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IELTS paraphrasing worksheet: synonym swap vs restructure
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Task 2 essays usually open by restating the question in the writer's own words. There are two ways to do it. Most students only know the first.
Synonym swap
Keep the sentence shape and replace individual words or phrases with ones that mean the same.
Watch out: Easy to overdo. A word from a thesaurus can have the wrong meaning, the wrong tone or the wrong partner word ('big rain' instead of 'heavy rain').
Restructure
Change the grammar: turn a verb into a noun, swap active and passive, change what the subject is, or move a clause.
Watch out: Harder to do, but it shows range and control. Check the meaning has not changed, especially who does what.
Worked example
- Original
- More and more young people are leaving the countryside to live in cities.
- Synonym swap
- A growing number of young adults are moving away from rural areas to settle in urban areas.
- Restructure
- Rural areas are losing an increasing share of their young population to the cities.
Part A: paraphrase each sentence both ways
A1Birth rates are falling in many developed countries.
Swap:
Restructure:
A2People are writing by hand less frequently than they did in the past.
Swap:
Restructure:
A3Noise pollution has become a serious issue in many large cities.
Swap:
Restructure:
A4Some industries cannot find enough workers with the practical skills they require.
Swap:
Restructure:
A5Food is increasingly being grown in indoor vertical farms.
Swap:
Restructure:
A6More adults are returning to formal education after several years in employment.
Swap:
Restructure:
Part B: good paraphrase or problem?
Write Good, Meaning changed or Wrong word choice.
B1Crime rates have risen in many cities.
→ Offence percentages have lifted in many cities.
B2Some people think governments should fund the arts.
→ Some people think the arts should receive money from governments.
B3Many employers monitor how staff use company computers.
→ Many employees monitor how their managers use company computers.
B4Air travel is becoming cheaper.
→ The cost of flying is falling.
Answer key
Part A answers are models; other correct versions are possible.
- A1 Swap: Fewer babies are being born in a large number of wealthy nations. Restructure: Many developed countries are seeing a fall in their birth rates.
- A2 Swap: People write with a pen less often than they used to. Restructure: Handwriting has become a less common activity than it once was.
- A3 Swap: Noise has turned into a major problem in numerous big cities. Restructure: In many large cities, the level of noise is now a serious concern.
- A4 Swap: Certain sectors are unable to recruit sufficient staff with the hands-on abilities they need. Restructure: There is a shortage of practically skilled workers in some industries.
- A5 Swap: Crops are more and more often cultivated in indoor vertical farms. Restructure: A growing share of food production now takes place in indoor vertical farms.
- A6 Swap: A rising number of grown-ups are going back to formal study after some years at work. Restructure: Going back to formal education after several years of work is becoming more common among adults.
- B1 Wrong word choice. Every word was swapped, but 'offence percentages' and 'lifted' are not natural partners for crime. Keep 'crime' and change the structure: 'Many cities have seen an increase in crime.'
- B2 Good. The subject changed and the verb became passive in meaning, but who does what is unchanged.
- B3 Meaning changed. The roles are reversed: the employers do the monitoring, not the staff.
- B4 Good. A restructure: 'cheaper' became 'cost … falling', and the meaning is the same.