Sentence Structures:

1. It is + adj. + that + [statement] / It is + adv. + adj. + that + [statement]

 It is indisputable that the Internet plays an essential role in people’s lives today.

 It is widely acknowledged that modern technology makes our world more connected
and more entertaining than ever before.
 It is commonly believed that education offers us more opportunities to achieve higher
salaries and better quality of life.

2. There is no doubt/There is no denying that …

 There is no doubt that the government is responsible for the safety of citizens.

 There is no denying that the accommodation problem is getting worse in big cities.

3. An increasing/growing number of …

 An increasing number of parents realize that their children need more privacy.
 A growing number of children prefer to spend their free time indoors.

4. The reason why… is that… (Alternative to “because”)

 The reason why people feel more stressed nowadays is that they live in a more
competitive society, which requires them to work much harder than before to achieve the
same results.

5. The + comparative adj./adv. +…, the comparative adj./adv. + …

 The older you get, the more experienced you are.

6. Nothing is more + adj. + than + …

 Nothing is more urgent than the matter of covid-19 vaccination.

7. It is universally acknowledged that + …

 It is universally acknowledged that trees are indispensable to the health of our ecosystem.
8. An advantage/disadvantage of … + is that + …

 An advantage of filming police is that the police can no longer fabricate evidence or deny
allegations that are truthful.

9. By V-ing + … , noun + can + …

 By doing our part, our society can dismantle and address systemic racism and ethnic
profiling.

10. … enable + Obj. + to V …

 Prehistoric paintings discovered in the Colombian Amazon enable us to learn more about
the rainforest’s earliest human inhabitants.
 The use of solar panels had enabled his family to live a more eco-conscious lifestyle.

11. On no account can we + V + …

 On no account can we ignore the value of knowledge, even if it is related to the humanities.

12.Those who … + should (not) be + …

 Those who belong to the top 1% of the population should not be entitled to tax reduction.
 Those who violate traffic regulations should be punished accordingly.

13.NP / VP + pose a great threat to …

 Smoking poses a great threat to one’s health, especially the lungs and heart.
 The introduction of wolves poses a great threat to the natural balance of the ecosystem.
Paraphrasing: Change sentence structure & key words

Original text:
“A business firm’s obligation, beyond that required by the law and economics, is to pursue long-
term goals that are good for society.”

Paraphrase:
Business should focus on objectives that are not only legal and financially appropriate, but are
of long range benefit to society.

6 Strategies for Paraphrasing:

1. Change groups of words and/or individual words when paraphrasing

2. Generalize when it is appropriate

3. Restructure the grammar of the sentence(s)

4. Express key ideas in a different way

5. Rewrite numbers & statistical information (with words / different way)

6. Do not change every single word (some words are difficult to paraphrase)
Strategy 1: Paraphrasing Individual and/or Groups of Words

Direction: Paraphrase the words in parentheses ( ) by writing 1 or 2 words with the same
meaning. Remember there are many ways to express the same idea.

1. It is (not unusual) for students’ mobile phones to ring during lessons.

2. The film star was (very angry) that the reporters wouldn’t leave him alone.
3. Many parents send their children to expensive (pre-primary educational facilities).
4. His accent was so strong that his speech was (impossible to understand). 
5. Hong Kong is frequently struck during the summers by (massive tropical storms).
6. Many Americans have been (gripped with fear of) terrorist attacks since September 11.
7. Life in Hong Kong happens (at a fast pace), so many people find it hard to relax.
8. Causeway Bay is (a beehive of activity) on holidays as thousands of people like to shop there in
their free time.
9. MTR trains are not affected by traffic because they travel (below street level).
10. It is sometimes (like a refrigerator) in the classrooms because the air con is set too high.
11. Most of the applicants are not (in possession of the skills needed) for the job.
Answers:
1. Common, normal, usual, commonplace, typical
2. Furious, livid, annoyed, irritated, enraged, outraged, irate, exasperated, heated
3. Kindergarten(s), play school(s), day care (centers)
4. Incomprehensible, garbled, unintelligible, bewildering, confusing
5. Typhoons, hurricanes
6. Afraid of, frightened of, terrified of, scared of, shocked by, alarmed by, concerned about,
worried about
7. Quickly, rapidly, swiftly, hurriedly, expeditiously
8. Busy, crowded, bustling, active, teeming, heavily-populated, packed
9. Underground, below the ground
10. Chilly, freezing, wintry, chilled, brisk. Like the Arctic
11. Qualified, prepared, skilled enough, trained properly, certified, equipped, licensed,
experienced
Strategy 2: Generalization
1. Football, tennis, basketball, baseball  ball sports, ball games, sports
2. football, basketball, baseball, ice hockey  team sports
3. Skiing, ice skating, ice hockey, snowboarding  winter sports, snow sports
4. KCR, airplane, bus  transportation, forms of transportation, modes of travel
5. South China Morning Post, Time, CNN  English media, publishers
6. Stock market, property values, exchange rates, unemployment  financial / commercial /
money / economic matters, issues, concerns
7. Infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, middle age, old age  stages of life, life cycle,
times in life

