Understanding IELTS: Writing

STEP 1.8

Paraphrasing the question – answers and guide

Original question
The graph below shows the proportion of four different materials that were recycled
from 1982 to 2010 in a particular country.

How could you change or add to:

1. The graph…
2. … the proportion of …
3. … four different materials …
4. … from 1982 to 2010 …
5. … in a particular country …

Answers
1. You can use a synonym such as chart. Even simply adding information and saying line
graph could be enough.
2. Instead of proportion you could use percentage. Less precise nouns such as amount
or quantity are possible, but do not match the information in the graph exactly. The
graph shows the percentages, not the actual amount etc. However, if you add in the
adjective ‘relative’ then it works – the relative amounts/quantities.
3. At first glance this might seem difficult to change – how else could you say four or
materials? But you do not only have the question to help you, you also have the data.
One way to paraphrase general statements which describe a number of things is to
say exactly what they are. So for example, ‘three faculties of a university’ could
become ‘the Arts, Engineering and Business faculties’. In this example, all you have to
do is look at the graph.
4. Time periods are very common in Task 1. You need to practise different ways to say
them. For example, from 1982 to 2010 could be described as between 1982 and
2010. Or you could go further and say how long it is - a twenty-eight year period
between 1982 and 2010. A ten-year period could be described as the decade
between…’
5. You clearly cannot change country for anything else. Yes, there are synonyms like
nation or state. But these have particular uses and would not be appropriate. So the
easiest solution is to change particular.

Here is a suggested answer. There are other alternatives, but this is the simplest
and would be enough:

The chart shows the percentages of paper and cardboard, glass containers, aluminium
cans and plastics that were recycled in one country in a 28-year period between 1982
and 2010.

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