IELTS Academic Writing Task 1- Rephrasing

Rephrasing in IELTS Writing Task One activities

In groups of three or four, do the activity or activities from this list that your teacher tells you to:

• Choose a line below and say all of the phrases with a gap in one of them, and see if someone can complete it
• Choose a line below, say all but one of the phrases, then help your partners make the other phrase (with hints like key words)
• Choose a line below and say synonyms on that line until someone can say something with the same meaning (with things not below which mean the same also okay)
• Choose a line below, say just one of the phrases, then help your partners make the other phrase(s) (with hints like first words and gapped sentences)
• Choose a section from below and help your partners make suitable phrases with that function (with suitable phrases not below also okay)
• Work together to use as many of the phrases as you can to talk about Task 1 questions

 

Kinds of diagram to rephrase

1. the chart/ the bar chart/ the pie chart/ the flowchart
2. the graph/ the line graph/ the bar graph
3. the map/ the diagram/ the illustration
4. the flowchart/ the chart/ the diagram

 

Topics to rephrase

5. destination of tourists/ where tourists go
6. for building purposes/ for use in construction/ to be used in construction
7. household energy use/ domestic usage of energy
8. how satisfied visitors are/ the level of satisfaction of people who visit
9. how the machine is used/ the method(s) by which the machine is utilised/ (the) use(s) of the machine
10. process/ procedure (NOT step NOT stage)
11. produce electricity/ create electrical power
12. projections/ predictions/ forecasts
13. spending/ expenditure
14. to produce/ to make
15. excluding/ not including/ without

 

Places to rephrase

16. a European country/ a country in Europe (NOT an EU country)
17. Denmark and Sweden/ two Scandinavian countries/ two Nordic countries/ two Northern European countries (NOT a couple of…)
18. in the USA/ within the US/ within the United States/ within the United States of America
19. London (UK)/ the capital of the United Kingdom/ England’s capital city
20. six areas of the world/ half a dozen parts of the world
21. the UK and Sweden/ two Northern European countries/ two developed countries

 

Units to rephrase

22. average/ typical (NOT mean NOT median)
23. frequency of/ how often/ how frequent/ with what frequency
24. per person/ each
25. per week/ a week
26. percentage change/ movement in percentage terms
27. tonnes/ t

 

Parts of the diagram to rephrase

28. a street for pedestrians only/ a road just people on foot/ a pedestrianised street/ a road without traffic
29. accommodation/ places for people to stay
30. by pipeline/ through pipes
31. by rail/ by train
32. by road/ by truck, van, etc
33. by water/ on seas, canals and rivers
34. car park/ parking lot
35. chemical treatment/ treated using chemicals/ treatment with the use of chemicals
36. clothing/ clothes
37. coal, oil, petrol and natural gas/ fossil fuels
38. countryside/ country/ rural area(s)
39. crusher/ machine which crushes
40. deforestation/ loss of forests/ reduction in forested lands/ cutting down of trees
41. education/ studies
42. fixed line telephones/ landline telephones/ home phones, office phones, etc
43. footpath/ path
44. footwear/ shoes, boots, etc
45. heating and cooling/ temperature control/ raising and lowering of the temperature
46. incineration/ incinerating/ burning (up)
47. international telephone calls/ overseas phone calls/ phone calls to other countries
48. leisure/ free time
49. mobiles/ mobile phones/ cell phones
50. over-cultivation/ too much growing of crops/ excessive farming
51. petrol/ gasoline
52. solar, wind and hydropower/ renewable energy (sources)
53. stages/ steps (NOT processes)
54. teachers’ salaries/ pay for teaching staff
55. total land degraded/ the sum of the degraded land
56. tourist facilities/ infrastructure for tourists
57. underground/ under the ground/ beneath the surface/ buried
58. unemployed/ without employment/ out of work/ jobless
59. 0-14 years old/ the youngest age group/ up to fourteen/ under fifteen years of age
60. 15-24 years old/ people in their mid to late teens and early twenties
61. 60+ years old/ the oldest group of people/ 60 years old and above/ over 59/ in their 60s, 70s, etc (NOT pensioners NOT retired people NOT old people)

