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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1- Rephrasing

A LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS

Avoiding repeating language in IELTS Writing Task 1 by paraphrasing words and phrases practice, with stimulating practice activities and language from real tasks to think of other ways of saying.

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Lesson Plan Content:


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

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

 

Places to rephrase

  1. a European country/ a country in Europe (NOT an EU country)
  2. Denmark and Sweden/ two Scandinavian countries/ two Nordic countries/ two Northern European countries (NOT a couple of…)
  3. in the USA/ within the US/ within the United States/ within the United States of America
  4. London (UK)/ the capital of the United Kingdom/ England’s capital city
  5. six areas of the world/ half a dozen parts of the world
  6. the UK and Sweden/ two Northern European countries/ two developed countries

 

Units to rephrase

  1. average/ typical (NOT mean NOT median)
  2. frequency of/ how often/ how frequent/ with what frequency
  3. per person/ each
  4. per week/ a week
  5. percentage change/ movement in percentage terms
  6. tonnes/ t

 

Parts of the diagram to rephrase

  1. a street for pedestrians only/ a road just people on foot/ a pedestrianised street/ a road without traffic
  2. accommodation/ places for people to stay
  3. by pipeline/ through pipes
  4. by rail/ by train
  5. by road/ by truck, van, etc
  6. by water/ on seas, canals and rivers
  7. car park/ parking lot
  8. chemical treatment/ treated using chemicals/ treatment with the use of chemicals
  9. clothing/ clothes
  10. coal, oil, petrol and natural gas/ fossil fuels
  11. countryside/ country/ rural area(s)
  12. crusher/ machine which crushes
  13. deforestation/ loss of forests/ reduction in forested lands/ cutting down of trees
  14. education/ studies
  15. fixed line telephones/ landline telephones/ home phones, office phones, etc
  16. footpath/ path
  17. footwear/ shoes, boots, etc
  18. heating and cooling/ temperature control/ raising and lowering of the temperature
  19. incineration/ incinerating/ burning (up)
  20. international telephone calls/ overseas phone calls/ phone calls to other countries
  21. leisure/ free time
  22. mobiles/ mobile phones/ cell phones
  23. over-cultivation/ too much growing of crops/ excessive farming
  24. petrol/ gasoline
  25. solar, wind and hydropower/ renewable energy (sources)
  26. stages/ steps (NOT processes)
  27. teachers’ salaries/ pay for teaching staff
  28. total land degraded/ the sum of the degraded land
  29. tourist facilities/ infrastructure for tourists
  30. underground/ under the ground/ beneath the surface/ buried
  31. unemployed/ without employment/ out of work/ jobless
  32. 0-14 years old/ the youngest age group/ up to fourteen/ under fifteen years of age
  33. 15-24 years old/ people in their mid to late teens and early twenties
  34. 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

  1. 10%/ a tenth/ one tenth/ one in ten
  2. 8%/ just under nineteen percent/ nearly a fifth/ almost one fifth
  3. 2%/ a tiny proportion/ a very small percentage
  4. 250 grams/ 250g/ a quarter of a kilo/ a quarter of a kilogramme
  5. 250 meters/ a quarter of a kilometre/ 250m
  6. 32%/ just under a third
  7. 7% of the population/ not many people/ a small minority of people
  8. 50%/ a half/ one half
  9. 51%/ just over six and a half percent
  10. 82%/ most (of)/ the majority (of)

 

Times to rephrase

  1. after/ subsequent to/ later
  2. 4 years/ approximately four years/ around four years/ about four years
  3. as it is now/ in its present condition/ in its current state
  4. before/ prior to/ earlier
  5. 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
  6. compared to 1999/ in comparison with the last year of the 20th century/ in comparison with the end of the 90s
  7. every day/ daily/ each day
  8. from 1980 to 2030/ in the half a century from 1980/ in the five decades up to 2030
  9. 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 21st century/ in the years 1980 and 2000/ in 1980 and at the turn of the millennium
  10. 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

  1. destination of…
  2. for building purposes
  3. household energy use
  4. how satisfied visitors are
  5. how… is used
  6. process
  7. produce electricity
  8. projections
  9. spending
  10. to produce
  11. excluding…

 

Places to rephrase

  1. a European country
  2. Denmark and Sweden
  3. in the USA
  4. London (UK)
  5. six areas of the world
  6. the UK and Sweden

 

Units to rephrase

  1. average…
  2. frequency of
  3. per person
  4. per week
  5. percentage change
  6. tonnes

 

Parts of the diagram to rephrase

  1. a street for pedestrians only
  2. accommodation
  3. by pipeline
  4. by rail
  5. by road
  6. by water
  7. car park
  8. chemical treatment
  9. clothing
  10. coal, oil, petrol and natural gas
  11. countryside
  12. crusher
  13. deforestation
  14. education
  15. fixed line telephones
  16. footpath
  17. footwear
  18. heating and cooling
  19. incineration
  20. international telephone calls
  21. leisure
  22. mobiles
  23. over-cultivation
  24. petrol
  25. solar, wind and hydropower
  26. stages
  27. teachers’ salaries
  28. total land degraded
  29. tourist facilities
  30. underground
  31. unemployed
  32. 0-14 years old
  33. 15-24 years old
  34. 60+ years old

 

Numbers/ Statistics/ Data to rephrase

  1. 10%
  2. 8%
  3. 2%
  4. 250 grams
  5. 250 meters
  6. 32%
  7. 7% of the population
  8. 50%
  9. 51%
  10. 82%

 

Times to rephrase

  1. after
  2. 4 years
  3. as it is now
  4. before
  5. between 1979 and 2004
  6. compared to 1999
  7. every day
  8. from 1980 to 2030
  9. in 1980 and 2000
  10. the year after it was refurbished

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