Paraphrasing: better words for important, big and good

The rule

In formal writing and speaking, use more precise words: very important → essential or crucial; big → significant or considerable; good → beneficial or effective. Essential and crucial already mean very important, so don't say very essential.

Many learners repeat the words of the question, or use very important, big and good again and again. Paraphrasing shows a wider range of vocabulary and makes your ideas more precise.

Examples

In a conversation

A: Can you check my sentence? “Sport is very important and good for children.”

B: Try “Sport is essential for children, and it's beneficial for their health.”

A: Nice! And “a big problem”?

B: In an essay, “a significant problem” sounds more formal.

Practice

Choose the best answer. The answers are at the end of the lesson.

1. Good sleep is ___ for learning.
   • a) very essential
   • b) essential
   • c) significant
2. There has been a ___ rise in the number of online students.
   • a) significant
   • b) beneficial
   • c) crucial
3. This method is very ___ for learning new words.
   • a) essential
   • b) significant
   • c) effective

Tip

Synonyms are not always interchangeable, so check the collocation: a significant increase, but a big house, not a significant house; beneficial for health, but a good friend, not a beneficial friend.

Answers

1. b) essential. Essential already means very important.
2. a) significant. Significant collocates with rise and increase.
3. c) effective. Effective means it works well, and very effective is fine.

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