Paraphrasing
Improving your Writing
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In this section:
How to paraphrase (it's an essential skill which will help you in all parts of your exam)
Introduction
Introduction
In general, it's always best to vary your language; it helps make your writing more interesting, and shows you have a higher command of a language.
Cambridge strongly dislikes when you re-use their own language in your writing. For example, if you are writing an essay, your introductory sentence should paraphrase the original question, not repeat it word for word. If you copy and repeat what was said, you will lose marks.
However, it is expected that you will need to repeat some words from time to time. Some candidates think they cannot repeat words at all, and this is wrong.
This section will hopefully explain how to paraphrase, and help you better understand when and why it's okay to repeat words.
Learning how to paraphrase is also helpful on other areas of the exam:
During the listening paper, you will have written questions and will need to listen for the answers in the recording. You will never hear information repeated in the recording, however; the answers are always given as paraphrases. The more you get used to using and understanding paraphrases, the better you will do on the listening paper.
Similarly, the Reading tasks also use a lot of paraphrases. In fact, Cambridge often repeats part of a question in the text simply to distract you; they know that weak candidates will assume anything repeated is the correct answer. It's a trap! So, it's best to learn how to paraphrase so you can understand the reading tasks better.
3 Ways to Paraphrase
3 Ways to Paraphrase
Paraphrasing is actually really easy. There are 3 things we can do:
Change the words - Identify synonyms
Change the sentence structure - Change verbs into nouns, nouns into adjectives, etc.
Change the structure of the paragraph - Completely change when and where things are mentioned in the text.
Take the example question below:
Offices around the world are becoming highly reliant on modern technology and the internet. How have these advances changed the way we work and do you think there are any drawbacks to relying too much on technology?
Change the words
Change the words
Look at the vocabulary and identify any synonyms that you know. For example, we could say:
offices = workplaces
highly = extremely
reliant = dependent
modern = present-day
changed = modified
drawbacks = disadvantages
Change the sentence structure
Change the sentence structure
Change verbs into nouns, nouns into adjectives, adjectives into verbs, and so on:
to change = changes / changed / changing
technology = technological / technologically
to think = thoughts
Change the structure of the entire paragraph
Change the structure of the entire paragraph
Consider introducing the different parts of the original task in a completely different order.
Looking back at the original question, we could talk about the question first, and then talk about the topic mentioned in the first sentence:
Offices around the world are becoming highly reliant on modern technology and the internet. How have these advances changed the way we work and do you think there are any drawbacks to relying too much on technology?
could become:
Have the advances of modern technology and the internet changed the way we work? Obviously, offices around the world are becoming highly reliant on modern technology and the internet. However, it's important to ask ourselves about the drawbacks of relying too much on technology....
Result
Putting together the ideas above, we could come up with this introduction which includes paraphrases:
Has the way we work changed due to the advanced of present-day technology and the Internet? After all, workplaces globally are becoming much more dependent on these technologies. However, it's important to examine the downsides of this reliance on technology and the possible negative impacts it's had on us...
Of course you do not have to include each of these steps when writing your paraphrase; write what you find easiest in a way that is most comfortable for you.
When not to change words
When not to change words
While you cannot copy an entire section of the question, you can copy single words from the information given to you, like in the example below.
Question:
Successful sports professionals can earn a great deal more money than people in other important professions.
Paraphrase:
It is possible for successful professional athletes to make a lot more money than people working in other important jobs.
As you can see, some words are repeated, but the most of the words have been substituted with synonyms.
Examiners know that you will sometimes need to repeat key phrases or words throughout your texts. so do not try to get creative and try to not repeat any words. Some repetition is necessary when communicating clearly. However, examiners do want to see that you can vary your language when possible to make the text more enjoyable to read and less repetitive.
IMPORTANT
Getting a high score for Language is not about using lots of "high level" or complicated words.
While on the C1 Advanced exam you are awarded for attempting to use advanced language, you will still lose marks if you make significant errors which makes your writing hard to understand. This happens a lot with students, especially at a high level. Students will substitute simple words with "high level" ones they find in a thesaurus or on word lists, or force complicated grammatical structures into their writing. However, they end up writing texts that make no sense at all.
Remember, this is a communication test and you need to illustrate that you can clearly communicate in English.
It's always better to repeat a word than try to use a synonym you are unsure about and create confusion.
Only use language you are confident about using. This is not the time to guess.
Summary versus Paraphrase
Summary versus Paraphrase
Being able to write a summary and paraphrase are essential skills in essay writing.
Below is a comparison of both:
SUMMARY
A summary is a brief statement that highlights the main points of a text.
A summary will focus on the key points of what was said.
A summary can be selective and can focus only on certain aspects of information while ignoring the rest.
A summary condenses the text.
A summary is going to be short.
Tips to writing a summary:
Identify the main points from the text.
Put the points into your own words.
Do not add additional information, such as your own ideas, interpretations or opinions.
PARAPHRASE
A paraphrase rephrases the text by putting it into different words.
A paraphrase will clarify what was said.
A paraphrase is much more specific. We need to reiterate what was said, and put it into different words.
A paraphrase clarifies the text.
A paraphrase will be longer.
Tips to writing a paraphrase:
Change the words (use synonyms or other phrases that mean the same thing).
Change the sentence structures.
Use concessions.
Rearrange the information.
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