When a question says 'in your own words', what exactly do I change, and how do I avoid just copying?
Answer comprehension questions in your own words by rephrasing the relevant part of the text accurately, changing the wording without changing the meaning
How to answer comprehension questions in your own words: finding the right part of the text, rephrasing it accurately, and avoiding the trap of copying whole phrases straight from the passage.
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What this dot point is asking
SEAB wants you to answer certain comprehension questions in your own words: to find the relevant part of the passage and rephrase it accurately, changing the wording without changing the meaning. This instruction appears often in Paper 2, and it tests whether you really understand the text rather than just copying from it. The skill has two halves: locate the right information, then reword it. Copying the key words straight from the passage loses the own-words marks even if you have found the right place.
The answer
Locate the answer first
Before you reword anything, find the exact part of the passage that answers the question. Use the line reference or key words in the question to locate it. Underline the relevant sentence or phrase. You cannot reword accurately if you have not found the right place, so locating comes first.
Change the key words
Once you have the relevant text, replace the key words with synonyms (words of the same meaning). "Furious" becomes "very angry"; "reluctant" becomes "unwilling"; "vast" becomes "huge". These important content words are the ones markers check, so they are the ones you must change. Small linking words (the, and, because) can stay.
Change the structure too
As well as swapping words, you can change the sentence structure. Turn "Because of the storm, the ferry was cancelled" into "The ferry did not run as there was a storm." Changing the order and shape of the sentence, not just a word or two, makes the answer clearly your own.
Keep the meaning exact
The golden rule is that the meaning must stay exactly the same. Rewording is not the same as guessing or adding your own ideas. Check your answer against the passage: does it say the same thing, just in different words? If yes, you have done it correctly.
Examples in context
Example 1. A feeling reworded. Passage: "She was overjoyed at the news." Question (own words): how did she feel? A copied answer ("overjoyed") loses marks. An own-words answer ("She felt extremely happy") keeps the meaning but changes the key word, which is what the question rewards.
Example 2. A reason restructured. Passage: "Owing to the thick fog, the flight was delayed for hours." Question (own words): why was the flight delayed? An own-words answer changes both words and structure: "The flight was delayed for a long time because the fog was so thick." The meaning is identical, but nothing important is copied.
Try this
Cue. Reword this in your own words: "The boy was terrified of the dark." For example: "The boy was very frightened of being in the dark." The key word "terrified" is changed to "very frightened".
Cue. A student copies "reluctant to leave" straight into an own-words answer. What should they do instead? Replace the key word, for example "unwilling to go" or "did not want to leave", so it is genuinely in their own words.
Cue. Explain why locating the answer matters before rewording. You cannot reword text accurately if you have not found the right part; locating first ensures your reworded answer is based on what the passage actually says.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of SEAB exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Original4 marksA passage reads: 'Exhausted after the long hike, the children flopped onto the grass, grateful for the shade of the old tree.' The question asks, in your own words, why the children sat down and why they were glad about the tree. Write a model answer.Show worked answer →
Model answer: The children sat down because they were very tired after the long walk, and they were happy about the tree because it gave them shade from the sun.
Notice the changes: "exhausted" becomes "very tired", "hike" becomes "walk", "flopped onto the grass" becomes "sat down", and "grateful for the shade" becomes "happy about the shade it gave". The meaning is exactly the same, but the words are mine.
What markers reward: an accurate answer that keeps the meaning of the text but changes the key words ("exhausted", "hike", "grateful"). Copying these words straight from the passage would lose the own-words marks.
Original3 marksExplain what 'in your own words' means in a comprehension question, and describe two ways to change a phrase from the text without changing its meaning.Show worked answer →
"In your own words" means you must show you understand the text by rephrasing the relevant part, not by copying it. You find the answer in the passage, then say the same thing using different words.
Two ways to change a phrase: (1) replace key words with synonyms (words with the same meaning), for example "furious" becomes "very angry"; (2) change the sentence structure, for example turning "because of the heavy rain, the match was cancelled" into "the match was cancelled as it rained so hard". Both keep the meaning while changing the wording.
What markers reward: a clear understanding that own-words answers prove comprehension, and two real techniques (synonyms and restructuring) rather than vague advice to "use different words".
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