Paraphrasing Skills for VSTEP: How to Practise for Reading and Writing
Why paraphrasing matters on VSTEP
In Reading, many questions don't reuse the exact words from the passage — they paraphrase the idea. If you only scan for identical keywords, you may miss the correct answer or get caught by a distractor that repeats passage words but changes the meaning. In Writing, your opening sentence usually needs to paraphrase the prompt in your own words — copying the prompt sentence loses marks because examiners can't see your own vocabulary and grammar.
5 paraphrasing techniques
- Change word form: "The rapid growth of tourism" → "Tourism has grown rapidly". Turn a noun phrase into a verb, or the reverse.
- Use synonyms: "increase" → "rise, go up, grow"; "important" → "significant, crucial, essential". Pick the closest synonym rather than any word from a dictionary list.
- Switch active/passive voice: "The government built the bridge" → "The bridge was built by the government". Useful when the original sentence is long or you want to emphasise a different subject.
- Change sentence structure: split one long sentence into two shorter ones, or join two short sentences with a connector. Reorder clauses: "Although it is expensive, the city attracts tourists" → "The city attracts tourists despite being expensive".
- Replace a phrase with a clause (or the reverse): "Due to heavy rain, the match was cancelled" → "Because it rained heavily, the match was cancelled".
Applying it to Reading
When you read a question, underline the keywords and ask: "How else could the passage express this idea?" For example, a question about "a decline in sales" might appear in the passage as "sales fell" or "the company sold fewer products". Practise by taking a sentence from an old reading passage, paraphrasing it 2–3 ways yourself, then comparing with how VSTEP-style questions usually rephrase ideas.
Applying it to Writing
For Task 2 (essay), your opening sentence should paraphrase the prompt rather than copy it. For the prompt "Some people think students should be allowed to use smartphones in class," you could open with: "Whether learners should be permitted to use mobile phones during lessons is a question that divides opinion." For Task 1 (letter/email), you can paraphrase the reason for writing in your first sentence instead of repeating the prompt.
3 common mistakes
- Changing the meaning by accident: swapping "may" (possibility) for "will" (certainty), for example. Always check the meaning still matches after rewriting.
- Changing only 1–2 words: keeping almost the same structure looks like copying. Change both vocabulary and structure.
- Using a synonym that doesn't fit the context: "big" and "great" aren't always interchangeable. Check example sentences before using an unfamiliar word.
A daily practice routine
- Each day, take 3 sentences from a reading passage or article and rewrite each one two different ways.
- Practise turning a Task 2 prompt into an opening sentence without looking back at the prompt for one minute, then compare.
- Keep a list of common synonym groups by topic (education, environment, technology) so you have options ready.
See also: VSTEP Reading strategy and how to write the VSTEP Task 2 essay.