ielts synonyms Archives - Preparation for the IELTS Exam

Learning New Vocabulary

August 1, 2019March 7, 2018 by Ray IELTS Focus

Tips and points to consider for learning new vocabulary in IELTS.

I often get asked about the best way to learn new words that can be used in IELTS essays or the speaking section. I have not given any word lists on my website because I believe that vocabulary building is your responsibility. It is something that you will have to work on over a period of time.

One of the worst things you could ever do when studying IELTS is to just memorise lists of words and then randomly put those words into your writing, the same goes for speaking.

Paraphrasing by changing sentence structure

March 30, 2020January 9, 2018 by Ray IELTS Focus

Useful paraphrasing technique in IELTS writing task 2.

One of the most important skills in IELTS writing is being able to paraphrase. This means to change the wording or the sentence structure but retain the same meaning.

It’s a challenge for many students doing IELTS to get used to this skill as you need to have a wide vocabulary and know how to use synonyms correctly.

There are 2 main ways to paraphrase. This can be done either with synonyms or by changing the structure of the sentence while adjusting the word-formation. In the writing section, you need to use this skill when starting the introduction of your essay. Let’s take a look at an example below.

IELTS paraphrasing practice

October 20, 2021September 20, 2017 by Ray IELTS Focus

Exercises on Paraphrasing the task question.

Updated: Oct 20th 2021

In the last paraphrasing exercise here we looked at paraphrasing a part of a body paragraph. Here is a useful blog post on How to paraphrase in IELTS writing.

Paraphrasing is an important skill to practice in IELTS and is necessary for the writing tasks. If you can paraphrase well it shows that you have a wide range of vocabulary and this goes toward getting a high band score in Lexical resource.

How to paraphrase in IELTS writing

August 26, 2022February 13, 2017 by Ray IELTS Focus

Paraphrasing in IELTS essays.

Updated: August 2022

An important skill in IELTS writing is being able to paraphrase the task question. Paraphrasing means to say something in your own words while keeping the same meaning.

In the introduction of your essay, the first thing you should do is paraphrase the topic question by changing the structure of the sentences or changing the formation of the words. This can be done using synonyms (words with the same meaning). Remember that if you just copy the original question word for word you may lose marks. However, you do not have to paraphrase every single word especially if there are no synonyms that accurately match.