Techniques for paraphrasing in IELTS

How to paraphrase in IELTS: Seven essential techniques

Paraphrasing is a very important skill if you want to succeed in the IELTS test. You are expected to paraphrase in both the speaking and written examination to demonstrate your wide vocabulary range.

You should paraphrase the question but you should also continue to paraphrase yourself and use different words.

In this article I will cover:

1. when not to paraphrase

2. changing the order of clauses

3. synonyms

4. changing a noun construction to a verb construction and vice versa

5. changing the word form

6. replacing certain nouns with pronouns

7. Boost your vocabulary
   

1/When not to paraphrase

If you are practicing for the test at home take all the risks you want with paraphrasing. Try things out as it doesn't matter if you get it wrong.  

However, in the exam, make sure you only paraphrase when you’re sure the meaning is the same. Don’t take risks. 

Consider the paraphrasing attempt below:

Young people cause all the crime in society. To what extent do you agree?

ANSWER: Adolescents are said to cause all the crime in society…

The problem with the paraphrasing above is that the original meaning has been changed. Depending on your interpretation, young people can range from around 18-35. Adolescents however are teenagers specifically aged 13-19.

“You should try to keep as close as you can to the original defiNITIONS.”

In addition, many words are hard to paraphrase as they have no easy synonyms.

For example, for Microwave, you could say “electronic cooking device”.

But it would be the first time in history someone called it that — not good paraphrasing 

“In the test if you are unsure…just repeat the word.”

To summarise this point, don’t take risks with paraphrasing in the exam. Poor word choice can totally confuse the reader and ruin an otherwise good sentence.

2/  changing the order of clauses 

A clause is a group of words that includes a subject and a verb. (A clause functions as an adjective, an adverb, or a noun.) A clause contrasts with a phrase, which does not contain a subject and a verb.

One great way we can paraphrase is by changing the order of clauses. Take a look at the example below:

Nowadays university education is very expensive. Some people say that universities should reduce their fees, especially for the less fortunate students or for those coming from rural areas.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

ANSWER - It is argued that students should have their fees reduced, particularly, those coming from rural areas and lower economic backgrounds considering that university is so expensive these days. 

All I have done here is change the order in which the clauses appear. It’s quite a simple way for you to boost your paraphrasing ability in IELTS.

3/ synonyms 

Using synonyms is the most common way that people paraphrase in IELTS.

“When using synonyms make sure that the meaning is the same”.

However, as mentioned earlier in the article you need to keep the meaning as close to the original as you can. For example:

Nowadays —> currently / in the modern world / presently 

Expensive —> costly / dear

You can also form compound nouns/word partnerships and just change one word instead of all of them. For example:

Reduced costs —> reduced spending / reduced expenditure

4/ changing a noun construction to a verb construction and vice versa

This is another great little tip for those of you struggling to paraphrase in your IELTS tests. You can change noun constructions to verb constructions and vice versa.

For example:

University education (noun construction ) —> Being educated at a university (verb construction) 

Universities should reduce fees (verb construction)  —> Lower University fees (noun construction) 

5/  Changing the word form

Often there is no need to think of synonyms and we can instead simply change the word form.

For example:

Reduce - reducing - reduced - reduction - reduces 

6/ You can replace certain nouns with pronouns 

A pronoun is a word that is used instead of a noun or noun phrase. Pronouns refer to either a noun that has already been mentioned or to a noun that does not need to be named specifically.

Examples of pronouns include I, me, he, she, herself, you, it, that, they, each, few, many, who, whoever, whose, someone, everybody, etc.

They can be a great way to avoid endlessly repeating the same nouns in your essay.

For example:

*Tuition fees* are extraordinarily high these days leading many to question whether *they* should be slashed particularly for low-income and countryside students.

7/ Boost your vocabulary

If you are really struggling with paraphrasing  — you may need to just boost your vocabulary.

Read about the most common topics for IELTS on websites like bbc.co.uk and highlight collocations, word partnerships, and topic-specific vocabulary. Build lists that you think would be useful for the test.

The most common IELTS topics are:

• Health

• Environment

• Education

• Development

• Globalization

• Public Transport

• Criminal Justice

• Youth Crime

• Technology

• Government Spending

NEXT STEPS?

I hope that you have enjoyed reading this blog.  If you have any questions regarding the test or would like to inquire about my writing correction services or IELTS online classes please email me at info@lovetolearnenglish.com.