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Paraphrase this passage on the Civil War. Use the back of this page if you need more room.

ParaphrasingParaphrasing is restating published writing in your own words. It can be shorter or longer than the original writing. To paraphrase:

1. Identify the main idea 3. Change the structure of the paragraph 2. Change the words and word order 4. Write about it in a different way

Be careful not to plagiarize. Plagiarism is stealing someone else’s writing and passing it off as yours without giving credit to them.

The American Civil War (1861–1865), also referred to as the War Between the States or

simply the Civil War, was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to

the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states

declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America

(“the Confederacy”); the other 25 states supported the federal government (“the Union”). After

four years of warfare, mostly within the Southern states, the Confederacy surrendered and

slavery was outlawed everywhere in the nation. Issues that led to war were partially resolved in

the Reconstruction Era that followed, though others remained unresolved. —Wikipedia

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Paraphrase this passage on Vincent van Gogh.Use the back of this page if you need more room.

Paraphrasing — Vincent van GoghParaphrasing is restating published writing in your own words. It can be shorter or longer than the original writing. To paraphrase:



Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) was born more than 150 years ago in the Netherlands. He had many jobs, such as a teacher and working in a book store and an art gallery. In 1880, his brother convinced him to paint full time. When painting, Van Gogh often used dark colors and used loose brush strokes. In 1885 Van Gogh went to Belgium where he saw art from Japan which used bright colors. This art influenced his style. In 1886 he moved to Paris and met the artists Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Paul Gauguin. In Paris, he discovered a style called impressionism and adopted the use of color and light and a technique called pointillism, where paint is applied in small dots. Van Gogh is regarded as a post-impressionist. In 1888 he left Paris and went to Arles, a country town in France. For awhile he was happy, but unfortunately he soon developed mental problems. He was known for cutting off part of his left ear and giving it to a woman. In 1889 he entered a mental institution. While there he began painting in thick striped and swirly patterns. This was where he created his famous masterpiece, The Starry Night, which interestingly, has all the stars in the correct spot in the sky. In 1890, Van Gogh committed suicide. He was 37 years old. During his life, he created over 2000 paintings and drawings, but sold only one.


Paraphrase this passage on the Ohlone people.Use the back of this page if you need more room.

Paraphrasing — The Ohlone PeopleParaphrasing is restating published writing in your own words. It can be shorter or longer than the original writing. To paraphrase:



The Ohlone people are Native Americans that inhabited the central coast of California. In the late

18th century, when Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived, the Ohlone lived along the coast

from the San Francisco Bay through Monterey Bay to the Salinas Valley. They spoke different

languages, and lived in more than 50 distinct groups. They did not view themselves as a single

group. They survived by hunting, fishing, and gathering. California was abundant with wildlife and

natural resources, and many animals, such as the coyote, the hummingbird and the eagle, played

important roles in Ohlone folklore and mythology. Their religion was shamanism, but the Spanish

tried to convert them to Christianity. The Spanish missionaries had a ravaging effect on the Ohlone

people. The Ohlone population declined sharply during this time. Many died from diseases, others

were killed. Today there are less than 1,400 registered Ohlone left in the United States.


Paraphrase this passage on sedimentary rock.Use the back of this page if you need more room.

Paraphrasing — Sedimentary RockParaphrasing is restating published writing in your own words. It can be shorter or longer than the original writing. To paraphrase:



Sedimentary rock is formed over thousands, even millions, of years. Small pieces of earth break

down and are worn away by water and wind. This is called erosion. These pieces are washed

downstream and settle to the bottom of the lakes, oceans and rivers. Layers of eroded earth are

deposited on top of each other. These layers are pressed down through time, until the bottom

layers eventually turn into rock. One example of sedimentary rock is sandstone. Sandstone is a

sedimentary rock made from tiny grains of the minerals feldspar and quartz. Sandstone is often

used for building. Limestone is another sedimentary rock. Limestone is made from the mineral

calcite, which comes from the beds of dried up seas and lakes, and from the shells of sea animals.

