The Role of Paraphrasing in High-Scoring Integrated Speaking

Integrated Speaking tasks require reporting information from reading passages and listening sources. How you report that information matters significantly. Copying exact phrases signals limited language ability; effective paraphrasing demonstrates vocabulary range, grammatical flexibility, and genuine comprehension.

This skill-focused guide explains why paraphrasing matters for TOEFL speaking topics with answers in Integrated tasks and provides techniques for developing this essential ability.

Why Paraphrasing Matters in Integrated Tasks

Reason 1: Demonstrating Language Ability

The rubric evaluates language use—vocabulary range and grammatical control. When you paraphrase effectively, you demonstrate that you can express the same idea in multiple ways. Copying exact phrases demonstrates only that you can remember and repeat.

Reason 2: Showing Comprehension

Effective paraphrasing requires genuine understanding. You cannot reformulate what you do not comprehend. When raters hear accurate paraphrasing, they recognize that the speaker truly understood the source material.

Reason 3: Avoiding Mechanical Responses

Responses that merely string together memorized phrases from sources sound mechanical and score lower. Paraphrasing creates responses that sound like genuine communication rather than recitation.

Reason 4: Time Efficiency

Often, paraphrased versions are more concise than original phrasing. This efficiency allows you to cover more content or develop points more thoroughly within time limits.

What Effective Paraphrasing Involves

Paraphrasing is not simply swapping words for synonyms. It involves restructuring how information is expressed while maintaining accuracy.

Element 1: Vocabulary Substitution

Replace words with appropriate alternatives:

Original: "The university will implement a new policy."

Paraphrased: "The university plans to introduce new regulations."

Note that "implement" becomes "introduce" and "policy" becomes "regulations"—similar meanings, different words.

Element 2: Structural Transformation

Change sentence structure while preserving meaning:

Original: "Because enrollment has increased, the university needs more housing."

Paraphrased: "Increased enrollment has created additional housing needs for the university."

The cause-effect relationship remains, but the grammatical structure changes entirely.

Element 3: Consolidation

Combine multiple pieces of information into more efficient expression:

Original: "The reading mentions two reasons. The first reason is cost savings. The second reason is noise reduction."

Paraphrased: "The reading justifies the change on grounds of cost efficiency and noise control."

Same information, more concise delivery.

Element 4: Perspective Adjustment

Shift from the source's perspective to a reporting perspective:

Original quote: "I can't study there because it's always crowded."

Paraphrased: "The student finds the space unusable due to constant crowding."

The first-person expression becomes third-person reporting.

Paraphrasing Techniques for Different Content Types

Paraphrasing Proposals and Announcements

For speaking topics for TOEFL with answers involving campus announcements:

Original: "The university has decided to close the computer lab on weekends effective next semester."

Paraphrasing options:

• "Starting next semester, weekend computer lab access will be eliminated."
• "The university plans to discontinue weekend lab hours."
• "Campus computer facilities will no longer operate on weekends."

Each option preserves the essential information while demonstrating language flexibility.

Paraphrasing Reasons and Arguments

For speaker opinions:

Original: "She disagrees because she works during the week and can only use the gym on weekends."

Paraphrasing options:

• "Her weekday work schedule makes weekend access essential."
• "The student opposes the change because weekends represent her only viable gym time."
• "Working students like her depend on weekend hours for exercise."

Paraphrasing Academic Concepts

For concept definitions:

Original: "Anchoring bias refers to the tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information encountered when making decisions."

Paraphrasing options:

• "Anchoring bias describes how initial information disproportionately influences subsequent judgments."
• "This cognitive bias causes people to weight early information too heavily in their decision-making."
• "The concept explains why first impressions or initial data points skew our evaluations."

Paraphrasing Examples and Illustrations

For lecture examples:

Original: "The professor describes an experiment where participants were shown a random number before estimating how many countries belong to the UN."

Paraphrasing options:

• "The lecture illustrates this through a study involving UN membership estimates preceded by arbitrary numerical exposure."
• "To demonstrate, the professor references research where random number exposure affected participants' guesses about international organization membership."

Common Paraphrasing Mistakes

Mistake 1: Word-for-Word Copying

Simply repeating source language demonstrates no language ability beyond listening/reading comprehension.

Poor: Repeating "The university has decided to require all first-year students to live on campus" exactly as stated.