Directions: reorder the words to form a possible paraphrase to the original sentence given

1. "Tourists seem interested in the travel possibilities in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore."
_________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________

Appealing / destinations / to / quite / Tourists / in / appear / Asia / find / Southeast

2. "Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber were invited to perform at the concert because their
albums are all best-sellers.."
_________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________

Popular / asked / promoters / to / the / concert / records / with / part / stars / three / take / pop /
Western
3. "Many articles in newspapers and magazines have recently mentioned the benefits of
reducing the amount of beef, chicken and pork that people eat in the evening."
_________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Less / people / eating / can / written / meat / health / their / recent / reports / by / to / improve /
according

4. "Barack Obama, Xi Jinping, David Cameron and CY Leung recently met to discuss the long-
term consequences of acid rain, the greenhouse effect and the depletion of the ozone layer."
_________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Leaders / environmental / world / the / by / a / attended / were / problems / summit / topic / of /
several

5. "There are many stores in Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok, and Yau Ma Tei that sell a wide range
of printers, modems, mouses and screens for PCs and Macintoshes."
_________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Computer / at / purchased / shops / hardware / in / various / can / Kowloon / be
Strategy 3: Restructuring Grammar & Vocabulary, Short Answer Exercise

1. ...change structures with words that modify nouns (such as 'who / which /
where / that')
The man who is wearing the black suit = The man dressed in the black suit ; The man with
blond hair = The blond-haired man
2. ...change infinitives (e.g 'to eat') to gerunds (e.g. 'eating') or vice-versa
whenever possible
It is difficult to write an academic essay = Writing an academic essay is difficult.
3. ...change the part of speech (word form) (e.g. nouns to verbs or verbs to
nouns)
The government proposes to solve the problem by raising taxes = The government’s
proposal to solve the problem involves raising taxes.
4. ...change the voice: change passive to active or active to passive
All professors enforced the new policy = The new policy was enforced by all professors.
5. ...choose words opposite to the original (e.g. 'A gave B money' = 'B received
money from A'
A large number of flats in this building have sold = People have bought a large number of
flats in this building
6. ...change words that compare (words with '__er' / 'more __')
It is cheaper to live in Mong Kok than in Causeway Bay = It is less expensive …
Exercises:
1. The university WITH the high ranking (HINT: change the modifier 'with...')
2. The EAP exam WHICH includes reading and usage (HINT: change the modifier
'which...')
3. It is difficult TO GET an A grade in EAP (HINT: change the infinitive 'to get' to
passive)
4. The president ESTABLISHED a new scholarship programme (HINT: change
'established' to a noun and make a noun phrase)
5. THE PROFESSOR GAVE the lecture (Hint: Change the voice)
6. The final year project WAS COMPLETED by all students (Hint: Change the voice)
7. The debate on universal suffrage remained CLOSED (HINT: Choose an opposite
word and change the structure / order of the sentence)
8. The president GAVE the professor an award (HINT: Choose an opposite word and
change the structure / order of the sentence)
9. It is HARDER to complete a master's degree than a bachelor’s degree (HINT: change
the comparative words... '__er / more __' and restructure the sentence)
10. It is DARKER at night than in the daytime (HINT: change the comparative words...
'__er / more __' and restructure the sentence)
Strategy 4: Restructuring Grammar & Vocabulary

Expressing key ideas in different ways is an important skill in academic writing. Study the
following ways to differently express the same ideas:

DIFFERENT WAYS TO EXPRESS NECESSITY/REQUIREMENT

Students must/have to/need to do their homework.

