Paraphrasing could undoubtedly be ranking the list of the language skills assessed in the Cambridge C1 Advanced exam, as there is a lot of focus on candidates’ ability to express the same meaning in different ways. How come?
- Let’s take for instance the Speaking paper. When asked a question, candidates must try to rephrase the words from the question, rather than merely repeating them. No English proficiency is shown otherwise. The same happens when the candidates interact – keeping too close to the other interlocutor’s speech patterns would bring no result.
- In the Writing paper, the tasks themselves say candidates should use their own words as far as possible. Not doing so means showing a poor language range.
- The Listening paper requires candidates to interpret the context extremely well, since never will the words heard in the recordings be the same as the ones from the choices provided to the questions in Parts 1,3 and 4, nor in the summary to the monologue in Part 2 (sentence completion).
- Part 4 in the Reading and Use of English paper is chief among all the exam parts. One single wrong word, or even letter, affects a candidate’s overall mark.
Today’s activity will help you enhance your preparation for the Cambridge C1 Advanced exam. Roll up your sleeves and start levelling up your paraphrasing skills.
Step One Get to know the target language
To be good at paraphrasing requires a very good knowledge of the particles used with phrasal verbs, e.g. cut out, the dependent prepositions that certain adjectives or nouns are followed by, e.g. concerned with, as well as the prepositions that are part of fixed phrases, e.g. be all down to.
Read the list of fixed phrases, phrasal verbs, and other expressions below. They are classified into categories, given the preposition/particle they are used with. Make sure you know what each of them means:
- WITH
- be in accordance with
- be comparable to/with
- put up with
- be content with
- OF
- approve of
- in respect of
- dispose of
- in the event of
- TO
- be attracted to
- to my surprise
- owing to
- ABOUT
- be knowledgeable about
- of/in between two minds about
- INTO
- talk someone into
- bump into
- BY
- by heart
- by profession
- Others:
- come up against
- get at
- get behind with
- kick in
- lay off
- pick up
- put forward
- put together
- sell out
- stem from
- take after
- take over
Step Two Transform the sentences
Paraphrase the sentences. Remember to keep the meaning of the original sentence.
For many of the above sentences, paraphrasing can be achieved in many other ways, by using other lexical bits or grammar structures. Not providing you with a key word is deliberate, so that you come up with other ways to transform the given sentences. However, the answers provided make use of the C1 vocabulary a potential Cambridge exam candidate must be well familiar with. So, stay hungry, be thirsting for new English vocabulary!
Stay tuned for more words of advice and handy material!
