“rephrase” DS

[brianjadams1]

This is a general question. I’m having trouble grasping how to "rephrase" DS. In retrospect, it’s always clear why the instructor rephrased as he/she did, but when I’m doing problems, I can rarely come up with a way to rephrase that makes sense. Any tips?

[StaceyKoprince]

Yes - this is a tough skill to learn; it's not something that you just "see."

Go buy some index cards / flash cards. Keep them handy while you're studying. On one side write "When I see ________" and on the other "I'll think / do _______." When your teacher shows a good rephrasing or you read one in an explanation, write it down.

Next, don't expect to just magically "see" the rephrase while the timer is ticking for the 2 minutes. Most of the time, we (the teachers) figure out a good rephrase by going over a new problem afterwards, and it might take 3, 4, 5 minutes just to get the rephrase! But then we go back to the problem wording and say, okay, what was it that SHOULD have clued me in (and will clue me in next time)? Then we learn / memorize that and so we actually *recognize* it next time - which is a LOT easier than figuring it out in the first place.

So that's what you're trying to do. When you're studying, do whatever you can do during the 2 minutes that the clock is ticking - but then feel free to take as much time as you want / need to figure out rephrases afterwards, and then make a flashcard that will help you remember how to recognize it next time!