It is compulsory/necessary/mandatory for students to do their homework.
It is compulsory/necessary/mandatory that students (should) do their homework.
Doing homework is a student necessity/requirement.
Students are required to do their homework.

DIFFERENT WAYS TO EXPRESS CAUSE

I took my umbrella, for/because it was raining.

I took my umbrella because of/due to/owing to the rain.
Because/As/Since it was raining, I took my umbrella.
The rain caused/forced/lead me to take my umbrella.

DIFFERENT WAYS TO EXPRESS EFFECT/RESULT

It was raining, so I took my umbrella.

It was raining; as a result/consequently/therefore/thus, I took my umbrella.
I took my umbrella as a result/consequence of the rain.
My decision to take an umbrella was a result/consequence of the rain.

DIFFERENT WAYS TO EXPRESS LACK

spaghetti that has no flavor

spaghetti that does not have any flavor
spaghetti with no flavor
spaghetti without flavor
spaghetti lacking flavor
spaghetti that lacks flavor
flavorless spaghetti
 DIFFERENT WAYS TO EXPRESS ADVISIBILITY/RECOMMENDATION

The tourist authority says that visitors should/ought to/had better take precautions against theft.
The tourist authority recommends that tourists (should) take precautions against theft.
The recommendation of the tourist authority is that visitors take precautions against theft.
Visitors are advised by the tourist authority to take precautions against theft.
According to the tourist authority, it is a good idea for visitors to take precautions against theft.
According to the tourist authority, it is advisable for visitors to take precautions
against theft.
The tourist authority advises visitors to take precautions against theft.
The tourist authority’s advice to tourists is to take precautions against theft.

DIFFERENT WAYS TO EXPRESS POSSIBILITY

The Olympic Games could/may/might someday be held in Johannesburg. Johannesburg is a

possible host of the Olympic Games.
It is possible that the Olympic Games will someday be held in Johannesburg.
There is a possibility that the Olympic Games will be held in Johannesburg.

DIFFERENT WAYS TO EXPRESS SIMILARITY:

Both China and Japan are located in Asia.

China and Japan are alike in that they are (both) located in Asia.
China is similar to Japan in that they are (both) located in Asia.
China, like Japan, is located in Asia.
Just as Japan is located in Asia, so is China.
Japan is located in Asia; likewise/similarly, China is an Asian country.
One similarity between China and Japan is that they are (both) Asian countries.
One feature that China and Japan share/have in common is that they are (both) Asian countries.

Exercises:
1. Students NEED TO take an exam at the end of the course. (Hint: Paraphrase using a different way
to express NECESSITY / REQUIREMENT)
2. Many students failed the EAP research paper BECAUSE of poor source integration. (Hint:
Paraphrase using a different way to express CAUSE)
3. The deadline for the lab report was soon approaching SO the researchers worked hard. (Hint:
Paraphrase using a different way to express EFFECT/RESULT)
4. The workers had NO enthusiasm. (Hint: Paraphrase using a different way to express LACK)
5. The HK Observatory SAYS that people should stay indoors during typhoons. (Hint: Paraphrase
using a different way to express ADVISIBILITY / RECOMMENDATION)
6. It is POSSIBLE to fail the EAP course. (Hint: Paraphrase using a different way to express
POSSIBILITY)
7. BOTH the USA AND Britain have innovative, hardworking people. (Hint: Paraphrase using a
different way to express SIMILARITY)
Strategy 5: Rewriting Numbers & Statistical Information

Here are some techniques you can use to rewrite statistics when you are paraphrasing:

CONVERT A PERCENTAGE TO A FRACTION OR VICE-VERSA

Original: "Three-fourths of the faculty objected to the pay cut."

→ 75% of the teaching staff were angry that their salaries would be reduced.

CONVERT A NUMBER INTO WORDS OR VICE-VERSA

Original: "500,000 people around the world participated in peace rallies."

→ Marches for peace drew half a million participants all over the globe.

FLIP OVER A PERCENTAGE TO DESCRIBE THE OPPOSITE PHENOMENON

Original: "65% of the citizens want the president to resign."

→ 35% of the population hope that the president will remain in office.

USE MATHEMATICS TO CREATE A NUMBER THAT WAS NOT IN THE ORIGINAL

Original: "1000 people took part in the survey. 94% of them felt that having good English was
important for Hong Kong people.

→ 940 respondents to the questionnaire believed that the citizens of Hong Kong need to have
proficiency in English.

CONVERT FROM ONE CURRENCY OR MEASUREMENT SYSTEM TO ANOTHER

(but only if both you and your reader are familiar with both and know the conversion)

Original: "The train station is situated 2 miles from the shopping center."

→ The location of the railway station is 3 kilometers from the mall.

Original: "America spends $800,000,000 HK every year to buy weapons for its troops."

→ The annual expenditure of the United States on arming its soldiers is $100,000,000 US.

CHANGE PREPOSITIONS WHEN SPEAKING OF INCREASES OR DECREASES

Original: "Two years ago, unemployment stood at 5%. Since then, the jobless rate has increased by
2%."

→ The unemployment rate has risen from 5% to 7% in the last twenty-four months.

DESCRIBE A SITUATION IN WORDS, FOCUSING ON THE RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN THE NUMBERS GIVEN

Original: "Last year, 50 people attended the Professor Chan’s presentation. This year, the number
was closer to 120.

→ The attendance level at the talk given this year by Professor Chan more than doubled over last
year.

CONVERT NUMBERS INTO APPROXIMATIONS, (especially when the numner is large &
exactness is not important or cannot be guaranteed)

Original: "About 120,000 children go blind each year as a result of accidents in the home.

→ Domestic accidents leads to more than 100,000 youngsters annually losing their sight.

Original: "Documents obtain from immigration officials show that 950,000 citizens of China
traveled overseas last year."

→ Last year, nearly a million/almost 1,000,000 Chinese went abroad, according to immigration
records.
Strategy 6: Do not change every single word

You have learned that when you are paraphrasing an author’s idea, you must rewrite the ideas
in your own words without changing the meaning. However, there may be some words in the
original that cannot be rephrased without creating awkwardness. It is important for you to be
aware of this and to be able to determine which words in an original passage will be unchanged
in your paraphrase.
Here are some examples of categories of words that are difficult to paraphrase, especially if they
are essential to the main idea of the passage.

*Specific numbers (Note: See the information elsewhere about paraphrasing statistics.)

*Proper names: including geographical locations, e.g. the Yangtze River, Himalayas, Hong
Kong, the Philippines, etc.
*Organizations, e.g. the United Nations, Greenpeace, the FBI, etc.
*Names of (famous) people, e.g. President H. K. Chang, Jackie Chan etc. (Note:    
If a person is famous and has a title, it is possible (but not required) to rephrase one by using the
other. For example, “Xi Jinping” can be rephrased as “the President of  the PRC”, or vice-
versa.)
*Specific dates, e.g. 4th June 1999. (Note: When a date is not specific, it can often be
paraphrased. For example, the sentence “I finished university in 1988” can be rewritten as “I
graduated from university 10 years ago.”
*Nouns (Note: In general, nouns are harder to paraphrase than verbs and adjectives because so
many nouns refer to technical terms within a field or to common, concrete objects for which few or
no synonyms exist.
*Terms within a field: e.g. environmental terms (greenhouse effect, acid rain), chemical
terms (carbon dioxide), computer components (mouse, printer), medical terms (open-heart
surgery, coma), political terms (president, prime minister, socialism), economic terms
(interest rate, stock market)
*Common concrete objects: This is a difficult category as you must have a fairly large
vocabulary in order to determine which words have synonyms and which do not. For example,  
the words that describe such concrete, everyday objects such as ‘bed’, ‘chair’, ‘grass’, and  
‘book’ have very few common synonyms, while others, such as ‘couch’, ‘store’ and ‘rain’do  
(couch: ‘sofa’, store: ‘shop’, rain: ‘precipitation’, building: ‘block’).

(Note: While the individual words “bed” and “chair” may be awkward if paraphrased, it is possible
to provide a generalization if both words are present in a passage, since “bed and chair” can be
rephrased as “pieces of furniture.”)
Paraphrasing exercises:

Directions: Paraphrase each of the following passages. Identify keywords and try not to look
back at the original passage while paraphrasing.

Do not simply translate from Chinese to English and stick to sentence structures you already
know is grammatically correct.

1. "The Antarctic is the vast source of cold on our planet, just as the sun is the source of our heat,
and it exerts tremendous control on our climate," [Jacques] Cousteau told the camera. "The cold
ocean water around Antarctica flows north to mix with warmer water from the tropics, and its
upwellings help to cool both the surface water and our atmosphere. Yet the fragility of this
regulating system is now threatened by human activity."

2. The twenties were the years when drinking was against the law, and the law was a bad joke
because everyone knew of a local bar where liquor could be had. They were the years when
organized crime ruled the cities, and the police seemed powerless to do anything against it.
Classical music was forgotten while jazz spread throughout the land, and men like Bix
Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie became the heroes of the young. The flapper was
born in the twenties, and with her bobbed hair and short skirts, she symbolized, perhaps more
than anyone or anything else, America's break with the past.

3. Of the more than 1000 bicycling deaths each year, three-fourths are caused by head injuries.
Half of those killed are school-age children. One study concluded that wearing a bike helmet can
reduce the risk of head injury by 85 percent. In an accident, a bike helmet absorbs the shock and
cushions the head.

4. Matisse is the best painter ever at putting the viewer at the scene. He's the most realistic of all
modern artists, if you admit the feel of the breeze as necessary to a landscape and the smell of
oranges as essential to a still life. "The Casbah Gate" depicts the well-known gateway Bab el Aassa,
which pierces the southern wall of the city near the sultan's palace. With scrubby coats of ivory,
aqua, blue, and rose delicately fenced by the liveliest gray outline in art history, Matisse gets the
essence of a Tangier afternoon, including the subtle presence of the bowaab, the sentry who sits
and surveys those who pass through the gate.

5. While the Sears Tower is arguably the greatest achievement in skyscraper engineering so far, it's
unlikely that architects and engineers have abandoned the quest for the world's tallest building.
The question is: Just how high can a building go? Structural engineer William LeMessurier has
designed a skyscraper nearly one-half mile high, twice as tall as the Sears Tower. And architect
Robert Sobel claims that existing technology could produce a 500-story building.

Sample answers:

1. According to Jacques Cousteau, the activity of people in Antarctica is jeopardizing a delicate

natural mechanism that controls the earth's climate. He fears that human activity could
interfere with the balance between the sun, the source of the earth's heat, and the important
source of cold from Antarctic waters that flow north and cool the oceans and atmosphere.
2. During the twenties lawlessness and social nonconformity prevailed. In cities organized
crime flourished without police interference, and in spite of nationwide prohibition of liquor
sales, anyone who wished to buy a drink knew where to get one. Musicians like Louis
Armstrong become favorites, particularly among young people, as many turned away from
highly respectable classical music to jazz. One of the best examples of the anti-traditional
trend was the proliferation of young "flappers," women who rebelled against custom by
cutting off their hair and shortening their skirts.
3. The use of a helmet is the key to reducing bicycling fatalities, which are due to head injuries
75% of the time. By cushioning the head upon impact, a helmet can reduce accidental injury
by as much as 85%, saving the lives of hundreds of victims annually, half of whom are
school children.
4. Matisse paintings are remarkable in giving the viewer the distinct sensory impressions of
one experiencing the scene first hand. For instance, "The Casbah Gate" takes one to the
walled city of Tangier and the Bab el Aassa gateway near the Sultan's palace, where one can
imagine standing on an afternoon, absorbing the splash of colors and the fine outlines. Even
the sentry, the bowaab vaguely eyeing those who come and go through the gate, blends into
the scene as though real.
5. How much higher skyscrapers of the future will rise than the present world marvel, the
Sears Tower, is unknown. However, the design of one twice as tall is already on the boards,
and an architect, Robert Sobel, thinks we currently have sufficient know-how to build a
skyscraper with over 500 stories.