If you are an IELTS student or learning the basics of English, you must have heard the word PARAPHRASING. But what is paraphrasing and How to effectively paraphrase in IELTS Writing? In simple terms paraphrasing means to express something in different words without changing the tone of the sentence. It is used to make words clearer and easier to understand.
Students are guided to use paraphrasing in IELTS writing task 1 and task 2 to maximize their score. It’s very helpful in writing essays as vocabulary is counted 25% of your writing score. But it doesn’t just stop here, paraphrasing is also very helpful in IELTS listening and IELTS reading. It does play a role in IELTS speaking test, but not much, as it is a formal way of testing, while paraphrasing is used in the informal context. Let’s move forward and learn how to effectively paraphrase in IELTS Writing.
Context:
- using synonyms
- changing word forms
- changing the structure of sentence
- use active passive voice
- using definitions and descriptive phrases
- change the order of the word
Using synonyms
Synonyms is the first foremost thing to use while paraphrasing. It shows your grip on vocabulary and how well you can explain it. Synonyms are different words which holds the same meaning.
For example – happy – joyful – cheerful – delighted etc
Here’s how you can use this in IELTS:
Eg – Many people believe that watching TV is a waste of time.
Paraphrased – A lot of individuals think that watching TV is a pointless activity.
Here what we changed in the above sentence:
Many people – A lot of individuals
believe – think
waste of time – pointless activity
Its not necessary to paraphrase all the words in a sentence. You should change just enough to show the difference. But make sure that both sentences mean the same. Many students make mistake here while using synonyms that do not fit with the sentence. It’s up to you to decide which word to change and which one to keep it as it is. Remember you don’t need to change all words to get higher score in IELTS.
Changing word forms
Another way to paraphrase is changing the form of words. It means to explain the sentence using the same words but by changing their forms. It is very helpful when you don’t want to use synonyms in the sentence. Here words are changed from verb to noun, adjective to noun and vice versa.
Verb to noun
Eg – People consume too much sugar in their day-to-day life.
Paraphrase – The consumption of sugar is very high in everyday life.
Adjective to noun
Eg – The city is polluted.
Paraphrase – Pollution is a great concern in the city.
Changing the structure of sentence
This is an effective way to paraphrase without using synonyms or changing the form of the sentence. It is especially useful when paraphrasing essays for introductions and conclusions.
Eg – technology has changed the way people communicate.
Paraphrased – The way individuals interact has been transformed by technology.
The sentence is changed without losing it meaning. Here’s a tip for beginners, break the long sentence into two or combine two short sentences into one. You can achieve high score in IELTS by making these minimal changes.
Use active voice and passive voice:
What is active voice and passive voice? an active voice is when a subject performs the actions while in the passive voice the subject receives the action.
Active voice to passive voice
Eg – People speak English all over the world.
Paraphrased – English is spoken all over the world.
Passive voice to active voice
Eg- The law was passed by the government.
Paraphrased – The government passed the law.
Remember this rule:
- passive voice = object + verb + subject
- active voice = subject + verb +object
Using definitions and descriptive phrases
Like the title itself suggest describe and define.. When you are paraphrasing a sentence you can either describe a word or define it briefly.
Eg – Obesity is a growing problem in today’s youth.
Paraphrased – Being extremely overweight is a huge issue in today’s generation.
Change the order of the word
The last one in our mastering paraphrasing list is to change the order of the word. This is an very easy way to paraphrase a sentence.
Eg- Smartphones have changed communication.
Paraphrased – Communication is changed because of smartphones.
You have all the best tips on how to paraphrase your IELTS writing task 1 and 2. It’s time for you to start giving practice test and find your level. Remember, to effectively paraphrase in IELTS Writing, you don’t lose the meaning of the sentence, and the grammar is intact and fluent.
