#6. Paraphrase & Rewording Mastery

Paraphrasing on CELPIP means expressing the same idea with different words or structure—without changing facts, tone, or intent. Good rewording proves range, avoids repetition, and helps you recognize correct answers when Reading/Listening options paraphrase the text or audio.

What counts as a strong paraphrase

• Meaning intact: actor, action, time, quantities, and conditions stay the same.
• Tone appropriate: formality and politeness match the audience.
• Clarity improved: fewer fillers, tighter structure, more precise vocabulary.
• Natural phrasing: collocations and common bundles replace “translation-sounding” wording.

Integrity rules (never break these)

• Polarity: keep positive/negative the same (not permitted ≠ permitted).
• Degree: keep strength the same (may ≠ must; delay ≠ cancel).
• Scope: keep quantity/time windows the same (up to 10 days ≠ at least 10 days).
• Actors & sequence: who does what, and in what order, must not change.
• Conditions: preserve if/unless/except clauses; they change meaning.

Safe sentence transformations

1) Lexical swaps (word → word/phrase)

• request → ask for
• due to → because of
• purchase → buy
• decline → say no
• assistance → help
• refund → money back
• submit → send in / upload
• verify → check / confirm
• postpone → move to a later time
• resolve → fix completely

Use domain-accurate choices (repair vs replace; refund vs credit) to avoid meaning drift.

2) Part-of-speech shifts (same idea, different form)

• Verb → Noun: We approved your claim. → We gave approval for your claim.
• Noun → Verb: We made an adjustment to your bill. → We adjusted your bill.
• Verb → Adjective: We refunded the fee. → The fee is refundable under policy.

3) Voice/structure changes

• Active ↔ Passive: Finance will issue the refund. → The refund will be issued by finance.
• Clause ↔ Phrase: Because we didn’t receive the invoice, processing was delayed. → Processing was delayed due to a missing invoice.
• Combine / split: Delivery was late. We’ll waive the fee. → Since delivery was late, we’ll waive the fee.

4) Register shifts (neutral ↔ formal)

• Can you send the documents? → Could you please submit the documents?
• We can’t do that. → We’re unable to do that at this time.

5) Precision upgrades (light → strong verb)

• make the bill lower → apply a discount / waive the fee
• do the form again → resubmit the application
• have internet problems → experience an outage / intermittent connection

Reliable rephrase patterns (keep these in your toolkit)

• Cause → Result
  X caused Y. → Y resulted from X.
  We missed the deadline because of a system outage. → The deadline was missed due to a system outage.

• Condition → Outcome
  If X, (then) Y. → Y once/after X happens.
  We’ll approve the claim once we receive the invoice. → If we receive the invoice, we’ll approve the claim.

• Contrast / Limitation
  X; however, not Y. → X, but Y is not included.
  Repairs are covered; however, cosmetic damage is not. → Repairs are covered, but cosmetic damage isn’t.

• Purpose
  in order to X → to X / so that…
  We’re contacting you in order to confirm your identity. → We’re contacting you to confirm your identity.

• Definition / Restatement
  X, that is, Y → X (in other words, Y).
  Mediation—a facilitated meeting to resolve a dispute—will be scheduled. → Mediation, in other words a facilitated meeting, will be scheduled.

• General ↔ Specific
  improve service quality → reduce wait times and resolve tickets on first contact
  financial support → a one-time payment of $250

“Do/Don’t” pairs that protect meaning

• Do keep negatives where they belong.
  “The permit is not required for residents.”
  Don’t flip to: “Residents must have a permit.”

• Do mirror certainty.
  “We might send a technician today.”
  Don’t upgrade to: “We will send a technician today.”

• Do keep time/quantity exact.
  “Please respond within 5 business days.”
  Don’t write: “Please respond by next week.”

• Do maintain scope words.
  some, most, all, only, at least, up to, no more than
  Don’t soften or strengthen them when paraphrasing.

Collocations: the shortcut to natural rewording

When paraphrasing, replace weak phrases with collocations used in real contexts:

• file a complaint / submit an application / request a refund
• meet a deadline / waive a fee / arrange an inspection
• provide proof of address / verify identity / escalate an issue

These chunks let you reword quickly without sounding repetitive or artificial.

Discourse markers that signal the logic (use them to reframe)

• Reason/Result: therefore, as a result, consequently
• Contrast: however, that said, at the same time
• Addition/Order: in addition, first/next/finally
• Condition/Time: once, as soon as, no later than, for the time being

Example reframes:

• “We tried several fixes; however, the issue persists.”
• “As a result, we’ll schedule a technician visit.”

Paraphrasing for Reading & Listening recognition

• Expect idea-level matches, not word-for-word copies.
• Track modals (might/should/will/must) and quantifiers (some/most/all).
• Note tone shifts (concerned vs angry; reasonable vs unacceptable).
• Treat numbers, dates, and exceptions as non-negotiable when matching meaning.

Politeness and tone without changing content

• Direct → Polite: Send the invoice today. → Could you please submit the invoice today?
• Strong → Neutral: This is unacceptable. → This doesn’t meet the policy requirements.
• Blunt → Solution-oriented: The delivery was late. → The delivery was late; as a result, we’d like to request a credit.

Typical rewriting moves (before → after)

• I want my money back for the damaged item.
  → I’d like to request a refund for the damaged item.

• You need to give us proof of address by Friday.
  → Please provide proof of address by Friday.

• We can’t process the claim until we get the invoice.
  → We’ll process the claim once we receive the invoice.

• There are problems with the internet at night.
  → We’re experiencing intermittent connection in the evenings.

• The appointment will be moved to next week.
  → The appointment will be rescheduled for next week.

Quality control before you submit

• Does the paraphrase preserve polarity, degree, scope, time, and actors?
• Is the register right for the audience (neutral vs formal)?
• Did you use at least one natural collocation instead of a literal translation?
• Is the new version shorter or clearer than the original without losing meaning?