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ABI - Paraphrasing systematisch trainieren

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ABI - Paraphrasing systematisch trainieren

Mini-description: Rephrase statements through synonym choice, sentence restructuring and grammatical variation without changing meaning. The course is designed for English as a continued foreign language in the Baden-Württemberg Kursstufe, shared by Basisfach (BF) and Leistungsfach (LF). Core level: B2, with selected C1-oriented extensions where they are useful rather than artificially difficult.

Media starter: Look at the writing scene. Imagine one sentence is rewritten three times. Which changes would you make first: vocabulary, sentence structure or grammar? Write one short hypothesis before you continue.

Einleitung

A strong paraphrase says the same thing in a genuinely new form. It is not a word-by-word synonym swap. You first secure the meaning, then rebuild the language. This matters for summary writing, analysis, mediation, source-based writing and speaking.

The main routine is:

Understand: identify the core claim, relationships, degree of certainty and relevant details.
Rebuild: change wording, syntax and grammar instead of copying the source pattern.
Check: compare source and paraphrase for meaning, register and accuracy.
Refine: improve collocations, cohesion and style with a dictionary if needed.

All practice texts and data in this aiMOOC are original or explicitly marked as fictitious. No complete compulsory texts or film sequences are reproduced.

Abi-Bezug 2027 und BF/LF-Differenzierung

Stand: 02.10.2026. For the 2027 Abitur in Baden-Württemberg, the official subject decree for English refers to the competences and content of the Bildungsplan 2016. In the LF written examination, the writing section includes an aspect-focused summary, an analysis and a further writing task; paraphrasing supports these tasks but is not a separate operator. The 2027 decree also refers to the IQB operator base from the 2027 Abitur cohort onward.

For BF and LF, the learning target at the end of the Kursstufe is B2, in parts C1. The official distinction is mainly the complexity and abstraction of texts and topics and the breadth, depth and differentiation of task processing.

Focus	Basisfach	Leistungsfach
Material	shorter, clearly delimited excerpts and one source at a time	broader, denser material and links across sources
Paraphrase task	one core idea plus structured support	several ideas, nuances and source relationships
Language support	phrase bank, word-family prompts, guided checklist	reduced scaffolding, independent dictionary decisions
AFB focus	mainly AFB I/II with transfer steps	stronger AFB II/III, comparison, evaluation and synthesis
Suggested practice length	about 60–100 words	about 120–180 words or a short synthesis

Official checks: Abitur information Baden-Württemberg, Facherlass 2027, IQB operators English.

I-can-Ziele

After this course, you can:

explain the source idea in your own English before you start rewriting;
choose context-appropriate synonyms and collocations without changing the level of certainty;
restructure clauses and sentences while keeping logical relations intact;
use grammatical variation such as word-class changes, active/passive choices and clause-to-phrase transformations;
paraphrase for summary, analysis, speaking and mediation without patchwriting;
check your work against the source and use an English learner dictionary before turning to German help.

Vorwissen aktivieren

Read the source sentence:

Source: The report suggests that flexible timetables can reduce stress for some students.

Compare:

A: The report indicates that flexible schedules can decrease pressure for some pupils.

B: According to the report, some students may feel less stressed when their timetable is more flexible.

A changes several words but stays close to the source pattern. B changes the structure and keeps the cautious meaning of suggests and can. Before looking for synonyms, underline the claim, the degree of certainty and the group affected.

The paraphrasing system

Step 1: Build a meaning map

Ask five questions in English: Who or what? What happens? Why or how? How certain is the statement? Which detail must remain? This creates a short semantic map before you rewrite.

Example:

Source: Because the school extended library opening hours, more students studied there after lessons.

Meaning map: school action → longer opening hours → more after-school use of the library.

A safe paraphrase can then be:

Paraphrase: More students used the library for after-school study once its opening hours had been extended.

The structure changes, but the causal relationship remains.

Media task: Decide which resource would help most with each problem: meaning, collocation, register or spelling. A thesaurus gives alternatives, but a learner dictionary is better for checking whether an alternative actually fits the context.

Step 2: Synonym choice in context

A synonym is rarely a perfect substitute in every context. Check meaning, collocation, register and strength.

Source word	Possible alternatives	Check before using
important	significant, central, crucial	Is the strength the same?
show	indicate, demonstrate, illustrate	Does the evidence really prove something or only suggest it?
problem	issue, challenge, concern	Which nuance fits the context?
increase	rise, grow, raise	Is the verb transitive or intransitive?
say	state, argue, suggest, maintain	What attitude or certainty does the reporting verb imply?

Rule: Do not choose a more formal word just because it sounds impressive. Use is often better than utilise.

Media task: The image practises synonym matching. For Abi-level work, add a second question to every pair: Would both words work in the same sentence and register? If not, explain the difference.

