradicate, soiled
• Instruct students to look at Worksheet 2: Paraphrasing an Instruction Manual. Read aloud the first sentence in the
left-hand column of the table.
• Ask: Which sentence in the Overview expresses the same instruction?
Answer: Sentence 3: Should users be unsure as to the suitability of the fabric for treatment using this appliance, 
it is imperative that they first steam a small section of the inside of the garment in order to ensure that
the fabric will not be damaged in any way during the steaming process.
• Have students write the number of the matching sentence in the second (right-hand) column of the table.
• Ask: Which version of the Overview is more effective? Why do you think this is so?
Possible answers: The paraphrased version is clearer and easier to understand because it uses simpler vocabulary
and simpler grammatical structures and forms. It also addresses the user directly.
• Explain that all the sentences in the left-hand column are paraphrased versions of the Overview from Worksheet 1.
Tell students to match the paraphrased sentences with the original sentences in the Overview. Have them complete
Part 1 of Worksheet 2: Paraphrasing an Instruction Manual, individually. Then review the answers with the class.
It’s important to check the answers at this stage because some of the answers in Parts 2 and 3 will depend on the
answers in Part 1.
Worksheet 2, Part 1 Answers:
Matching Sentence
Paraphrased Sentences
in the Overview
If you are not sure, then steam a small part of the inside of the garment to test that
1. 3
it does not damage the fabric.
2. This appliance helps to reduce odors but will not remove stains from garments. 5
Before using the appliance, read the label on the item of clothing to check if it can
3. 2
be steamed.
When steaming, touch the material with the steam nozzle and move it up and
4. 4
down to remove wrinkles.
This appliance removes wrinkles from your clothes five times faster than a regular
5. 1
iron.

• Have students answer question 1 in Part 2 of Worksheet 2. Divide the class into pairs and have students compare
the two versions of the Overview and discuss the differences.
Worksheet 2, Part 2, Question 1 Answers:
a. The grammar and sentence structures used are simpler.
d. The writer addresses the reader (the user) directly.

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Advanced ENGLISH Teacher’s Notes
Module 4 • New and Improved Reading

• Review the answers to question 2 in Part 2 of Worksheet 2. Encourage students to share their suggestions with
the class. Point out differences in sentence structure, grammatical structure, voice and tense. Explain why
some structures are simpler than others, such as the Active versus Passive voice. Remember, the idea is to raise
awareness of these issues, not to have students master the names of grammatical or syntactical structures.
Worksheet 2, Part 2, Question 2 Answers:
a b
If you are not sure, then steam a small part of the inside of the garment to test that it
1. 3
does not damage the fabric.
2. This appliance helps to reduce odors but will not remove stains from garments. 3

 efore using the appliance, read the label on the item of clothing to check if it can be
B
3. 3
steamed.
 hen steaming, touch the material with the steam nozzle and move it up and down to
W
4. 3
remove wrinkles.
5. This appliance removes wrinkles from your clothes five times faster than a regular iron. 3

• As a lead-in to Part 3 of Worksheet 2, remind students that when we paraphrase complicated sentences, we often
replace difficult words with simpler ones that have a similar meaning or express the same idea. Have students
look at the table. Explain that they must find the word or phrase with a similar meaning by comparing the
original Overview to the paraphrased version in Activity 1. Do the first one with the class as an example. 
Ask: Which difficult word in the first sentence of the Overview probably means the same as clothes?
Answer: garments
• Have students write the word garments in the left-hand column next to the word clothes.
• Instruct students to complete Part 3, either individually or in pairs. Review the answers with the class.
Worksheet 2, Part 3 Answers:
Word or Phrase Word or Phrase from
from the Overview the Paraphrased Overview
garments clothes
prior to before
refer to read
verify check
section part
brought into direct contact with touch
vertically up and down
eradicating removing

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Advanced ENGLISH Teacher’s Notes
Module 4 • New and Improved Reading

Activity 2 (30 minutes)

• Instruct students to look at Worksheet 3: Tips for Writing an Instruction Manual. Review the tips with the class.
Tell students that they are going to apply the tips that they learned when paraphrasing to the next section of the
manual. Point out that the aim of the activity is to check their comprehension of the text and make it clearer and
easier to understand.
• Tell students that the next section of the manual is called Safety Precautions (Worksheet 1). Ask them what they
would expect to find in this section.
Possible answer: advice and warnings
• Write the following precaution on the board: Users should refrain from using the appliance outdoors. Elicit the
meaning of this sentence and simpler alternatives. Write a sample alternative sentence on the board.
Possible answer: Do not use this appliance outdoors.
• In pairs, have students paraphrase the Safety Precautions (Worksheet 1) section of the manual. They should refer
to Worksheet 3: Tips for Writing an Instruction Manual as they work.
• You may wish to discuss the meanings of a few difficult words and phrases in the text before students begin.
Encourage students to guess the meaning from the context. Have them state what helped them guess. Possible
words and phrases to discuss: prior to, it is imperative that, refrain from, immerse, malfunctioning, terminated,
elevated
• Walk around the class, assisting where necessary.

Activity 3 (15 minutes)

• Have pairs of students compare their paraphrased version of the text with that of another pair of students and
provide helpful feedback to one another.
• Give students the opportunity to correct or improve on their work, based on the feedback they received.
• Read aloud each of the safety precautions from Worksheet 1. After reading each safety precaution, invite
students to read out their paraphrased version.
• In each case, have students vote on which of the paraphrased versions they think is the most effective and why.
During the discussion, refer to Worksheet 3.

Lead-Out (10 minutes)

• Ask students to paraphrase the last section of the manual, Maintenance. Encourage students to make use of a
bulleted or numbered list to present the instructions in a simple, clear way. Again, pairs of students can compare
their paraphrased version with that of another pair of students and provide feedback. Alternatively, have students
hand in their work to you for assessment.

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