Please help. i am homeschooled and am an ESL student.?

Question

ok well, I am an ESL student and have trouble condensing down, paraphrasing and changing words around of others work. this little bit below is part of a research project i am doing right now. I am having a lot difficulty condensing it down, paraphrasing text and changing words around. please help. atleast make notes for each paragraph if that's the least you can do. PLEEASE i am about to cry.

The sudden death of his father in 1790 made Ranjit Singh the leader of the Sukarchakia Misl. Ranjit Singh’s mother was worried as to what would happen to the territories conquered by her husband. Young and confident, Ranjit Singh is said to have assured her that he would not only keep the ancestral territories intact but would also extend them further and bring honor and glory to his family. Initially his mother acted as a regent but later Ranjit Singh took the administration of his misl in his own hands, and displayed rare tact and ability in the management of the territories under his control.

At the age of sixteen Ranjit Singh was married to Mehtab Kaur, daughter of Rani Sada Kaur, an ambitious and capable lady who had been described by historians as “a ladder by which Ranjit Singh climbed to power in his early years.” Because of the weakening of authority of the Mughal Empire, Afghan invaders frequently attacked and plundered Punjab. Ahmad Sharah Abdali invaded Punjab nine times. The negative impact of his frequent invasions can be gauged from the following popular doggerel: Khada Peeta lahe da, Baki Ahmad Shahe da. (What we eat and drink is ours; Whatever is saved belongs to Ahmad Shah.)

Three Afghan invaders, Mahmud Ghazni, Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah Abdali, took away all that was valuable in India- the peacock throne of Shah Jahan, the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond and other precious jewels, sandalwood doors of Somnath Temple studded with precious stones and caravans of elephants loaded with valuables and whatever they could lay their hands upon. Young women, who were forcibly captured and sold in the markets of Afghanistan, were the worst sufferers. While the Marathas made concerted efforts to assert their sovereignty and even managed to take control of Delhi, the imperial capital, they failed to check the advancing armies of Ahmad Shah Abdali and were defeated in the Third Battle of Panipat. However, it goes to the credit of Sikh chiefs who, through their guerrilla tactics, chased the retreating army of Ahmad Shah Abdali and succeeded in retrieving some of the booty. Their most creditable achievement was the liberation of a large number of young Hindu women from the custody of the invading army and restoring them to their parents.

Impressed by the heroic deeds of the Sikh guerrillas, Ahmad Shah Abdali asked the Mughal Governor of Punjab, Zakaria Khan, as to who these people were and where did they live. The governor is reported to have replied that they were followers of Guru Nanak and the saddles of their horses were their homes. Upon this Ahmad Shah Abdali is reported to have remarked: “Beware! One day they will rule Punjab.” It was not surprising therefore to find Ranjit Singh, the young chief of the Sukarchakia Misl, wresting power from the grandson of Ahmad Shah Abdali in 1799.

Answer 1

Let’s break down each paragraph and see what we learned.

(Main idea:  Ranjit Singh inherits the leadership of his clan.

· Ranjit Singh’s father died in 1790.

· Ranjit Singh became the leader of the clan (a misl).

· His mother worried if Ranjit would be able to control all the land conquered by her husband.

· Ranjit was young and confident.  He believed he would keep all the territory and do even better than his father.

· Until Ranjit was older, his mother was in charge of leading the misl (a regent is a person who rules until the person in line is old enough.)

· When Ranjit took control, he was a skillful and wise ruler.

(Main idea: Situations that help Ranjit Singh become a strong leader.)

· When he was 16, Ranjit married a princess, Metab Kaur.  

· Her mother was a queen who helped Ranjit become a more powerful ruler.

· Meanwhile, because the Mughal Empire was becoming weaker, invaders from the west, Afghans, invaded Punjab often.

· A popular little rhyme shows the effects of those invasions:  ÃƒÂ¢Ã‚€ÂœWhat we eat and drink is ours; Whatever’s left belongs to Ahmad Shah.”

(Main idea: Afghan invasions and Sikh heroism.)

· The invasions of the Afghans were terrible experiences for the Mughal Empire.

· Famous treasures, such as the peacock throne of Shah Jahan and the Koh-i-Noor diamond, were stolen.

· Caravans of elephants were loaded with valuable objects and carried away.

· Young girls were captured and sold as slaves.

· The Marathas, a Hindu empire from the east that had taken over much of the Mughal Empire, was not able to hold out against the Afghan armies.

· However, the Sikh chiefs were able to get back some of the stolen booty and rescue many girls.

(Main idea: A prophecy comes true.)

· Ahmad Shah Abdali, the leader of the Afghans, was so impressed by these courageous Sikhs, that he asked who they were.

· The Governor of Punjab told him they were the followers of Guru Nanak and lived in the saddle.

· Ahmad Shah Abdali predicted that someday they would rule Punjab.

· It was no surprise that, in 1799, Ranjit Singh would take the power from Abdali’s grandson.

That's what you need to do when ever it's difficult to make sense of a paragraph.  Make a list of the ideas.  Decide what the whole section is about (topic).  Work out which sentences are main ideas and which are supporting details.  Never write anything you do not understand.

Answer 2

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http://www.OnlineStudyInfo.com