Paraphrasing · Sentence structure

Sentence structure in English paraphrasing

With this technique, the same ideas arrive as a different number of sentences. Use this last, once the words have moved. Joining two sentences with a subordinator, or splitting a long one at its joint, changes the shape of the information without touching a single fact — and it is the technique that makes a paraphrase stop looking like the original. Which connector to choose is a separate skill; the linking language pages cover the seven relationships.

The long versionwhat it is, what it costs, where it stops

9 examples6 moves and 3 worked rewrites

Guided practice3 steps, you write, then you compare

5 exercisesmeaning first, then production

Start here · the long version

What sentence structure really asks you to do

Changing how many sentences the information arrives in, and stating the relationship between the parts — without changing the relationship itself.

Joining and splitting are both paraphrase

Two sentences can become one, and one can become two. Neither move changes a single word, and both change the shape of the information enough to count as a genuine rewrite. This is the technique that makes a paraphrase stop looking like the original once the words themselves have been moved as far as they will go.

Joining is the more useful direction, because it forces you to state a relationship. Two sentences side by side leave the reader to guess how they connect; “Although X, Y” says it out loud. That is not only paraphrase, it is better writing — and it is assessed under Coherence and Cohesion, where making a relationship explicit is precisely what is being looked for.

Splitting is the emergency move. A long prompt sentence with three clauses can be broken at its natural joint, which is often the fastest route to something that reads nothing like the original. Shorter sentences are not simpler writing: knowing where the joint is, is the skill.

Subordinate it

“X. Y.” → “Although X, Y.” The second sentence loses its full stop and gains a stated relationship.

Relative clause

“The scheme cost £2bn. It was abandoned.” → “The scheme, which cost £2bn, was abandoned.” The commas decide whether the clause identifies or merely adds.

Participle phrase

“Because it lacked funding, the project stalled” → “Lacking funding, the project stalled.” The participle must belong to the subject that follows it.

The comma splice

A comma cannot join two complete sentences, and “however” cannot rescue it. It is the most common punctuation error in Task 2.

The rule that governs the whole technique

Structure may change. Logic may not. Joining two sentences with “because” when the original merely put them side by side adds a cause nobody claimed; “although” claims a tension that may not exist. This is the one way a structural paraphrase can be wrong while every single word in it is right, and it stays invisible unless you check for it deliberately — which is why the recognition exercise on this page asks you to name the relationship before you touch a connector.

What it costs you to skip this

Without it, a paraphrase runs out of room: you can move and replace words all you like and the sentence still has the prompt’s shape. With it done carelessly, you invent relationships — a cause, a contrast, a concession — that the prompt never claimed, and the rest of your essay then argues for something nobody asked about.

Where it stops applying

A sentence can only be split where it has a joint. Forcing a break in the middle of a clause produces two fragments, and a fragment is a grammar error rather than a stylistic choice. Joining has a ceiling too: three ideas subordinated into a single sentence is usually one too many, and the reader loses exactly the thread the technique was supposed to make visible.

Examples · the move in two sentences

A paraphrase changes the words and keeps the claim

That is the whole job, and it is harder than it sounds: the fastest way to lose marks is to write something in better English than the prompt that no longer says what the prompt said. Here is what this particular technique moves.

The original

Logging companies believe their activity has nothing to do with global warming; they insist that other industries are responsible.

Sentence structure

The paraphrase

Logging companies believe their activity has nothing to do with global warming. Instead, they insist that other industries are responsible.

One sentence became two, and the semicolon became a connector that names the relationship. The semicolon only said “these two belong together”; “instead” says how. Changing the shape of the information is a paraphrase, even when no word has been replaced.

When you need it
Use this last, once the words have moved. Joining two sentences with a subordinator, or splitting a long one at its joint, changes the shape of the information without touching a single fact — and it is the technique that makes a paraphrase stop looking like the original. Which connector to choose is a separate skill; the linking language pages cover the seven relationships.

The moves

What you can change, and where the meaning breaks

Not every move is equally safe. Three of these you can make without thinking; the last two are where paraphrases stop being paraphrases.

Two sentences → one, with a subordinator

Safe move

“X. Y.” → “Although X, Y.” or “Because X, Y.” The second sentence loses its full stop and gains a stated relationship.

One sentence → two

Safe move

A long prompt sentence can be split at its natural joint. Shorter sentences are not simpler writing — knowing where the joint is, is the skill.

Semicolon → connector

Safe move

A semicolon says two ideas are related; a connector says how. Naming the relationship is almost always the stronger choice.

Clause → relative clause

Check as you go

“The scheme cost £2bn. It was abandoned.” → “The scheme, which cost £2bn, was abandoned.” Watch the commas: they decide whether the clause is essential to identifying the thing.

Clause → participle phrase

Check as you go

“Because it lacked funding, the project stalled” → “Lacking funding, the project stalled.” The participle must belong to the subject that follows, or the sentence dangles.

