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 Flashcards or choose a different activity or chapter from the menu on the left.

What the GED Essay Is Like

(See pages 208 and 209)

An essay is a group of related paragraphs about one topic.

The assigned GED essay topic will draw on your personal observations, experience, and knowledge.
The topic will require you to explain something such as your opinion about a common issue or the causes and effects of an everyday problem.
You don't need any special knowledge to answer the GED essay question.

Your essay score is 35 percent of your total score on the Language Arts, Writing Test.

The highest score possible on the essay is 4.
You need at least a 2 to pass.

Two readers will score your paper holistically. They read your essay for content and rate its overall effectiveness:

Does it have well-focused main points?
Does it have clear organization?
Are its main ideas developed with specific details?
Are the sentence structure, punctuation, grammar, word choice, and spelling correct?

The Writing Process

(See pages 211–213)

Use the four-step writing process to write a good essay in 45 minutes:

1. Gather ideas:

Examine the assigned topic and think of specific things you want to say about it.
Use your own experiences to help you think of ideas.
Jot your ideas down on paper.

2. Organize your ideas:

Check over the ideas you gathered and put them in a logical order.
Make sure you have enough good ideas.
Cross off any ideas that aren't about the topic.
Group the ideas in the order in which you will use them.

3. Write your essay:

Put the ideas you’ve gathered and organized into sentence and paragraph form.
Focus on content at this point; don't worry about errors in grammar or spelling.

4. Revise your essay:

Read over your essay and make sure it's structured clearly and it answers the essay question.
Make sure your sentences are complete and there are no mistakes in grammar, punctuation, or spelling.

The Five-Paragraph Essay

(See pages 214–216)

The five-paragraph format is a good way to structure an essay on any topic. It has the following components:

An introductory paragraph—states the topic you are going to address and your main idea
Three body paragraphs—express ideas that support and extend the main idea
A concluding paragraph—summarizes the essay and gives a final idea about the topic

Using the Essay Scoring Guide

(See page 217)

Understanding the GED Essay Scoring Guide will help you develop ways to improve your writing and raise your score.

Level 4 writing

presents a clearly focused main idea that addresses the prompt
establishes a clear, logical organization
achieves coherent development with specific, relevant details and examples
controls sentence structure
uses Edited American English (EAE)
shows varied, precise word choice

Level 3 writing

uses the prompt to establish a main idea
uses an identifiable organization plan
shows focused but sometimes uneven development
uses some specific details
controls sentence structure for the most part
uses EAE for the most part
shows appropriate word choice

Level 2 writing

addresses the prompt, though the focus may shift
shows some evidence of an organizational plan
has some development but lacks specific details
has inconsistent control of sentence structure and EAE
shows a narrow range of often inappropriate word choice

Level 1 writing

attempts to address the prompt but has little or no success establishing a focus
fails to organize ideas
demonstrates little or no development
lacks details and examples or includes irrelevant information
shows little or no control of sentence structure or EAE
uses weak and/or inappropriate words

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