Techniques for Paraphrasing

1. Make sure you understand the text fully. If not, the paraphrase will become strange. Don’t just find
random synonyms!

Original Sentence The Alphonso Mango is the king of mangoes.

Strange Paraphrase The Alphonso Mango is the head of state of

mangoes (The Guardian, 2019).

Good Paraphrase According to The Guardian (2019), among all the

mangoes in the world, the Alphonso Mango is the
best.

According to The Guardian (2019), the tastiest

variety of mango is the Alphonso.

2. Try changing the structure. Break it into pieces and put it in the washing machine.
The Alphonso Mango is the king of mangoes.
The tastiest variety of mango is the Alphonso.

3. With each piece of the text, you can explain it (make it longer) or simplify it (make it shorter).

Original Sentence Schools, responding to increasing academic demands and keen to control behaviour,
have cut down on playtime

Paraphrase The amount of time that children are given to play at school has been
reduced for academic and behavioural reasons (The Guardian, 2021).

4. Try changing the form of a word. This can help you make a good paraphrase very easily.

Original Sentence Privatisation has failed on several counts.

Paraphrase According to Smith (2021), the failure of privatisation is due to many factors.

Original Sentence A flat above a shop is widely perceived as risky by investors.

Paraphrase According to Johnson (2005), a flat above a shop is considered to be a risk

by investors.

According to Johnson (2005), investment in a flat above a shop is

considered to be a risk.

According to Johnson (2005), it is considered a risk to invest in a flat above

a shop.
If you see a word like “creativity”, you can think about other forms of this word:
create
Creator
Creating
Creativity
Creation
Creative
Creatively

Original Sentence It is important for parents to encourage creativity

in their children.

Paraphrase Parents should encourage their children to be

creative.

Paraphrase Encouraging children to create is an important part

of parenthood.