A good paraphrase says the same thing in different words and keeps the writer’s attitude. Changing the words is the easy part.
The skill in this lesson is checking that nothing has drifted: neither the meaning nor the tone. It follows from avoiding circular definitions.
What is tone, and how does it hide?
Tone sits in small choices.
“The council closed the library” is neutral. “The council, frankly, betrayed the town by closing the library” is angry. The facts are almost the same, but the attitude is completely different.
Watch for these tone markers:
- Attitude words: frankly, sadly, so-called, merely, even.
- Strong or weak verbs: “demanded” versus “asked”.
- Sarcasm: praise that cannot be meant, such as “a brilliant idea” for an obvious failure.
- Sentence shape: a list of three complaints can build irritation.
The three-point test
- Meaning: does my version say the same thing?
- Strength: is it as strong, no stronger and no weaker?
- Attitude: would a reader guess the writer’s feeling from my version?
If any answer is no, revise the paraphrase.
Worked example
Read this original sentence: “The so-called improvements made the park worse: fewer benches, fewer trees, and a fence nobody asked for.”
Three paraphrases follow.
A: “The changes altered the park and there were fewer benches and trees, and a fence.”
B: “The park was made worse, not better, by the supposed improvements: there are fewer places to sit, fewer trees and an unwanted fence.”
C: “The changes were meant to improve the park but did the opposite, leaving less seating, less shade and a fence that nobody wanted.”
Test A: Meaning is partly kept, but “worse” has gone. Strength has dropped. Attitude is missing because “altered” is neutral, so it fails on two points.
Test B: Meaning is kept, and “supposed” carries the same doubt as “so-called”. The attitude is kept, so it passes.
Test C: Meaning and strength are kept, and “did the opposite” captures the irony. It passes, and it uses fresh wording.
The mistake to watch for
The common slip is to “clean up” the sentence into something neutral.
Mistaken answer: “The park was changed, and it now has fewer benches and trees.”
This is accurate, but it hides the writer’s criticism. The phrase “so-called improvements” signals that the writer does not think they are improvements.
The correction is to find the tone markers in the original first, then make sure each one has an equivalent in your version.
Check yourself
Judge each paraphrase against the original.
Original: “Frankly, the decision to close the library was a betrayal.”
1. “The decision to close the library was made.” Does it pass?
Show answer
No. It loses both the strength of “betrayal” and the open attitude of “frankly”. It is neutral, while the original is angry.
2. “The writer feels the closure of the library broke the town’s trust, and says so openly.” Does it pass?
Show answer
Yes. “Broke the town’s trust” matches “betrayal”, and “says so openly” matches “frankly”.
3. “The library closure was a little disappointing.” Improve it.
Show answer
“A little disappointing” is too weak. A better version is “The closure of the library was a serious breach of trust, and the writer says so plainly.”
Where this leads next
You have now completed the five skills in meaning in context. Test them together in the mixed practice set. The summary selection and paraphrase studio and the writing revision compare view are useful for checking a rewrite.
Some students paraphrase correctly but lose the writer’s voice under time pressure. Our teachers coach this in online one-to-one English First Language tuition.