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Quick questions on Using your own words explained: O-Level English
5short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What are substitute the key words, not the easy ones?Show answer
The trap is changing the small, unimportant words while leaving the loaded content words untouched. If the passage says "the costs had spiralled beyond what the town could bear" and you write "the costs had spiralled beyond what the town could bear, which is why...", you have changed nothing that matters. The words that must be replaced are the content words carrying the meaning ("spiralled", "bear"), not the linking words ("the", "had", "what"). Identify the key words and find your own equivalents for those.
What is a synonym that shifts the meaning?Show answer
"Abandoned" is not "paused"; "furious" is not "annoyed". Choose an equivalent that keeps the exact sense.
What is q1?Show answer
Explain why copying the exact words of the passage loses marks on an own-words question. [2 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
Rephrase this in your own words, keeping the meaning: "The proposal was rejected because it was deemed too risky." [2 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
Explain which words you should focus on replacing and which you may leave. [2 marks]
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