Stop Copying the Question!
Paraphrase Like an IELTS Candidate
[INTRO]
Hi everyone!
How many times have you heard this advice for IELTS Writing? “Paraphrase the question to avoid losing
point.” Probably a lot, right?
But here’s the problem: nobody tells you HOW to actually do it.
Do you just change words? Switch grammar? Or rewrite everything from scratch?
In this video, I’ll break it all down and teach you 3 techniques to paraphrase in IELTS Writing. These
techniques will help you avoid repetition, boost your vocabulary score, and make you sound more academic.
Technique 1
Alright, let’s start with the first technique: Using Synonyms and Word Families.
This is probably the most common way to paraphrase — but also one of the trickiest. Why?
Because not all synonyms have exactly the same meaning or tone. Using the wrong synonym can make your
sentence sound awkward or even change the meaning completely.
📌 Here’s an example IELTS question:
"Nowadays, many people prefer to work from home rather than travel to an office."
And here’s a paraphrase using synonyms:
"These days, a large number of individuals choose remote work instead of commuting to a physical
workplace."
✅ What has changed?
• “Nowadays” → “These days” – This is a simple expression with the same meaning.
• “many people” → “a large number of individuals” – This part uses a more formal and academic
approach.
• “prefer to work from home” → “choose remote work” – Again, replace “prefer to” with “choose”, and
use “remote work” as an alternative for “work from home.”
• “travel to an office” → “commuting to a physical workplace” – “Commute” is a very academic word in
the transportation topic, so you might want to check our other video that talks about it in detail. And
“physical workplace” is a good visualization for “office.”
However, ALWAYS check if your synonym fits the context. Because not all words are interchangeable,
even if they seem similar.
Take this sentence as an example:
📌 “He wants to build a successful career in law.”
Now let’s try paraphrasing it with two different synonyms:
✅ “He is aiming to establish a prosperous career in the legal field.”
✅ “He is aiming to establish a prosperous job in the legal field.”
So, which one sounds natural?
The first version — “a prosperous career” — is perfect. Why?
Because career refers to your long-term professional journey, not just a single position.
But the second version — “a prosperous job” — sounds awkward. A job usually means a specific position
you hold to earn money, like:
📌 “I got a new job at a software company.”
You can’t really “build a job” because jobs are individual roles, not something you develop over years.
✅ So the correct one doesn’t paraphrase “career.”
This is why context matters so much when paraphrasing with synonyms. Swapping words carelessly can
make your writing sound unnatural or even change the meaning.
Technique 2: Changing the Sentence Structure
Now let’s move on to Technique 2: Changing the Sentence Structure.
This time, instead of just swapping words for synonyms, we’re changing how the whole sentence is built.
Why does this matter?
Because it shows your grammar range, adds variety to your writing, and makes it sound much more
academic.
So how can you do this? There are two simple ways.
The first is switching from active voice to passive voice.
Take this sentence:
📌 “The government built a new hospital in the city center.”
We can rewrite it like this:
📌 “A new hospital was constructed in the city center by the government.”
Notice what changed. We didn’t just replace “built” with “constructed.” We shifted the focus of the
sentence — from “the government” as the subject to “a new hospital.” This helps avoid overusing active
structures.
The second way is using noun phrases instead of full clauses.
For example:
📌 “The increase in car ownership has led to traffic problems.”
We can rewrite it as:
📌 “Rising car ownership has caused congestion issues.”
Here, “the increase in car ownership” becomes the noun phrase “rising car ownership.”
This change makes the sentence shorter and more academic.
So, changing the sentence structure isn’t just about showing off your grammar. It also helps you avoid
repetitive sentence patterns and makes your writing flow more naturally. And remember, variety is one of
the keys to a higher band score.
Technique 3: Using Different Word Forms
Now let’s move on to Technique 3: Using Different Word Forms.
Here, you change the sentence’s grammatical form instead of just replacing words.
You can:
🔹 Turn verbs into nouns
🔹 Change adjectives into noun phrases
🔹 Or even switch nouns back into verbs
This helps you avoid repetition and makes your writing sound more concise and academic.
📌 Example 1 – Verb to Noun:
"Young people are influenced by social media."
We can rewrite this as:
📌 “Social media has an influence on young people.”
Here, we transformed the verb “are influenced” into the noun phrase “has an influence.”
This change makes the sentence sound more formal and academic — perfect for IELTS Task 2.
📌 Example 2 – Adjective to Noun Phrase:
"Fast food is unhealthy."
We can rewrite this as:
📌 “Fast food has poor nutritional value.”
Here, the adjective “unhealthy” becomes the noun phrase “poor nutritional value.”
This not only sounds more academic but also fits well in formal writing.
📌 Example 3 – Noun to Verb:
"The number of unemployed people is rising."
We can rewrite it as:
📌 “Unemployment is increasing.”
Here, we turned the noun phrase “the number of unemployed people” into the single noun “unemployment”
with a verb “is increasing.”
This version is cleaner, shorter, and shows your vocabulary range.
🔄 Quick Recap: 3 Paraphrasing Techniques
Alright, let’s quickly review the 3 techniques you just learned:
1️ Use synonyms and word families – Swap words carefully, but always check the context.
2️ Change the sentence structure – Rearrange grammar to show variety.
3️ Switch word forms – Turn verbs into nouns, adjectives into phrases, and vice versa.
These 3 techniques are your toolkit for sounding more academic and natural in IELTS Writing.
Paraphrasing is a skill — and like any skill, the more you practice, the better you get.
So start small: In every IELTS Writing task, pick out a sentence and try to paraphrase it in 2 or 3 different
ways. Try out the techniques you’ve learned today and see which one sounds more natural and academic.
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I’ll see you in the next lesson! Bye bye.
