MODULE: ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES

PARAPHRASING ACTIVITIES

ACTIVITY NO. 1
Direction: Read the original text below. Highlight the words that you think
are specialized words or words that should not be changed when
paraphrasing. Underline the words which should be changed.

The United States, Germany, Japan and other industrial powers are being transformed
from industrial economies to knowledge and information based service economies, whilst
manufacturing has been moving to low wage countries. In a knowledge and information
based economy, knowledge and information are the key ingredients in creating wealth.
(Source: Laudon & Laudon 2002, Management information systems: managing the digital firm, Prentice Hall, New Jersey.)
Answer:
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ACTIVITY NO. 2
Direction: Read the two paraphrases of the original text below. Select the
statement that describes the most appropriate paraphrase and explain why
do come up with that answer.

Paraphrase 1:
The United States, Germany, Japan and other economies are being dramatically changed
from industrial economies to knowledge and information based service economies as
manufacturing shifts to countries where the wages are low cost. In a knowledge and
information based economies, knowledge and information are the focus in economic
growth (Laudon & Laudon 2002).

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Paraphrase 2:
There has been a dramatic change in economies such as the United States, Japan and
Germany from industrial to service economies involved in knowledge and information. As
manufacturing shifts to countries where wages are low, economic growth and information
economies must focus on knowledge and information production (Laudon & Laudon
2002).
a. Paraphrase 1 is acceptable because it closely follows the sentence structure of the
original.
b. Both paraphrases are acceptable because some of the keywords have been
changed.
c. Paraphrase 2 is not acceptable because the sentence structure has been
changed.
d. Paraphrase 2 is acceptable because both the sentence structure and the keywords
have been changed.
e. Paraphrase 2 is unacceptable because the subject of the first sentence is different
from the original, i.e. ‘dramatic change’ rather than ‘the United States, Germany
and Japan’.

Answer:
e. Paraphrase 2 is unacceptable because the subject of the first sentence is
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different from the original, i.e. ‘dramatic change’ rather than ‘the United
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States, Germany and Japan’.
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ACTIVITY NO. 3
Direction: Find the words in Paraphrase 2 that replace the key words in the
original text highlighted in blue below.

Paraphrase 2
The United States, Germany, Japan and other industrial powers are being transformed
from industrial economies to knowledge and information based service economies, whilst
manufacturing has been moving to low wage countries. In a knowledge and information
based economy, knowledge and information are the key ingredients in creating wealth.
other industrial powers = Economies

transformed = Dramatically Changed

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whilst = As

has been moving = Shifts

low wage countries = To countries where wages are low

Focus on economic growth
key ingredients =

ACTIVITY 4
Direction: Build a paraphrase. Read the original text below and build a
paraphrase from the selection of phrases provided on the next page.

Information systems make it possible for business to adopt flatter, more decentralized
structures and more flexible arrangements for employees and management.
Organizations are trying to become more competitive and efficient by transforming
themselves intro digital firms where nearly all core business process and relationships
with customers, suppliers and employees are digitally managed (Laudon & Laudon 2002).

How would you begin your paraphrase?

Business can develop …
more decentralized structures,
flatter, less centralized structures
centralized arrangements

Write Your Paraphrase Here:

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 MODULE: ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES

SUMMARIZING ACTIVITIES

ACTIYIVITY NO. 1
Directions: Read each passage and…
• Create a title for the passage related to the main idea.
• Accurately summarize the text.
• Your summary must describe all key ideas from the text.
• Do not include opinions or personal info in your summary.
• Highlight or underline key ideas in each passage.

Picture this:
I. A herd of elephants flies past you at sixty miles per hour, followed by a streak of
tigers, a pride of lions, and a bunch of clowns. What do you see? It must be a
circus train! One of the first uses of the circus train is credited to W.C. Coup. He
partnered with P.T. Barnum in 1871 to expand the reach of their newly combined
shows using locomotives. Before circus trains, these operators had to lug around
all of their animals, performers, and equipment with a team of more than 600
horses. Since there were no highways, these voyages were rough and took a long
time. Circuses would stop at many small towns between the large venues.
Performing at many of these small towns was not very profitable. Because of these
limitations, circuses could not grow as large as the imaginations of the operators.
After they began using circus trains, Barnum and Coup only brought their show to
large cities. These performances were much more profitable and the profits went
toward creating an even bigger and better circus. Multiple rings were added and
the show went on. Today, Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus still rely
on the circus train to transport their astounding show, but now they use two.
1. Main idea related title for the passage:

2. Summarize the passage in your own words:

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II. How do you say “Holy cow” in French? The fastest thing in France may just be the
fastest ground transportation in the world. The TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse:
French for very high speed) is France’s national high speed rail service. On April
3rd, 2007, a TGV test train set a record for the fastest wheeled train, reaching
357.2 miles per hour. In mid 2011, TGV trains operated at the highest speed in
passenger train service in the world, regularly reaching 200 miles per hour. But
what you may find most shocking is that TGV trains run on electric power not petrol.
Now if you’ll excuse me; I have a record to catch.
3. Main idea related title for the passage:

4. Summarize the passage in your own words:

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III. Giddy-up, cowboys and girls! In the Southwest during early half of the 1800s, cows
were only worth 2 or 3 dollars a piece. They roamed wild, grazed off of the open
range, and were abundant. Midway through the century though, railroads were
built and the nation was connected. People could suddenly ship cows in freight
trains to the Northeast, where the Yankees had a growing taste for beef. Out of the
blue, the same cows that were once worth a couple of bucks were now worth
between twenty and forty dollars each, if you could get them to the train station. It
became pretty lucrative to wrangle up a drove of cattle and herd them to the
nearest train town, but it was at least as dangerous as it was profitable. Cowboys
were threatened at every turn. They faced cattle rustlers, stampedes and extreme
weather, but kept pushing those steers to the train station. By the turn of the
century, barbed wire killed the open range and some may say the cowboy too, but
it was the train that birthed him.
5. Main idea related title for the passage:

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6. Summarize the passage in your own words:

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IV. Electric trolley cars or trams were once the chief mode of public transportation in
the United States. Though they required tracks and electric cables to run, these
trolley cars were clean and comfortable. In 1922, auto manufacturer General
Motors created a special unit to replace electric trolleys with cars, trucks, and
buses. Over the next decade, this group successfully lobbied for laws and
regulations that made operating trams more difficult and less profitable. In 1936
General Motors created several front companies for the purpose of purchasing and
dismantling the trolley car system. They received substantial investments from
Firestone Tire, Standard Oil of California, Phillips Petroleum, and other parties
invested in the automotive industry. Some people suspect that these parties
wanted to replace trolley cars with buses to make public transportation less
desirable, which would then increase automobile sales. The decline of the tram
system in North America could be attributed to many things—labor strikes, the
Great Depression, regulations that were unfavorable to operators—but perhaps
the primary cause was having a group of powerful men from rival sectors of the
auto industry working together to ensure its destruction. Fill it up, please.

7. Main idea related title for the passage:

8. Summarize the passage in your own words:

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 MODULE: ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES

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