 

Numbers/ Statistics/ Data to rephrase

62. 10%/ a tenth/ one tenth/ one in ten
63. 8%/ just under nineteen percent/ nearly a fifth/ almost one fifth
64. 2%/ a tiny proportion/ a very small percentage
65. 250 grams/ 250g/ a quarter of a kilo/ a quarter of a kilogramme
66. 250 meters/ a quarter of a kilometre/ 250m
67. 32%/ just under a third
68. 7% of the population/ not many people/ a small minority of people
69. 50%/ a half/ one half
70. 51%/ just over six and a half percent
71. 82%/ most (of)/ the majority (of)

 

Times to rephrase

72. after/ subsequent to/ later
73. 4 years/ approximately four years/ around four years/ about four years
74. as it is now/ in its present condition/ in its current state
75. before/ prior to/ earlier
76. between 1979 and 2004/ in the 25-year period from 1979 (to 2004)/ in the two and a half decades starting in 1979/ in the quarter of a century up to 2004
77. compared to 1999/ in comparison with the last year of the 20^th century/ in comparison with the end of the 90s
78. every day/ daily/ each day
79. from 1980 to 2030/ in the half a century from 1980/ in the five decades up to 2030
80. in 1980 and 2000/ at the beginning of the 1980s and 20 years later/ in the year 1980 and in the first year of the 21^st century/ in the years 1980 and 2000/ in 1980 and at the turn of the millennium
81. the year after it was refurbished/ the year following its refurbishment

 

Ask about any which you don’t understand, are not sure have the same meaning, think might have other possible synonyms, etc.

Write at least one way of rephrasing each of the things below, checking each section as you finish it. Your teacher will tell you which section or sections to work on first.

Look at some IELTS Writing Task One exam questions and rephrase the words in the question, on the graph, etc as much as possible. Give more than one option if you can, but make sure that you don’t change the meaning.

Write introductions to some IELTS Writing Task One exam questions, starting with rephrasing the first sentence in the task each time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brainstorming stage

Kinds of diagram to rephrase

1. the chart
2. the graph
3. the map
4. the flowchart

 

Topics to rephrase

5. destination of…
6. for building purposes
7. household energy use
8. how satisfied visitors are
9. how… is used
10. process
11. produce electricity
12. projections
13. spending
14. to produce
15. excluding…

 

Places to rephrase

16. a European country
17. Denmark and Sweden
18. in the USA
19. London (UK)
20. six areas of the world
21. the UK and Sweden

 

Units to rephrase

22. average…
23. frequency of
24. per person
25. per week
26. percentage change
27. tonnes

 

Parts of the diagram to rephrase

28. a street for pedestrians only
29. accommodation
30. by pipeline
31. by rail
32. by road
33. by water
34. car park
35. chemical treatment
36. clothing
37. coal, oil, petrol and natural gas
38. countryside
39. crusher
40. deforestation
41. education
42. fixed line telephones
43. footpath
44. footwear
45. heating and cooling
46. incineration
47. international telephone calls
48. leisure
49. mobiles
50. over-cultivation
51. petrol
52. solar, wind and hydropower
53. stages
54. teachers’ salaries
55. total land degraded
56. tourist facilities
57. underground
58. unemployed
59. 0-14 years old
60. 15-24 years old
61. 60+ years old

 

Numbers/ Statistics/ Data to rephrase

62. 10%
63. 8%
64. 2%
65. 250 grams
66. 250 meters
67. 32%
68. 7% of the population
69. 50%
70. 51%
71. 82%

 

Times to rephrase

72. after
73. 4 years
74. as it is now
75. before
76. between 1979 and 2004
77. compared to 1999
78. every day
79. from 1980 to 2030
80. in 1980 and 2000
81. the year after it was refurbished