Step 3: Sentence restructuring

Change the architecture of the sentence, not only individual words.

Move an adverbial clause: Because X happened, Y changed → Y changed as a result of X.
Split or combine sentences when the logical link stays clear.
Change a clause into a phrase: students who take breaks → students taking breaks.
Reorder information: begin with the result, then give the cause.
Use a different subject where the meaning remains stable.

Source: Many students choose the bus because ticket prices are relatively low.

Paraphrase: Relatively low fares make bus travel an attractive option for many students.

Step 4: Grammatical variation

Grammar can create real distance from the source.

Technique	Source	Possible paraphrase
Verb → noun	People rely more on digital maps.	Reliance on digital maps has increased.
Active → passive	The survey recorded a clear preference.	A clear preference was recorded in the survey.
Adjective → noun phrase	The policy is effective.	The effectiveness of the policy is evident in the results.
Finite clause → participle phrase	Students who work in pairs often compare wording.	Students working in pairs often compare wording.

After every transformation, ask: Did I change the focus, time reference, certainty or causal relation?

Media task: This diagram visualises how forms and meanings can overlap in language. Use it as a reminder: similarity of form does not guarantee similarity of meaning, and similarity of meaning does not make two words interchangeable in every context.

Listening / Viewing

Before viewing, predict three principles of a good paraphrase. During viewing, note two language changes and one checking strategy. After viewing, explain the main idea of the video in 40–60 words without copying its wording.

BF support: use the frame A successful paraphrase first..., then..., and finally...

LF extension: compare the video’s method with the four-step system above and explain where the approaches overlap or differ.

Reading: controlled practice

Fictitious practice text — not a real study:

At Westbridge College, 240 upper-secondary students took part in a fictional survey about five-minute study breaks. Sixty-two percent said that short, quiet breaks helped them return to difficult tasks with better concentration. Students who checked social media during every break reported that restarting often took longer. The survey does not show that one type of break causes better grades; it only records self-reported habits.

BF task: Paraphrase the core message in 60–80 words. Keep the limitation about causality.

LF task: Paraphrase the text in 80–100 words and add one sentence explaining why self-reported habits limit the strength of any conclusion.

Visual reading: fictitious data

Break activity	Restarted within two minutes	Self-rated concentration after the break
quiet stretch	68%	7.1/10
short walk	61%	6.8/10
social media	41%	5.8/10

Data note: All figures are fictitious and exist only for language practice.

Task: Write two different paraphrases of the same pattern. Version 1 should foreground the strongest contrast. Version 2 should foreground the overall tendency without overstating causation.

Kontextwortschatz und Wortbildung

Use word families to vary grammar without forcing unusual vocabulary.

Verb	Noun	Adjective	Adverb
vary	variation	variable / varied	variably
differ	difference	different	differently
analyse	analysis	analytical	analytically
interpret	interpretation	interpretive	interpretively
signify	significance	significant	significantly

Example: The results differ considerably. → There is a considerable difference between the results.

Analyse: Meaning drift erkennen

Source: The article argues that remote work may improve job satisfaction when employees can choose how often they work from home.

Paraphrase 1: The article states that working from home always makes employees happier. Problem: may becomes always, and the condition is lost.

Paraphrase 2: According to the article, job satisfaction can rise when employees have some control over how frequently they work remotely. This keeps the possibility and the condition while changing vocabulary and structure.

Paraphrase 3: The article discusses remote work and employee happiness. Problem: too vague; the central relationship is missing.

Analysis routine: compare proposition, modality, condition, cause, scope and register.

Speaking

Work in pairs. Student A reads a short source sentence once. Student B paraphrases it orally without seeing the source. Student A checks meaning, not exact wording. Then swap roles.

Private recording option: You may record your own 30–60 second paraphrase on your device for self-review. Recording is voluntary, stays private and should not be uploaded unless your teacher explicitly provides a safe school-approved process.

Writing

Use the 3-layer rewrite:

Layer 1 – meaning: write a 5–10 word note that captures the core idea.
Layer 2 – structure: rebuild the sentence order without looking at the original wording.
Layer 3 – language: improve vocabulary, grammar and cohesion, then check against the source.

BF practice: paraphrase one 70–90 word paragraph with a checklist and a small phrase bank.

LF practice: paraphrase and connect two short sources. Mark where the sources agree, differ or qualify each other. Do not merge claims that are not actually equivalent.

Media task: Before writing a clean version, make visible edits on paper or in a local document: circle copied chunks, underline changed syntax and box one grammatical transformation.

Source use: paraphrase, summary or quotation?

Use a paraphrase when the idea matters but the exact wording does not. Use a summary when you need only the main points of a longer source. Use a quotation only when the exact wording itself is important and the task or source conventions allow it.

For school writing, paraphrasing does not remove the need to make source relations clear. In an exam, follow the task format and citation conventions given by your teacher and the official materials.

