The GED Essay Question H O W T O A N S W E R I T A N D P A S S

Transcription

1 The GED Essay Question 1 H O W T O A N S W E R I T A N D P A S S

2 What You Need to Know 1. Know how the essay is scored 2. Know mistakes to avoid 3. Know the parts of the essay 4. Know the steps to write the essay 5. Know how to start the essay 6. Know how to make an outline 7. Know how to write the first paragraph 8. Know how to write the middle three paragraphs 9. Know how to write the fifth paragraph 10.Know how to write other essays 2

3 Learn How to Write A Complete Essay Like This What kind of animal do you think makes a good pet? Give examples. Use your experience, observation, and knowledge in your answer. There are many animals that make good pets. I think dogs make good pets. First, dogs are good companions. Second, dogs are easy to train. Third, dogs are good protection. These are the reasons why dogs make good pets. Dogs are good companions. Dogs like to be with people. Dogs make people feel relaxed and happy. Dogs can help people feel less lonely or less stressed. For example, I feel less stressed when I play or even just sit with my dog. Sometimes, the best part of my day is the time I spend with my dog. Dogs are easy to train. Dogs can learn lots of tricks. Dogs also learn very quickly. For example, I taught my dog to sit in only a few days. I also taught my dog to stay and to fetch. He seems to learn faster each time I teach him something. Dogs are good protection. Dogs help protect people and property. Dogs also bark and give warnings when strangers are near. Dogs can also attack to protect owners. I feel safer in my home because I know my dog will bark if anything is wrong. These are some examples of why dogs are good protection. In summary, dogs make good pets. Dogs are good companions for many people. Dogs are easy and quick to train. Dogs are good protection for people and property. These are the reasons why dogs make good pets. 3

4 Know How the GED Essay is Scored The GED Essay scoring is simple: 1, 2, 3, or 4 A score of 1 is a failing score To earn a passing score, you must: 1. Answer the question 2. Use some organization (more is better) 3. Stay on topic (most or all of the time) 4. Write five paragraphs (mostly) 5. Write five sentences per paragraph (mostly) 4 Look for tips in this presentation to help you write a better essay.

5 Know Mistakes to Avoid Can my essay have mistakes? Avoid making mistakes that may cause you to fail. The biggest GED essay mistakes that might cause you to fail are: Not answering the question Not having an organized answer Not writing enough sentences/paragraphs Making many spelling mistakes, sentence fragments, etc. 5 Look for tips in this presentation to help you avoid common mistakes.

6 Know the Parts of the Essay 6 Each paragraph of the essay has a purpose. Know them all: The first paragraph of the essay is supposed to give our opinion and give three reasons for the opinion. It tells the reader what we will be talking about in the next three paragraphs. The second, third, and fourth paragraphs each discuss one reason that supports our opinion. The fifth paragraph restates what we said in the first paragraph. It may also include a little information from our second, third, and fourth paragraphs. The purpose of this paragraph is to summarize our essay to tell the reader that we are finished.

7 Know the Steps to Write the Essay Just like good cooks follow a recipe, good essay writers follow the steps for essay writing. Read the essay question more than once to understand it. Make an outline of how you will answer the question using the following: 1. Decide on how you will answer the question. 2. Choose at least three reasons to explain your answer. 3. Write four or more sentences to explain each of your three reasons. Some people write an outline of their essay. Other people do it in their heads because they understand how to write essays. Ask your teacher for an essay outline chart if you are new to writing essays. 7

8 How to Start the Essay The GED question is an opinion question. Choose an answer based on your opinion. Explain why you chose that answer. Give examples. Following is an example of an opinion essay question. Read the question and think of how it can be easily answered. Avoid using you in your essay question. I am using you in these instructions because these are instructions, not an essay. Use we, I, they, us, people, a person, someone, anyone. Choose one of these words and then continue to use it throughout your essay. 8

9 How to Start the Essay What kind of animal do you think makes a good pet? Give examples. Use your experience, observation, and knowledge in your answer. 9 Before you begin to write your answer, choose the animal that you will write about. Choose an animal you are comfortable discussing.

10 How to Start the Essay What kind of animal do you think makes a good pet? Give examples. Use your experience, observation, and knowledge in your answer. 10 Cats, dogs, birds, and fish are all good choices. There are lots of things you can say about why each of these would make a good pet. Choose one animal. Think of the things that make it a good pet. Fish: Easy to take care of, