McGraw-Hill OnlineMcGraw-Hill Higher EducationLearning Center
Student Center | Instructor Center | Information Center | Home
GED Practice Test Pt I
GED Practice Test Pt II
Essay Scoring Checklist
GED Score
Glossary
Writing Handbook
GED Links
Chapter Overview
Chapter Outline
Chapter Review Quiz
GED Practice Quiz
Web Links
Feedback
Help Center


Contemporary's GED Language Arts, Writing
Ellen Carley Frechette
Tim Collins

Test-Taking Strategies

Chapter Outline

Study the chapter outline below. Use the page numbers below each topic to refer to the corresponding section in Contemporary's GED Language Arts, Writing. When you are finished, go to the Chapter Review Quiz or choose a different activity or chapter from the menu on the left.

What the Test Will Be Like

(See page 197)
  • In Part I of the Language Arts, Writing Test, you will have 75 minutes to answer 50 questions.
  • There is no penalty for guessing.
  • The questions will all be multiple choice with five answer choices.
  • The questions will be based on short passages, each 200–300 words long.
  • The passages will be business, instructional, and informational documents.
  • The questions will check your knowledge of organization, sentence structure, standard usage, and mechanics (punctuation, capitalization, and homonym spelling).

Common Errors

(See pages 198 and 199)

Four main skills are tested on Part I of the Language Arts, Writing Test:

Sentence structure:
  • complete sentences
  • run-ons and comma splices
  • wordy or repetitive sentences
  • coordination or subordination
  • modification
  • parallel structure
Usage:
  • subject-verb agreement
  • verb tense or form
  • pronoun-antecedent agreement
Mechanics:
  • capitalization
  • comma usage
  • spelling of homonyms, possessives, or contractions
Organization:
  • dividing a paragraph or combining two paragraphs
  • adding a topic sentence
  • moving or removing a sentence

Question Types

(See pages 200–202)

There are three types of questions on Part I of the Language Arts, Writing Test:

  • Sentence correction (45 percent of the questions)
  • Sentence revision (35 percent of the questions)
  • Construction shift (20 percent of the questions)