Mediation

German source note — fictitious: Die Stadtbibliothek verlängert während der Prüfungsphase ihre Öffnungszeiten bis 22 Uhr. Gruppenräume können für maximal zwei Stunden reserviert werden. Lernende sollen Kopfhörer mitbringen, wenn sie Audio- oder Videomaterial nutzen. Das Angebot gilt zunächst vier Wochen.

Task: An English-speaking exchange student asks what is useful for exam preparation. Write a short English message that mediates the relevant information. Do not translate sentence by sentence. Select, reorganise and paraphrase.

BF support: focus on three relevant details.

LF extension: adapt tone and order to the recipient’s needs and explain one practical implication.

Help ladder: English first

Use help in this order:

Context: infer meaning from the sentence and surrounding paragraph.
Word formation: identify root, prefix, suffix and word family.
Visualisation: sketch the relation between ideas or make a mini concept map.
English explanation: define the word or idea in simple English.
Learner dictionary / thesaurus: check meaning, grammar, collocation and register.
German help: use it only if the English route is not enough.

This keeps the course English-first without banning useful German support.

Feedback

Use the M-S-G-R check:

Meaning: Are claim, scope, certainty and relationships preserved?
Structure: Is the sentence architecture genuinely different?
Grammar: Are tense, reference and clause relations accurate?
Register: Does the vocabulary fit the source and task?

Peer feedback sentence starters:

Meaning check: Your paraphrase keeps / changes the idea that... Structure check: You could create more distance by... Language check: This word is close in meaning, but the collocation/register suggests...

Fehleranalyse

Typical error	What goes wrong	Repair strategy
Patchwriting	several source phrases remain in the same order	close the source, rebuild from the meaning map, then compare
Synonym drift	a replacement changes nuance or strength	check definition, collocation and example sentences
Lost modality	may/could/suggest becomes will/prove	mark modal verbs and reporting verbs before rewriting
Causal overclaim	correlation becomes cause	preserve cautious relations such as is associated with
Grammar damage	transformation creates tense or agreement errors	read the paraphrase as an independent sentence
Register inflation	ordinary language becomes unnecessarily formal	prefer natural academic English over rare vocabulary

Transfer

Apply the same skill to different task types:

Summary: compress and paraphrase the relevant ideas.
Analysis: paraphrase a claim, then analyse how language or structure creates an effect.
Mediation: select and reformulate meaning for a new audience.
Speaking: respond flexibly instead of reproducing memorised wording.
Source-based writing: connect ideas while keeping source boundaries clear.

Responsible use of AI and sources

You do not need an external AI tool for any task in this course. Do not upload school texts, personal data, recordings or unpublished work to external services unless your school has explicitly approved the process.

If AI-supported wording is permitted in your learning context, treat it as a suggestion that must be checked. Compare every claim with the original source, verify vocabulary with a reliable dictionary and keep your own authorship visible. Do not submit AI-generated replacement essays.

Abi-Check 2027

Current official frame for English, Baden-Württemberg, checked 02.10.2026:

The 2027 LF written exam contains listening and writing components; the writing section includes an aspect-focused summary, analysis and a further writing task.
The LF examination permits an English monolingual dictionary, an English-German/German-English bilingual dictionary and a German spelling reference according to the official decree.
In the BF, course assessment across the four half-years covers listening, reading, analysis, mediation and two different writing types.
The official 2027 decree distinguishes BF and LF by task depth and AFB weighting: BF emphasises AFB I/II more strongly, while LF emphasises AFB II/III more strongly.
Before your examination, re-check the current ministry page and your school’s instructions because official documents can be updated.

Skill link: paraphrasing is especially useful when you write the aspect-focused summary, integrate evidence into analysis or mediate information without copying source wording.

Differenzierung: Sprache, Umfang, Tempo und Hilfen

Dimension	BF route	LF route
Language	clear B2 wording; one new technique at a time	B2 with selective C1 precision where it improves nuance
Length	short source sections and 1–2 sentence paraphrases	longer passages and linked paraphrases across sources
Tempo	pause after each transformation and check meaning	combine transformations under time pressure
Analysis	identify one main meaning risk	analyse modality, stance, scope, register and source relation
Help	visible scaffold and model sentence	delayed help, self-selected dictionary strategy

Folgekurs

Continue with:

Interaktive Aufgaben

Quiz: Teste Dein Wissen

What is the main goal of a paraphrase? (To express the same meaning in a genuinely new form) (!To replace every word with a longer synonym) (!To shorten every sentence) (!To add your own opinion)

What should you check before replacing a source word with a synonym? (Meaning, collocation, register and strength) (!Only the number of letters) (!Only whether the word sounds formal) (!Only whether it begins with a different letter)

