LESSON 2: PARAPHRASING

Paraphrasing is simply re-writing a phrase or sentence so that it has the same meaning but with different
words. Paraphrasing is one of the most important skills to learn before doing your IELTS test. It is most
important for writing and speaking, but will also help you in the reading and listening tests..
Let’s look at an example.
Example: Paraphrasing is one of the most important skills to learn prior to doing your IELTS test.
Paraphrased: Before taking the IELTS test, mastering paraphrasing is one of the most crucial things
to do.
As you can see, the second sentence (paraphrased sentence) uses synonyms to change some vocabulary
(e.g., ‘important’ for ‘crucial’ and ‘prior to’ for ‘before’) and changes the grammar (e.g., “Paraphrasing is
one of the most important skills” for “mastering paraphrasing”).
WARM-UP:
Question 1: To analyse (change to noun) => ________________
Question 2: Theoretical (change to verb) => ________________
Question 3: Problem (change to adjective) => ________________
Question 4: To prove (change to opposite verb) => ________________
Question 5: I would rather live in the suburbs.
A) The suburbs are an awful place to live.
B) I prefer the suburbs.
C) Living in the city can be troublesome at times.
D) I rather think that I can live in the suburbs.
E) Living in the suburbs is great
Question 6: The plumbing in the bathroom was very old so we had to replace it.
A) We replaced the bathroom which had very old plumbing.
B) The very old plumbing broke down and we wanted to replace the bathroom.
C) We had to change the plumbing in our bathroom as it was very old.
D) The plumbing had to be replaced before it broke down in the old bathroom.
E) The old bathroom was changed by the old plumber.
Question 7: They reduced the cost of the vegetables as there was an overproduction this year.
A) They grew so many large vegetables that they could not sell them to anyone.
B) The price of vegetables came down as they were not sold by the people.
C) The cost of producing vegetables has been reduced this year.
D) They have grown so many vegetables this year that they have had to decrease the prices at which they are
sold.
E) The overgrowth in produced vegetables is making the cost go up.
Question 8: The cashier at the bank, Alan, was shot during the robbery attempt.
A) The cashier, Alan, shot the men who attempted to rob the bank.
B) Alan attempted to rob the bank but he was shot by the cashier.
C) The bank wanted a cashier like Alan who would rather be shot than be robbed.
D) Alan was working at the bank as a cashier when he was shot during an attempted robbery.
E) They attempted to rob the bank cashier, Alan, but he shot at them.
Question 9: The survival of the passengers whose plane crashed in the mountains was remarkable.
A) The passengers who crashed survived in the mountains.
B) The plane that survived crashing in the mountains had remarkable passengers.
C) The passengers who survived crashed their plane in the mountains.
D) It is amazing that the passengers of the plane that crashed survived in the mountains.
E) They remarked that the passengers survived after the plane crash in the mountains.
Question 10: After the loss of their parents, the older child devoted himself to his younger siblings.
A) The big brother took the siblings after their parents died.
B) The elder boy looked after his younger sister and brother after his parents had died.
C) They lost their parents when the older brother took care of the siblings.
D) The younger children were cared for by their parents because they had gotten lost.
There are different ways to paraphrase. We will now look at each method in detail.
Method Number 1: Using Synonyms
Synonyms are different words that have the same meaning. For example, ‘humans’ is a synonym for ‘people’
and ‘attractive’ is a synonym for ‘beautiful’. This method replaces words with the same meaning to produce
a new sentence.
For example: My car needs petrol. => My vehicle requires fuel.
As you can see, three out of four words have been replaced with synonyms to produce a new sentence with
the same meaning as the first one. You will notice that not all of the words have been changed, but you
should try to replace most of them.
You should, therefore, only use words you are 100% sure about. Don’t change a word unless you are 100%
sure that it is a direct synonym. Otherwise, you are likely to make mistakes, which will lower your score.
Method Number 2: Change the Word Order
Changing the word order also allows us to effectively paraphrase a sentence, but again, we have to be
careful. Don’t change the word order without thinking about how this affects the grammar of the sentence.
There are two straightforward ways to change the word order in most IELTS questions.
1. You can easily change the order of the clauses if the original sentence has more than one clause.
Question: As languages such as Spanish, Chinese and English become more widely used, there is a fear
that many minority languages may die out.
Paraphrased by changing word order: There is a fear that many minority languages may die out, as
languages such as Spanish, Chinese and English become more widely used.
2. You can also change the word order if there is an adjective or noun in the question. You do this by simply
changing the adjective into a relative clause.
Question: Learning to manage money is one of the key aspects of adult life.
Paraphrased: Learning to manage money is one of the aspects of adult life that is key.
Method Number 3: Change the Form of the Word
There are many different forms of words, including nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. Changing the form
of a word allows us to paraphrase effectively. Again, don’t just change the form of the word; you also need
to check that your changes make grammatical sense.
Question: Longer life spans and improvements in the health of older people suggest that people over
the age of sixty-five can continue to live full and active lives.
Paraphrased by changing word form: Longer life spans and improvements in the health of older people
are suggesting that people over the age of sixty-five can continue living full and active lives.
Method Number 4: Change from Active to Passive
The passive voice is often used in academic writing and can therefore be used in the IELTS academic
writing test. Only verbs with an object can be turned into passive.
Example active sentence: The property developers invested $20 million in the development of the
shopping centre.
Example passive sentence: $20 million was invested in the development of the shopping centre. We often
use the passive voice in academic writing when we don’t want to say it is our opinion.
The four methods can be used independently or together. Students are advised to try and change the
grammar (word order and/or word form) and use synonyms. Remember only use the methods you feel 100%
comfortable using and ensure your work is error-free.