IELTS Speaking Part One- Rephrasing

Rephrasing in IELTS Speaking Part One

One good way of showing your knowledge in all parts of the IELTS exam is using different words rather than repeating. What other ways of describing these things can you think of (synonyms, longer phrases to describe those things, more specific words, etc)?

• accommodation
• art
• books
• celebration
• food
• friend
• go to a restaurant
• I’m going to…
• have a good relationship with
• holiday
• holidaymakers
• hometown
• important
• in my childhood
• interested in
• job
• keep fit
• keep in contact with
• leisure activity
• most important
• movie
• movie theater
• neighbourhood
• newspapers and magazines
• normal
• on Saturday and Sunday
• on the Internet
• overseas
• perfect (job/ holiday/ home)
• start something new
• technology
• television
• to review
• transport

Compare your ideas as a class or with the suggested answers.

Look at some IELTS Academic Writing Task One questions and write the first sentences of the introduction of your answers, rephrasing the questions as much as possible in a similar way.

Suggested answers

“=” means a synonym and brackets “()” means other ways of rephrasing such as more specific examples. Other ways of rephrasing are also possible, so please check if you wrote something different.

• accommodation = home (house/ flat = apartment/ condo = condominium/ company accommodation/ student halls = student dorm)
• art = visual art (paintings/ sculpture/ modern art/ contemporary art/ Impressionism/ watercolours/ oil painting/ exhibition)
• books (literature/ novels/ non-fiction/ short stories/ biographies/ comic)
• celebration (ceremony/ birthday/ party/ special meal/ family get together/ drinks)
• food = cuisine = diet (dish/ meal/ course)
• friend = mate = buddy (school friend/ good friend/ close friend/ best friend/ ex-colleague/ workmate/ drinking buddy/ fellow graduate)
• go to a restaurant = eat out = go to a restaurant for dinner/ lunch
• I’m going to… = I’m planning to… = I have plans to = I intend to…
• have a good relationship with = get on (well) with = get along with = get on like a house on fire
• holiday = vacation (national holiday/ public holiday/ long weekend/ three-day weekend)
• holidaymakers = tourists = (foreign) visitors (travellers/ tour groups/ day trippers)
• hometown = where I’m from (where I was born/ my family home/ where I was brought up = where I grew up)
• important = crucial/ vital
• in my childhood = when I was a (young) child (when I was younger/ when I was in primary school/ when I was in my early teens/ when I was a toddler)
• interested in = be (really) into = keen on = fascinated by
• job = work = occupation (profession/ part-time job/ temporary job)
• keep fit = do exercise (work out/ go to the gym/ do aerobics)
• keep in contact with = stay in touch with (email/ Skype/ class reunions/ meet up with)
• leisure activity = free time activity (hobby/ interest/ how I use my free time)
• most important = main = chief
• movie = film (thriller/ rom com/ horror/ comedy/ human interest/ drama/ bio-pic/ superhero movie/ sci fi/ fantasy)
• movie theater = cinema = movie house (art cinema/ multiplex)
• neighbourhood = local area = the area where you live = the area near your home
• newspapers and magazines = (paper/ regular) publications = The Press
• normal = usual = typical = everyday
• on Saturday and Sunday = at the weekend/ on weekends (during your days off)
• on the Internet = on the web = online = on the ‘Net
• overseas = abroad = in/ to other countries = outside name of your country
• perfect (job/ holiday/ home) = ideal… = dream…
• start something new = try… = take up
• technology = tech (electronics/ high tech/ new gadgets)
• television = TV = the box = the telly
• to review = to revise = to go over
• transport = transportation (public transport/ aeroplane = airplane = plane/ the underground = the subway = the Tube)