Limestone is used in concrete and for building. It is especially good for building in humid areas.


Paraphrase this passage on Rosa Parks.Use the back of this page if you need more room.

Paraphrasing — Rosa ParksParaphrasing is restating published writing in your own words. It can be shorter or longer than the original writing. To paraphrase:



Rosa Parks (1913-2005) is known as “The Mother of the Modern Day Civil Rights Movement.” Rosa

Parks was an African-American woman who refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger.

She was arrested for breaking segregation laws, and her arrest began a boycott of city buses that lasted

381 days. This led to the Supreme Court ruling in 1956 making segregation illegal on public buses. Her

brave act would inspire many others to take a stand against unfair segregation laws. Rosa Parks was

born in Alabama and grew up on a small farm. During her childhood she was frightened by the Ku Klux

Klan (a white supremacist group) riding at night, and was afraid they would burn down her house. She

attended a school for African-American children that was open only five months a year and went up to

sixth grade. She married a civil rights activist named Raymond Parks. With her husband’s support, Rosa

graduated from high school in 1934. Together, they worked for the NAACP (National Association for the

Advancement of Colored People). Rosa Parks continued the fight for equal rights her whole life. She has

received hundreds of awards, including the Medal of Freedom Award from President Clinton.


Paraphrase this passage on the gray wolf.Use the back of this page if you need more room.

Paraphrasing — The Gray WolfParaphrasing is restating published writing in your own words. It can be shorter or longer than the original writing. To paraphrase:



The gray wolf (scientific name, Canis lupus) is the largest member of the dog family. At one time gray

wolves were the world’s most widely distributed mammal, but they are now extinct in much of the United

States, Mexico and Western Europe. They live mostly in wilderness and remote areas, but their range

has been reduced by about one third, due to over-hunting by humans. Wolves are protected in some

areas of the United States, but hunted for fun in others. They are also killed because they are seen as

threats to livestock, humans, and their pets. Gray wolves are highly intelligent, social animals that live in

affectionate families made up of a mated pair, their offspring and, occasionally, adopted juvenile wolves.

A strict hierarchy exists in a pack of wolves, with the alpha wolf at the top of the pack, and the omega

at the bottom. The alpha wolf eats first, and only the alpha male and female are allowed to mate. Gray

wolves primarily prey on hooved mammals, which they hunt as a pack by tiring them down in short

chases. Genetic studies have proved that the gray wolf is the ancestor of the domestic dog. In areas where

humans and wolves live closely, wolves are often written about in stories, folklore and mythology.


Paraphrase this passage on photosynthesis.Use the back of this page if you need more room.

Paraphrasing — PhotosynthesisParaphrasing is restating published writing in your own words. It can be shorter or longer than the original writing. To paraphrase:



Photosynthesis is the cycle by which plants make their own energy. This is a complex biochemical

process where the energy of sunlight is converted into chemical energy, or food. Most plants don’t get

food by eating other organisms like animals do. They make their own food, in the form of glucose

(sugar). This sugar is made from carbon dioxide and water. Carbon dioxide is taken in through the

leaves, and water is taken in through the roots. Sunlight provides the energy that causes a reaction and

creates the glucose that plants need to survive. Oxygen is actually a waste product from this reaction,

and it is released into the environment for animals and humans to breathe. In green plants and algae,

the pigment molecules that initially absorb the sun’s energy are called chlorophyll. Keep in mind that

photosynthesis is a very complex process. But it can be understood with a simplified equation: Carbon

dioxide, plus water, plus light, yields oxygen, plus sugar. In animals, this equation is reversed: oxygen,

plus sugar, yields carbon dioxide, plus water, plus energy.


Paraphrase this passage on Annie Oakley.Use the back of this page if you need more room.