Which change creates more distance from the source than simple synonym swapping? (Restructuring the sentence while preserving the logical relation) (!Keeping the same syntax and changing one adjective) (!Copying the sentence and changing punctuation) (!Adding an unrelated example)

What is an example of grammatical variation? (Changing a verb construction into a noun phrase) (!Replacing every noun with the same noun) (!Keeping grammar identical and changing font) (!Removing all connecting words)

What should come before searching for synonyms? (Understanding the source meaning) (!Choosing the longest words available) (!Translating every word into German) (!Writing the final sentence from memory without checking meaning)

Why is modality important when paraphrasing? (It shows how certain or cautious a claim is) (!It determines the page layout) (!It tells you how many paragraphs to write) (!It replaces the need for evidence)

Which paraphrase strategy best avoids patchwriting? (Close the source and rebuild from a meaning map before comparing) (!Keep the source open and replace every second word) (!Copy the sentence and move one comma) (!Use only rare synonyms)

What is the role of a learner dictionary in paraphrasing? (To check meaning, grammar, collocation and register) (!To guarantee that every synonym is interchangeable) (!To write the whole paragraph automatically) (!To remove the need to compare with the source)

What is good mediation practice? (Select and reformulate relevant meaning for a new audience) (!Translate every source sentence word for word) (!Add facts that are not in the source) (!Keep all source details even when they are irrelevant)

What is the safest way to use AI-supported wording when it is permitted? (Check it against the source and reliable language references) (!Submit it as a replacement essay without reading it) (!Assume every suggested synonym has exactly the same meaning) (!Upload private recordings automatically)

Memory

Synonym choice	context-sensitive vocabulary
Sentence restructuring	new syntactic architecture
Grammatical variation	changed form with stable meaning
Modality	degree of certainty
Collocation	words that naturally occur together
Patchwriting	source wording kept too closely
Meaning map	core idea before rewriting

Drag and Drop

Ordne die richtigen Begriffe zu.	Thema
Meaning map	core claim and logical relation
Synonym choice	context and register check
Sentence restructuring	clause order and syntax change
Grammatical variation	word class or voice change
Final check	compare meaning with the source

Kreuzworträtsel

synonym	Which word describes an alternative with a similar meaning?
meaning	What must remain stable in a successful paraphrase?
register	What describes whether language is formal, neutral or informal?
syntax	What term refers to sentence structure?
context	What helps you decide whether a synonym really fits?
collocation	What term describes words that naturally occur together?

LearningApps

Lückentext

Offene Aufgaben

Leicht

Meaning map: Choose three short English sentences from your own notes and reduce each to a 5–10 word meaning map.
Synonym check: Create five synonym pairs and add one sentence explaining when the two words are not interchangeable.
Sentence shuffle: Rewrite four sentences by changing the order of cause, result and supporting detail.
Word-family cards: Build six mini cards with verb, noun, adjective and adverb forms and write one paraphrase with each family.

Standard

Two-version paraphrase: Paraphrase the same 80-word practice paragraph twice using different sentence structures, then compare which version preserves nuance better.
Error hunt: Write one intentionally weak paraphrase containing two meaning errors, then annotate and repair them.
Paraphrase relay: In pairs, orally paraphrase short source statements. Record only if you want to, keep recordings private and delete them after self-review.
Mini mediation: Turn a short German school notice into an English message for an exchange student, selecting only relevant information.

Schwer

Source synthesis: Combine two short, teacher-provided sources in 150 words without blurring which source makes which claim.
Analysis transfer: Paraphrase an author’s argument, then analyse how one language feature supports that argument.
Register lab: Produce neutral, formal and conversational paraphrases of the same core idea and explain what changes and what must not change.
Timed Abi drill: Complete a short aspect-focused summary under time pressure, then use the M-S-G-R check to revise only meaning-critical problems.

Lernkontrolle

Meaning preservation: Given a source statement and three paraphrases, identify which semantic components changed and repair one version without returning to the source syntax.
Nuance transfer: Rewrite a cautious research claim twice, once with a noun phrase and once with a different clause structure, while preserving modality.
Source comparison: Paraphrase two short sources that partly agree, then write one linking sentence that represents the relationship accurately.
Audience-aware mediation: Reformulate a German information note for two different English-speaking audiences and explain why your wording differs.
Error analysis: Diagnose a paragraph containing patchwriting, register inflation and a causal overclaim, then revise it and justify three changes.
Abi transfer: Write a 90-word aspect-focused summary of a new short text and annotate where you used synonym choice, restructuring and grammatical variation.

Lernnachweis

For a successful learning record, you should be able to show:

a meaning map that correctly captures the source claim;
two paraphrases using more than one transformation technique;
one documented correction of meaning drift or modality;
one short source-based summary or mediation task;
a self-check using meaning, structure, grammar and register;
evidence that dictionary choices were checked rather than copied automatically.

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