Paraphrase/’pærəfreɪz/ is a way of rewriting a sentence or a paragraph using different words (than the original sentence or paragraph) but keeping the original meaning of the passage. This is one of the essential skills in the IELTS test, especially the written test.

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In IELTS Writing Task 1 & 2, you need to paraphrase the opening sentence. I will guide you in 5 simple but extremely effective Paraphase steps:

Step 1: Use alternative words show = give information about = demonstrate = demonstrate.

Step 2: If the topic is “the chart”, rewrite it to be more specific, say “the first chart” or “the bar chart”.

Step 3: If the table has many different objects, you need to specify those objects. Example article title: The chart below shows the amount of money per week spent on “fast foods” in Britain.

Please pay attention to the word “fast foods”, and clearly write what kind of “fast foods” it is. For example, the chart you see has 3 types, you write: 3 different types of fast foods.

Step 4: Quantity words like amount, number, population, percentage convert to how many/how much and vice versa.

Step 5: If there are years (eg 1900 – 2015), you can write from 1900 to 2015, or use the phrase “over the course of 115 years starting from 1900”.

From the above steps, we can derive what needs paraphase: From “show”, from “chart”, common noun, quantity, time.

SPECIFIC EXAMPLE:

Example 1: The chart below shows the amount of money per week spent on fast foods in Britain.

Paraphrase: The bar graph ILLUSTRATES how much money people in Britain spent per week on 3 different types of fast food.

Example 2: The charts below show the results of a survey of adult education. The first chart shows the reasons why adults decide to study. The pie chart shows how people think the costs of adult education should be shared.

Paraphrase: The bar graph demonstrates 7 different reasons why adults pursue education at their age.

Or: The second chart shows how the surveyees think their education expenses should be allocated.

Example 3: The table below shows the consumer durables (telephone, refrigerator, etc.) owned in Britain from 1972 to 1983.

Paraphrase: The table illustrates the ownership rate of different home appliances in Britain over the course of 11 years starting from 1972.

In this example, you may find the word “consumer durables” strange, even if you don’t understand what it means. But looking at the list in brackets, we see that there are phones, refrigerators, etc., so we can guess that this word has the same meaning as “home appliances”.

With only 5 basic steps above, I believe you will save time and write a much better Writing. However, she once again reminds you that you need to practice a lot to make Paraphase “real”!!!

Anna . Page