Paraphrasing refers to the act of rewriting a phrase or sentence in your own words without directly copying it. The primary objective is to retain the original meaning while avoiding word-for-word duplication.

Importance of Paraphrasing in IELTS:

Paraphrasing is a crucial skill required to achieve a good band score in IELTS, as it is utilized in all four modules – Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. In the Listening module, questions are often paraphrased, meaning the wording may differ, but the meaning remains the same. Similarly, in the Reading section, questions may be presented with paraphrased expressions, and test-takers need to locate the relevant information in the passage. In the Writing module, candidates must paraphrase the essay question in the introduction, and during Speaking, it is advantageous to paraphrase follow-up questions in your responses.

Methods of Paraphrasing:

1. Use Synonyms:

One effective approach to paraphrasing is replacing certain words in the sentence with synonyms. For example:

Original: “Crime needs to be controlled as it affects the development of a city.”

Paraphrased: “It is necessary to control violence in the city as it hampers its growth.”

2. Change Active to Passive Voice:

Transforming the sentence from active to passive voice is another useful paraphrasing method. For example:

Original: “Government should implement the changes in policies as quickly as possible.”

Paraphrased: “The changes in policies should be implemented by the government as soon as possible.”

3. Reorder Words/Phrases:

A simple way to paraphrase is by changing the order of words in a sentence. For example:

Original: “The status of women in the society has changed a lot in the past few years.”

Paraphrased: “In the society, there has been a drastic change in the status of women in the last few years.”

Sample Answers for Practice Questions:

1. Technology has benefitted humanity in various ways.

2. Teams of engineers collaborated to construct combat-ready robots that engaged in battles against each other.

3. The statistics indicate that fraud is the most prevalent type of crime, with two million computer misuse offenses and 3.8 million fraud offenses reported in the 12-month period ending in March.

4. Vocalink reported revenue of £182 million last year, processing over 11 billion transactions. Besides the UK, their technology is used in countries like Sweden, Singapore, Thailand, and the US. The current 18 banks that own Vocalink will maintain a 7.6% share for three years and could receive an additional £169 million based on future targets.

5. Telehouse North confirmed that its network experienced an issue with a tripped circuit breaker, but engineers are on-site resolving the problem. BT mentioned that connectivity was restored to normal by 13:45 BST, although some larger businesses may still encounter problems. There were reports of other organizations, including HMRC, facing connectivity difficulties.