The Question That Costs Students the Most Marks
“Using your own words, explain what the writer means by…”
This question appears in almost every SPM English reading comprehension paper. And it’s where most students lose marks — not because they don’t understand the passage, but because they don’t know what “your own words” actually means to the examiner.
After marking thousands of practice papers over 8 years, I can tell you the exact mistakes students make and the exact technique that fixes them.
What Examiners Actually Want
Let’s be clear about what “in your own words” means:
It does NOT mean:
- Copying the sentence from the passage
- Changing one or two words and keeping the rest
- Writing a completely different idea that isn’t in the text
It DOES mean:
- Keeping the same meaning as the original
- Replacing key words with synonyms or different phrasing
- Restructuring the sentence if possible
The examiner is testing two things simultaneously: (1) Do you understand what the text says? (2) Can you express that understanding in your own language?
The 3-Step Paraphrasing Technique
This method works on any “own words” question in SPM English.
Step 1: Identify the Key Words
Read the relevant sentence from the passage and underline the content words — nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs that carry meaning.
Example passage sentence: “The relentless pursuit of wealth has eroded the traditional values that once held communities together.”
Key words: relentless pursuit, wealth, eroded, traditional values, held communities together
Step 2: Replace Each Key Word with a Synonym
Find a substitute for each key word. You don’t need to replace every single word — focus on the important content words.
| Original | Replacement |
|---|---|
| relentless pursuit | constant chase / non-stop quest |
| wealth | money / riches |
| eroded | weakened / destroyed / worn away |
| traditional values | long-held beliefs / cultural customs |
| held communities together | united neighbourhoods / kept people connected |
Step 3: Reconstruct the Sentence
Put it back together in a natural sentence:
Paraphrased answer: “The constant chase for money has weakened the long-held beliefs that once united communities.”
That’s it. Same meaning, different words, natural-sounding sentence. Full marks.
Common Pitfalls That Lose You Marks
Pitfall 1: Lifting — Copying Directly from the Text
Question: Using your own words, explain what the writer means by “the digital divide has widened the gap between urban and rural students.”
Bad answer: “The digital divide has widened the gap between urban and rural students.”
This scores zero. You’ve just copied the text. The examiner explicitly asked you not to do this.
Pitfall 2: Surface Swapping — Changing Only One or Two Words
Bad answer: “The digital divide has increased the gap between city and village students.”
You changed “widened” to “increased” and “urban/rural” to “city/village” — but kept the rest identical. Most examiners will give only partial marks for this.
Pitfall 3: Over-Paraphrasing — Changing the Meaning
Bad answer: “Technology has caused problems in education across Malaysia.”
This is too vague. You’ve lost the specific meaning about the gap between urban and rural students. The examiner wants the same idea, not a different one.
The Correct Answer
Good answer: “The difference in access to technology has made the inequality between students in cities and those in the countryside even greater.”
Same meaning. Different words. Specific details preserved.
Practice Examples
Try paraphrasing these before reading the suggested answers:
Example 1
Original: “The government has implemented stringent measures to curb environmental pollution.”
Your turn: Write this in your own words.
Suggested answer: “The authorities have introduced strict steps to reduce damage to the environment.”
Example 2
Original: “Young people today are increasingly reliant on social media for information, which makes them vulnerable to misinformation.”
Your turn: Write this in your own words.
Suggested answer: “Today’s youth depend more and more on social media to get news, which puts them at risk of believing false information.”
Example 3
Original: “The lack of parental involvement in education has contributed to the decline in academic performance among teenagers.”
Your turn: Write this in your own words.
Suggested answer: “When parents do not take an active role in their children’s learning, it leads to poorer results among young students.”
Words You Should Never Need to Paraphrase
Some words are so basic or specific that paraphrasing them would be unnatural:
- Proper nouns: Malaysia, SPM, Kuala Lumpur
- Technical terms: internet, social media, pollution
- Common words: students, school, government
- Numbers and data: 50%, RM1 million
Focus your paraphrasing energy on the descriptive and action words — adjectives, verbs, and phrases that can be expressed differently.
Building Your Synonym Bank
The better your vocabulary, the easier paraphrasing becomes. Here are high-frequency SPM words and their alternatives:
| SPM Word | Alternatives |
|---|---|
| important | crucial, vital, essential, significant |
| increase | rise, grow, escalate, surge |
| decrease | decline, drop, diminish, reduce |
| problem | issue, challenge, concern, obstacle |
| benefit | advantage, merit, positive aspect |
| cause | lead to, result in, contribute to, trigger |
| affect | influence, impact, have an effect on |
| improve | enhance, boost, develop, strengthen |
Building this synonym bank is part of effective vocabulary building for SPM and directly supports your reading comprehension strategies.
Time Management for “Own Words” Questions
In the SPM Reading paper, you have limited time. Don’t spend 10 minutes crafting the perfect paraphrase. Here’s a realistic time guide:
- Read the question — 15 seconds
- Find the relevant sentence in the passage — 30 seconds
- Identify key words — 15 seconds
- Write your paraphrased answer — 2 minutes
- Check that meaning is preserved — 15 seconds
Total: about 3-3.5 minutes per question. This is part of smart exam strategy and time management.
How We Teach This Skill
In our Reading & Use of English program, students practise paraphrasing every week with real SPM passages. Each answer gets individual feedback — not just “right or wrong” but specific notes on which words needed better synonyms and where meaning shifted.
83% of our students improve by 2+ grades. Much of that comes from mastering skills exactly like this one.
Struggling with ‘own words’ questions? Chat with us on WhatsApp to get personalised reading comprehension coaching.