Better: "The new policy mandates campus residence for incoming students."

Mistake 2: Changing Words Without Changing Structure

Simply swapping synonyms while keeping identical structure is minimal paraphrasing.

Minimal: "The school has decided to require all first-year pupils to reside on campus." (Same structure, just "university"→"school," "students"→"pupils," "live"→"reside")

Better: "Incoming students will now face mandatory campus housing requirements."

Mistake 3: Distorting Meaning

Paraphrasing must preserve accuracy. Changing meaning to find different words is not acceptable.

Original: "The student supports the proposal."

Distorted: "The student thinks the proposal is acceptable." (Changes "supports" to something weaker)

Accurate: "The student endorses the proposed change."

Mistake 4: Over-Paraphrasing Simple Content

Some information does not need elaborate paraphrasing. Terms, names, and simple facts can remain as stated.

Do not force paraphrase of "the library" or "Professor Smith" or "next semester." Focus paraphrasing effort on substantive content.

Building Paraphrasing Skills

Exercise 1: Multiple Versions

Take any sentence from TOEFL source material. Write three different paraphrased versions. Evaluate which sounds most natural while maintaining accuracy.

Exercise 2: Structural Transformation Drills

Practice specific transformations:

• Active to passive: "The university announced changes" → "Changes were announced"
• Noun to verb: "The implementation of the policy" → "Implementing the policy"
• Clause to phrase: "Because students complained" → "Due to student complaints"

Exercise 3: Timed Paraphrasing

Read a sentence, then immediately paraphrase it aloud without writing. This builds the spontaneous paraphrasing ability needed during the actual test.

Exercise 4: Paraphrase-Only Responses

Practice Integrated responses where you challenge yourself to never use exact phrases from sources. This forces paraphrasing throughout.

Task-Specific Paraphrasing Strategies

Task 2 (Campus Situation)

Key paraphrasing targets:

• The announcement/proposal description
• Each of the speaker's reasons
• The speaker's position statement

Template language to paraphrase: "The reading states that..." can become "According to the announcement..." or "The university proposes..."

Task 3 (Academic Concept)

Key paraphrasing targets:

• The concept definition
• The lecture example description
• The connection between example and concept

Technical terms usually do not need paraphrasing—"anchoring bias" stays "anchoring bias." But explanations should be in your own words.

Task 4 (Academic Lecture)

Key paraphrasing targets:

• The main topic identification
• Each example or point from the lecture
• Explanations of how examples relate to the topic

Integrating Paraphrasing with Other Skills

Paraphrasing works best combined with:

Synthesis

Paraphrase while connecting: "While the reading justifies the change through cost concerns, the student argues these savings come at students' expense."

This paraphrases both sources while showing their relationship.

Development

Paraphrase while developing: "The speaker's financial argument centers on the cost disparity—campus housing runs double what off-campus alternatives cost, forcing students to pay more without receiving additional value."

This paraphrases the speaker's point while adding explanation.

Sample Response Analysis

Here is how paraphrasing transforms a response about TOEFL speaking topics and answers:

Without paraphrasing (weak):

"The reading says the university will close the gym on weekends. The student disagrees. She says she works during the week so she can only use the gym on weekends. She also says the gym is not crowded on weekends."

With paraphrasing (strong):

"The student opposes the proposed weekend closure for two reasons. First, her weekday work schedule makes weekends her only viable exercise time—the policy would effectively eliminate her gym access. Second, she challenges the university's efficiency rationale by noting that weekend hours actually see lower usage, meaning the closure targets precisely when the facility serves students best."

The second response paraphrases throughout while maintaining accuracy and adding development.

Conclusion

Paraphrasing is not optional decoration for Integrated Speaking—it is essential evidence of language ability and comprehension. Responses that copy source language demonstrate limited skill; responses that effectively reformulate information demonstrate vocabulary range, grammatical flexibility, and genuine understanding.

Build paraphrasing ability through deliberate practice: multiple versions of the same content, structural transformation drills, and timed spontaneous reformulation. Then integrate paraphrasing naturally into your responses alongside synthesis and development.

When practicing with TOEFL speaking topics with answers, evaluate your paraphrasing specifically. Ask: Did I reformulate the source language? Did I maintain accuracy? Could I have been more concise? This focused evaluation develops the skill that distinguishes strong Integrated responses from adequate ones.