What “paraphrase without distortion” means, in plain English
To paraphrase is to restate the same meaning in new words. Distortion happens when you change scope, strength, time, or actors. A frame is the minimal set of elements a sentence needs to keep its meaning: actors, action, objects, time or place, and degree words such as more, most, may, often.

The Frame–Swap method (fast, safe, high scoring)

1. Extract the frame
   Underline five parts in the task: actor, action, object, scope (time or place), degree (modality or comparison). Example tags: people, should fund, public transport, in large cities, more than roads.
2. Swap wording without moving the frame

• Replace verbs with safe families: fund → finance or allocate money to.
• Use class-level nouns: public transport → mass transit.
• Keep degree words intact: more than, may, tends to, mainly.
• Preserve scope: in large cities stays in large cities unless you narrow it with a limiter later in your thesis.

1. Check invariants
   You must preserve negation, quantifiers (all, most, some), comparatives/superlatives (more, the most), modality (may, should), and time/place. If any of these shift, you distorted.
2. Finish with a stance line
   Add one clear thesis that answers the question. Optional: add a light scope limiter (for dense districts, in the short term).

Word target
Keep the whole introduction at 35 to 45 words. One paraphrase sentence plus one thesis sentence is enough. Longer intros invite distortion.

Two worked examples

Example 1 — Opinion prompt
Prompt: “Some people think governments should spend more money on public transport than on building new roads. Do you agree or disagree”

• Distorted paraphrase: Many believe authorities must only invest in buses instead of roads.
  Problems: must replaces should, only replaces more, buses narrows transport.
• Frame–Swap paraphrase: Many argue that governments ought to allocate a larger share of funding to mass transit rather than to new highways.
  Why it works: should → ought to (same strength), more money → a larger share, public transport → mass transit, building new roads → new highways.
• Thesis: I agree because transit moves more people per lane and cuts emissions in dense cities.

Example 2 — Two-part question
Prompt: “Why do many people work long hours. What problems can this cause”

• Distorted paraphrase: People often work too long because they are greedy, which harms society.
  Problems: adds cause not in prompt, value judgment greedy, over-general too long.
• Frame–Swap paraphrase: Many employees put in extended hours for reasons such as workload and job insecurity, and this pattern can lead to health and family strains.
  Why it works: restates both parts neutrally, keeps can lead (modality) not will.
• Thesis: Hours should be capped and schedules made predictable to protect worker health.

The Fidelity Test (20 seconds, zero tools)

• Mirror: Can you map each word in your paraphrase to an element in the original frame
• Flip: If you flip your paraphrase back to the original wording, does meaning survive
• Probe: Ask yourself five quick questions: Who, does what, to what, where or when, to what degree. All must match.

If any element fails, fix it before writing body paragraphs.

High-safety swaps you can trust

• Verbs: increase → rise, reduce → cut, cause → lead to, support → back, show → indicate.
• Comparatives: more than → a larger share than; less than → a smaller share than.
• Modality: should → ought to; may → might; tends to → often.
• Actors: governments → public authorities; companies → firms or employers.

Avoid flashy synonyms that add judgment: destroy, crisis, scandal, miracle.

Measurable drills

• 45-word cap: Write 3 introductions under 45 words. Target 100 percent frame match.
• Invariant audit: Highlight negation, quantifiers, comparatives, modality, and time/place in color. Score yourself 5 out of 5 preserved.
• Two-timer: Spend 60 seconds framing, 60 seconds swapping, then stop. This enforces clarity and prevents over-writing.
• Dhaka lens: Add one local limiter in your thesis twice per week, for example in Dhaka’s dense wards.

Mini case — Rafi in Dhaka

Problem: Rafi wrote 70-word intros with bold claims unrelated to the prompt.
Intervention: He used the Frame–Swap method with a 45-word cap and a 5-invariant checklist. He logged two numbers per essay: word count and invariant score.
Result: Average intro length dropped to 39 words, invariant scores rose from 3 to 5 out of 5, and his Task Response comments improved in mocks.

Common mistakes

• Quantifier shift: many → most or some → all.
• Modality upgrade: should → must; may → will.
• Scope creep: in cities → everywhere; in 2025 → in the future.
• Actor swap: companies → workers; governments → taxpayers.
• Loaded synonym: improve → revolutionise, problem → crisis, support → blindly support.

Edge cases and safe choices

• Cited data in the prompt: repeat the number with the same unit or round carefully; do not replace 47 percent with almost half unless instructed to generalise.
• Definitions in the prompt: keep key terms unchanged the first time, then use safe variants later.
• Negative framing: if the prompt is “should not,” preserve the negation or reframe with “should avoid” without flipping meaning.
• Comparatives: if two items are ranked, keep the direction. “A more than B” cannot become “A as much as B.”

Tips and tricks

• Draft the thesis first, then write the paraphrase that sets it up.
• Swap word classes to reduce synonym risk: noun to verb or verb to noun. Example: investment in roads → funding roads.
• Use a light limiter to sound precise: in dense cities, for entry-level roles, during peak hours.
• Read your intro aloud. If it sounds stronger or weaker than the prompt, check modality.

To avoid

• Rewriting the whole prompt with fancy synonyms you do not control.
• Adding causes, solutions, or examples in the introduction. Save them for the body.
• Breaking the 45-word cap. More words, more risk.
• Echoing the prompt word for word. Minimal paraphrase still needs new structure.

Glossary

Paraphrase — restating the same meaning in new words.
Frame — actor, action, object, scope, and degree that must be preserved.
Invariant — an element that cannot change without altering meaning, such as negation or modality.
Modality — words that show strength or possibility, like should or may.
Limiter — a short phrase narrowing scope by place, time, or group.
Distortion — any unwanted change in meaning during paraphrase.

Next steps
Take three past prompts. For each, extract the five-part frame, write a 35 to 45 word paraphrase, then add a one-sentence thesis with an optional limiter. Run the Fidelity Test and the 5-invariant audit. Record word count and audit score; aim for 5 out of 5 on all three.

1. Actionable closing — Checklist (do and avoid)

Do

• Extract the frame before writing.
• Preserve five invariants: negation, quantifier, comparative, modality, time or place.
• Cap the intro at 45 words.
• Add a clear thesis with one limiter.
• Read aloud and perform the 20 second Fidelity Test.

Avoid

• Upgrading should to must or may to will.
• Shifting many, some, or more into stronger claims.
• Replacing technical terms with vague synonyms.
• Adding new arguments in the introduction.
• Dropping the time or place named in the prompt.

CTA: Rewrite the introduction to your last essay using Frame–Swap and the 45-word cap. Run the 5-invariant audit and the Fidelity Test. If any element fails, revise once more and log your final word count and audit score.