Paraphrasing means saying the same idea in different words, without changing the meaning. It matters in IELTS because you do it all the time: in Writing Task 1 when you describe a chart, in Writing Task 2 when you restate the question, in Speaking when you cannot remember a word, and in Reading and Listening when the question uses different words from the text. Good news: it is a skill you can train.
Why paraphrasing matters
Examiners look at your range of vocabulary and grammar. If you copy the words of the question, you show very little range. If you rephrase them clearly and correctly, you show control. In Reading and Listening, the answer is almost never written in the same words as the question, so paraphrasing is also a reading and listening skill.
1. Change the word, keep the meaning
Use a synonym that fits the context: many people becomes a large number of individuals, and increase becomes rise or grow. Be careful: synonyms are rarely exact. Big problem and major problem work, but big change and large change sound less natural. Check each new word in a good dictionary with examples.
2. Change the structure
Turn an active sentence into a passive one, or move the main idea to a different position. Governments should spend more on public transport can become More money should be spent on public transport by governments, or It is important for governments to invest more in public transport. Changing the structure often sounds more natural than changing every word.
3. Change the word family
Pollution harms health becomes Polluted air is harmful to our health. Changing a noun to an adjective, or a verb to a noun, is one of the easiest ways to rephrase a sentence and one of the safest.
4. Do not paraphrase everything
Some words have no good synonym, such as computer, school or water. Leave them as they are. A forced replacement such as educational establishment for school can sound strange. Keep the key nouns, and change the words around them.
A worked example
Original question: Some people believe that children should start learning a foreign language at primary school.
Paraphrase: It is sometimes argued that young pupils ought to begin studying another language in their first years of school.
Look at what changed: some people believe became it is sometimes argued, children became young pupils, start learning became begin studying, and primary school became their first years of school. The meaning is the same, and the sentence is correct.
A simple daily practice
- Take one sentence from a news article or a practice test every day.
- Write it again in two different ways, without looking at the original.
- Compare: did the meaning stay the same? Is the grammar correct? Does it sound natural?
- Keep a small list of useful phrases to reuse.
Want more practice?
Our book Mastering Paraphrasing in English has hundreds of examples, and you can read a free sample before you decide. If you would like feedback on your own sentences, send them to us through the assessment and feedback service.