Transcript CHAPTER 8 Copyright © 2002 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. CHAPTER 8: Preparing for the GED Essay A GED essay is a.

CHAPTER 8
Copyright © 2002 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
CHAPTER 8: Preparing for the GED Essay
A GED essay is a group of related
paragraphs about one topic:
• Based on your personal observations,
experience, and knowledge
• Requires you to explain something, such as
your opinion about a common issue
• Does not require special knowledge about a
particular topic
Copyright © 2002 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
CHAPTER 8: Preparing for the GED Essay
(Continued)
Sample GED essay topic:
TOPIC
What is one important goal you would like to
achieve in the next few years?
In your essay, identify that goal. Explain how
you plan to achieve it. Use your personal
observations, experience, and knowledge to
support your essay.
Reprinted with permission of the GED Testing Service.
Copyright © 2002 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
CHAPTER 8: Preparing for the GED Essay
(Continued)
Your essay score is 35% of your total score
on the Language Arts, Writing Test:
• The highest score possible on the
essay is a 4.
• The lowest score possible is a 1.
• A passing score is a 2 or higher.
Copyright © 2002 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
CHAPTER 8: Preparing for the GED Essay
(Continued)
Two readers will score your paper
holistically in terms of content and 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?
Copyright © 2002 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
CHAPTER 8: Preparing for the GED Essay
(Continued)
Here is a copy of the official GED Essay Scoring Guide:
Language Arts, Writing, Part II
Essay Scoring Guide
1
Inadequate
Reader has difficulty
identifying or following the
writer’s ideas.
2
Marginal
Reader occasionally has
difficulty understanding or
following the writer’s
ideas.
Addresses the prompt,
though the focus may
shift.
3
Adequate
Reader understands
writer’s ideas.
4
Effective
Reader understands and
easily follows the writer’s
expression of ideas.
Uses the writing prompt to
establish a main idea.
Presents a clearly focused
main idea that addresses
the prompt.
Response to the Prompt
Attempts to address
prompt but with little or no
success in establishing a
focus.
Organization
Fails to organize ideas.
Shows some evidence of
an organizational plan.
Uses an identifiable
organizational plan.
Establishes a clear and
logical organization.
Development and Details
Demonstrates little or no
development; usually
lacks details or examples
or presents irrelevant
information.
Exhibits minimal or no
control of sentence
structure and the
conventions of EAE
(Edited American English).
Exhibits weak and/or
inappropriate words.
Has some development
but lacks specific details;
may be limited to a listing,
repetitions, or
generalizations.
Demonstrates
inconsistent control of
sentence structure and the
conventions of EAE.
Has focused but
occasionally uneven
development;
incorporates some
specific detail.
Generally controls
sentence structure and the
conventions of EAE.
Achieves coherent
development with specific
and relevant details and
examples.
Exhibits a narrow range of
word choice, often
including inappropriate
selections.
Exhibits appropriate word
choice.
Exhibits varied and
precise word choice.
Conventions of EAE
Word Choice
Reprinted with permission of the GED Testing Service.
Consistently controls
sentence structure and the
conventions of EAE.
Copyright © 2002 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
CHAPTER 8: Preparing for the GED Essay
A “4” essay contains
• A main idea that clearly refers to the essay topic
• Ideas that are organized and easy to follow
• Body paragraphs with a topic sentence and
specific details and examples
• Sentences and paragraphs that are written
correctly with hardly any grammar or spelling
errors
• A wide range of vocabulary that is used correctly
Copyright © 2002 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
CHAPTER 8: Preparing for the GED Essay
(Continued)
A “3” essay contains
• A main idea that could be written more clearly
• Ideas that could be organized in a better way
• Body paragraphs with a topic sentence but
unequal amounts of details and examples
• Sentences and paragraphs that are written
correctly with a few grammar or spelling errors
• Vocabulary that is used correctly but could be
more complex
Copyright © 2002 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
CHAPTER 8: Preparing for the GED Essay
(Continued)
A “2” essay contains
• A main idea that includes ideas not discussed
in the essay topic
• Some ideas that are hard to follow
• Body paragraphs with a topic sentence and
details and examples that could be stronger
• Some sentences and paragraphs that are
written incorrectly with noticeable errors in
grammar and spelling
• A limited range of vocabulary with some
incorrect words
Copyright © 2002 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
CHAPTER 8: Preparing for the GED Essay
(Continued)
A “1” essay contains
• A main idea that does not respond to the topic
• Ideas that are mixed up in order and hard to
follow
• Body paragraphs with irrelevant or missing
details and examples
• Sentences and paragraphs that are written
incorrectly with many errors in grammar and
spelling
• A limited range of vocabulary that is often used
incorrectly
Copyright © 2002 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
CHAPTER 8: Preparing for the GED Essay
The writing process will help you write a
good GED 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.
