From Letter to His Son

Robert E. Lee writes to his son in a highly formal style with long, complicated sentences that include many modifiers and descriptions. Choose five sentences in Lee’s letter and paraphrase each one. Locate the key information in each sentence and express its main intent in your own words. For example, the third sentence of Lee’s letter could be restated as: I refuse to believe that the results of Washington’s great work will be ruined and that his ideas and example will be forgotten. Be sure to identify the original sentence and its place in the letter for each of your paraphrased sentences.