WS7

Paraphrasing - Foundations of Effective Writing

Writing Skills Lesson – Expressing ideas in new ways

1. Why paraphrasing matters

Paraphrasing means expressing the same idea using different words.

Good paraphrasing helps you avoid repetition, show understanding, and write summaries or reports more effectively. It changes the words or structure but keeps the meaning.

2. What makes a good paraphrase

  • Keeps the original meaning
  • Uses different vocabulary
  • Changes grammar or structure
  • Is written in your own words
  • Is not too long or too short

3. 🔧 Paraphrasing techniques

Use synonyms

important → essential
big → large
because → since

Change the grammar

People like online shopping because it’s easy.
→ People enjoy online shopping as it is convenient.

Change the structure

The movie was exciting, and everyone loved it.
→ Everyone enjoyed the movie because it was exciting.

Combine or split sentences

The weather was bad. We stayed home.
→ We stayed home because the weather was bad.

Change the word form

The decision was difficult.
→ It was difficult to decide.

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4. Model paraphrases

Example 1

Original: Many people prefer working from home because it saves time.

Paraphrase: A lot of people like remote work since it helps them save time.

Example 2

Original: The city is building more bike lanes to improve safety.

Paraphrase: More bike lanes are being constructed in the city to make cycling safer.

5. ✏️ Practice: Paraphrase the sentences

  1. I enjoy learning English because it helps me travel.
  2. The restaurant is popular because the food is delicious.
  3. She started exercising to feel healthier.
  4. The meeting was cancelled because the manager was sick.

6. ✏️ Practice: Improve the paragraph

The class was interesting. The students thought the class was interesting because the teacher was interesting. Everyone liked the interesting class.

7. 📝 Writing task

Choose a sentence or short paragraph from a news article, story, or textbook. Write two different paraphrases that:

  • keep the meaning
  • use different vocabulary
  • change the structure

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✔️Answer key – Practice (Section 5)

  1. I like studying English because it makes travelling easier.
  2. The restaurant is well‑known since the food tastes great.
  3. She began working out so she could feel better.
  4. The meeting didn’t happen because the manager was ill.
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