Opening an essay in your own words — without copying the prompt or losing its meaning.
How this drill works, and why it is built this way›
Words copied straight from the question are not counted in your word total, and they show the examiner nothing about your vocabulary.
A paraphrase changes the words, never the meaning. Change the meaning and you damage Task Response, which is a quarter of your Writing mark.
Three tools, used together: swap a word for a synonym · change the word form (pollute → pollution) · change the grammar (active to passive, or clause order).
You do not have to change every word. Technical or topic words often have no good synonym — keep the internet, keep university. Forcing a synonym is how meaning gets broken.
One sentence is enough. Do not spend three sentences restating a question the examiner wrote.
Worked example
Question: Some people think that governments should spend money on public transport rather than on new roads.
A weak opening: Some people think that governments should spend money on public transport rather than on new roads.
Answer: It is sometimes argued that state funding is better directed towards public transport than towards road building.
Some people think becomes it is sometimes argued. Spend money becomes funding — a change of word form. New roads becomes road building. The meaning is untouched. The point: change the words and the grammar, and leave the meaning exactly where it was.
Moderate · CEFR B1around band 5 – 5.5change level:
The drill moves you up or down on its own. Two good sets and it gets harder; two hard ones and it steps back.
The band range is what this level practises for — it is a guide, not a score. Only your first answer to each item counts towards the level decision.
Your answers and explanations open after the set is complete, the attempt is saved and your email is verified.
For whole-sentence tasks, the checker looks for the required structure and facts; it is not an examiner and cannot judge every possible sentence.