Do not change the relationship

Where meaning breaks

Joining with “because” when the original only said “and” adds a cause nobody claimed. The structure may change; the logic may not.

Watch three · then do four

Follow every word that moved

Each example lists exactly what changed, so you can check the claim survived the journey.

Worked example · Sentence structure

Original: Logging companies believe their activity has nothing to do with global warming; they insist that other industries are responsible.

Paraphrase: Logging companies believe their activity has nothing to do with global warming. Instead, they insist that other industries are responsible.

What moved: The semicolon became a full stop, and the relationship it only implied was named with “instead”.

Why this works: The semicolon told the reader the two halves belonged together but not why. Naming the relationship is a genuine paraphrase and it is also better writing.

Worked example · Sentence structure

Original: Animal rights activists strongly support the idea that animals should have the same rights as humans, and they consider that humans have monopolised rights and undervalue other species.

Paraphrase: Because they see humans as having monopolised rights and undervalued other species, animal rights activists strongly support giving animals equal rights.

What moved: The second half became a fronted “because” clause; the first half became the main clause.

Why this works: The reason moved ahead of the claim it supports, and the sentence stopped being a list. Note “animal rights activists”: “animalistic” means brutish or beast-like, and it is the calque this sentence attracts.

Worked example · Sentence structure

Original: Gaming has changed over the last five years. Violent titles are no longer the only profitable ones. Warfare games remain the most popular.

Paraphrase: Although gaming has changed over the last five years, and violent titles are no longer the only profitable ones, warfare games remain the most popular.

What moved: Three sentences became one, with the first two subordinated to the third.

Why this works: The three facts were already in tension; the original just never said so. Subordination puts the emphasis on the last one, which is what an argument does and a list does not.

What goes wrong

The mistakes this technique produces

These are real sentences from a WeLearn classroom, not invented errors. Most of them are calques: English words in a Spanish shape, which is exactly what paraphrasing under time pressure produces.

Logging companies believe their activity has nothing to do with global warming, instead, they insist that other industries are responsible.

A comma cannot join two complete sentences, and “instead” is not a conjunction that can rescue it. This is the comma splice, and it is the most common punctuation error in Task 2.

Repaired: Logging companies believe their activity has nothing to do with global warming. Instead, they insist that other industries are responsible.

Lacking funding, the project’s deadline was missed.

The participle dangles. The thing lacking funding is the project, and the sentence has made the deadline its subject. A participle attaches to whatever noun comes next.

Repaired: Lacking funding, the project missed its deadline.

Although the scheme was expensive, but it was abandoned in 2019.

One relationship, two words announcing it. English uses “although” or “but”, never both in the same sentence — a habit carried over from “aunque … pero”.

Repaired: Although the scheme was expensive, it was abandoned in 2019.

Animalistic strongly support the idea of animals having the same rights as humans.

Two problems in one word. “Animalistic” is an adjective meaning brutish or beast-like, so it cannot be the subject of a sentence — and it describes very nearly the opposite of the people it was meant to name. They are “animal rights activists”.

Repaired: Animal rights activists strongly support the idea of animals having the same rights as humans.

Now you try · with the scaffolding on

Build it one step at a time

Join these into one sentence that states the relationship the word “still” is only hinting at.

The material

Two sentences: “Public transport in the city is heavily subsidised. Fares have still risen every year since 2015.”

Step 1Name the relationship first

Before choosing any connector, say in plain English how the second sentence relates to the first. The word “still” is your clue.

Your version0 words · minimum 6

6 more words before you can compare. Writing it yourself first is the whole exercise.

Step 2Choose the connector and decide the shape

Step 3Write the joined sentence

Exercises · step 1, the meaning

Before you judge a rewrite, learn to spot what changed

Producing a paraphrase is the second skill. The first is noticing when a sentence that reads perfectly well has quietly stopped saying the same thing.

Step 1 · the meaning

Which one still says the same thing?

The sentence you have: The scheme was expensive. It was abandoned in 2019.

All three are written in good English. Only one of them makes the same claim as the original. Find it before you write a single paraphrase of your own.

Exercises · step 2, production

Choose the paraphrase that moves everything and changes nothing

Every wrong option here is wrong for its own reason, and it says so. Three of them are grammatical English — that is the point. Nothing on this page is scored automatically.

Paraphrase this: Public transport is heavily subsidised in the city. Fares have still risen every year since 2015.

Choose an option first

Paraphrase this: The bridge cost far more than planned, and it opened three years late.

Choose an option first

Paraphrase this: Many rural schools have closed. Families with young children are leaving those areas.

Choose an option first

Paraphrase this: Online shopping has grown quickly. High street retailers have lost customers. Several chains have closed entirely.

Choose an option first

The other techniques

Four more ways to move a sentence

Synonyms

The words change and the claim does not.

6 moves · 4 exercises Word order

The same information arrives in a different order.

6 moves · 4 exercises Word form

The same word stays, in a different grammatical shape.

6 moves · 4 exercises Voice

The doer and the thing done change places.

6 moves · 4 exercises