Copyright © 2002 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
CHAPTER 8: Preparing for the GED Essay
(Continued)
The writing process will help you write a
good GED essay in 45 minutes:
2. Organize your ideas:
• Check over the ideas you have 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.
Copyright © 2002 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
CHAPTER 8: Preparing for the GED Essay
(Continued)
The writing process will help you write a
good GED essay in 45 minutes:
3. Write your essay:
• Put the ideas you have gathered and
organized into sentence and paragraph
form.
• Focus on content at this point; don’t worry
about errors in grammar or spelling.
Copyright © 2002 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
CHAPTER 8: Preparing for the GED Essay
(Continued)
The writing process will help you write a
good GED essay in 45 minutes:
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.
Copyright © 2002 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
CHAPTER 8: Preparing for the GED Essay
The five-paragraph format is a good way to
structure an essay on any topic:
• The introductory paragraph states the topic
you are going to address and your main idea.
• The three body paragraphs express ideas
that support and extend the main idea.
• The concluding paragraph summarizes the
essay and gives a final idea about the topic.
Copyright © 2002 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
CHAPTER 8: Preparing for the GED Essay
(Continued)
Look again at the sample essay topic:
TOPIC
What is one important goal you would like to
achieve in the next few years?
In your essay, identify that goal. Explain how
you plan to achieve it. Use your personal
observations, experience, and knowledge to
support your essay.
Reprinted with permission of the GED Testing Service.
Copyright © 2002 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
CHAPTER 8: Preparing for the GED Essay
(Continued)
Now read the sample five-paragraph essay:
INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH
Over the next few years, my main goal is to obtain a
college degree from St. John’s University in Collegeville. This
goal will be very difficult to obtain, and I will need to work
hard at it. Three things that will affect the outcome of my
goal are how much money I can raise to pay for it, how much
time I am willing to spend studying, and my dedication in
training for football.
BODY PARAGRAPH 1
Before you can register at a college, you must consider
how it is going to be paid for. This is especially an issue at
St. John’s because the tuition is around $22,000 a year.
This is a huge sum of money. It is not made easier by the
fact that my parents will be able to contribute very little
towards my education. Thus I am forced to rely on
scholarships, grants, and loans from the government and
other agencies. I have already taken some action by applying
for scholarships, but I will have to apply again next year. I
received a $7,500 scholarship from St. John’s and they have
also given me some grants. The rest of the money will have
to come from student loans and an on campus job.
Reprinted with permission of the GED Testing Service.
BODY PARAGRAPH 2
The next area that will affect my goal is the classroom.
This is important because the main point of college is to
prepare myself for a successful career. In college, I will
need to apply myself and take time to study every night.
Sometimes, I may be forced to give up things that I would
rather do, but I must if I am going to achieve my goal. I
must create a relationship with my professors because they
will help me obtain the information that is needed to be
successful.
BODY PARAGRAPH 3
The third thing is my dedication in training for football.
Football is my favorite sport, and St. John’s has an excellent
football tradition. They have 150 players out for football
each year. If I am going to be successful and contribute to
the team, I am going to have to be dedicated to training. I
must spend timeless hours in the weight room gaining strength
and quickness. I believe all of the hard work will pay off.
CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH
If I can do these three things, I will successfully
complete my goal of graduating from college. If this goal is
achieved, I believe I will be well on my way to a successful
life.
Copyright © 2002 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
CHAPTER 8: Preparing for the GED Essay
(Continued)
This essay received a score of 4. It contains
• A main idea that clearly refers to the essay topic
(to obtain a college degree)
• Ideas that are organized and easy to follow
(three body paragraphs that develop the main idea)
• Body paragraphs with a topic sentence and
specific details and examples
(about paying for college, studying effectively, and training for football)
• Sentences and paragraphs that are written
correctly without grammar or spelling errors
• A wide range of vocabulary that is used correctly
Copyright © 2002 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
CHAPTER 8: Preparing for the GED Essay
THE END
Practice the skills you learned in this chapter by taking
the Chapter Review Quiz or the GED Practice Quiz.
Copyright © 2002 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.