How to paraphrase IELTS Academic Writing task 1 question

It is totally against the rule of the IELTS Academic task 1 response to use the same sentences and words in your introduction part that have already been given in the question. If you write the exact words and sentences that are already given in the Academic task 1 question, you might get a poor band score.

It is however allowed to paraphrase the questions in a smart way. Now comes the question ‘what is paraphrasing?

Paraphrasing means expressing the meaning of the writer or speaker or something written or spoken, using different words, especially to achieve greater clarity.

So you are advised to use paraphrasing in the introduction part of your task 1 answer.

Model for the INTRODUCTION Part of your Academic task 1 response:

Paraphrasing the Question (what the given data/ chart/ graph/ pictorial/ flow chart is about). 
                                         +
The most significant information about the graph. 

So in total, your introduction should not be more than 2-4 lines.

Take for following Academic task 1 questions as a model and notice how the paraphrasing has been done.

The line graph below gives information about the number of visitors to three London museums between June and September 2013.

Paraphrased version:
The supplied diagram presents data on the museum-goers in London for a 4 months period starting from June 2013 to September 2013.

Notice how the sentence structure and words have been changed to describe what the graph is about.

  • Words used in Questions = Paraphrased version of the words
  • The line graph = Diagram.
  • Given = Supplied.
  • Gives information = Presents data.
  • Visitors to museum = museum goers.
  • Between June and September 2013 = A 4 months’ period starting from June 2013 to September 2013.

More examples of paraphrasing:

Example 1:
Question: The graph below shows the number of books read by men and women at Burnaby Public Library from 2011 to 2014.

Paraphrased version: The diagram illustrates the number of readers by gender at Burnaby Public library for a 4 years’ period.

Example 2:
Question: The table describes the changes of people who went for international travel in 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2005. (million).

Paraphrased version: The data given in the table demonstrates the figure of international travellers in four different years.

Example 3:
Question: The pie chart below shows the main reasons why agricultural land becomes less productive. The table shows how these causes affected three regions of the world during the 1990s.

Paraphrased version: The provided graphs show the reasons that contributed to the decreased productivity of agricultural lands and also depict the land degradation percentage in three regions.

Practice: (Write your paraphrased versions for the given Academic task 1 questions in the comment) 

Question 1: The diagram below shows the production of electricity using a system called Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC).

Question 2: The diagram below shows the typical stages of consumer goods manufacturing, including the process by which information is fed back to earlier stages to enable adjustment.

Happy Paraphrasing!!!