Paraphrasing — Annie OakleyParaphrasing is restating published writing in your own words. It can be shorter or longer than the original writing. To paraphrase:



Annie Oakley (1860-1926) was a legend of the American West, especially known for her dazzling talent with a gun. Annie suffered a very difficult childhood. Her father died when she was six, and she never went to school. Her family was very poor. She began learning shooting tricks at age nine to help earn money. Eventually she made more money than she ever could have imagined. At 16 she was well known for her incredible shooting feats. She married Frank E. Butler, a top shooter and vaudeville performer, after beating him in a shooting contest. As a couple, they became one of the top acts in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Annie could shoot off the end of a cigarette held in her husband’s lips, hit the edge of a playing card from 30 yards, and shoot distant targets backwards, while looking into a mirror. She could hit a target while standing on a galloping horse that most men couldn’t hit standing still. Annie overcame poverty, mistreatment and physical injury. She used her talent to break down barriers for women in her sport. Annie showed generosity and compassion to young women in need, widows and orphans. Her death, at the age of 66, saddened many throughout America. Part of her legacy is the Irving Berlin musical, Annie Get Your Gun (1946) based on her life.


Paraphrase this passage on the Nile River.Use the back of this page if you need more room.

Paraphrasing — The Nile RiverParaphrasing is restating published writing in your own words. It can be shorter or longer than the original writing. To paraphrase:



At over 4,000 miles long, the Nile River is the world’s longest river. In ancient times, each spring

water would run off the mountains and the Nile would flood. As the flood waters receded,

black, rich soil was left behind. The ancient Egyptians called this fertile soil “The Gift of the

Nile.” The Nile gave ancient Egyptians many gifts besides the rich soil. Because of the Nile, they

had fresh water for drinking and bathing. The Nile also supported trade and transportation. It

provided building materials, and natural resources for making cloth and paper. Paper was made

from the wild papyrus plant that grew along the Nile’s shores. Because of the annual flooding

of the Nile, the ancient Egyptians had a high standard of living compared to other civilizations.

Egypt would be a desert if it were not for the Nile River.


Paraphrase this passage on Asteroids and MeteorsUse the back of this page if you need more room.

Paraphrasing — Asteroids and MeteorsParaphrasing is restating published writing in your own words. It can be shorter or longer than the original writing. To paraphrase:



An asteroid is a small planet made of metal and rock. Most of the asteroids in the solar system

orbit the sun between Jupiter and Mars, in an area known as the asteroid belt. In 1966 a probe

was launched to orbit an asteroid named 433 Eros. It took pictures of the asteroid’s surface. Most

scientists believe that asteroids were formed by the same processes that formed our solar system.

Sometimes small pieces of asteroids reach the earth’s atmosphere and burn up, leaving a bright trail.

These are called meteors, or shooting stars. Meteorites are meteors that strike the earth. Usually they

are tiny and do very little damage. But some meteorites have left large craters in the earth’s surface.

One crater in Mexico is 110 miles across. Many scientists believe, based on the size of this crater, that

a meteorite caused the extinction of the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago. Before space travel

to the moon meteorites were the only material from outside Earth that scientists could examine.

Scientists still learn a lot about planets by studying meteorites.


Paraphrase this passage on BeethovenUse the back of this page if you need more room.

Paraphrasing — BeethovenParaphrasing is restating published writing in your own words. It can be shorter or longer than the original writing. To paraphrase:



Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827) was one of the greatest classical music composers of all time. His accomplishments were even more astonishing because he was deaf for much of his life. Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany. His father, who was also a musician, could be demanding and harsh with Beethoven. He often dragged his son out of bed to practice the piano. By the age of 13 Beethoven was already performing for money. When he was 18 years old his mother died, and he had to take charge of his family. When Beethoven was 29 he discovered that he was going deaf. Because of this, he developed a new musical style that reflected his violent emotions. Around this time Beethoven composed the Fifth Symphony, one of the most influential and popular of all his compositions. By 1820 he was so deaf that he could only communicate through writing. Even though he couldn’t hear, this was his most creative period. During this time he wrote his greatest works: the last five piano sonatas, the Mass in D, the Ninth Symphony, and the last five string quartets. Beethoven died on March 26, 1827 at the age of 57.


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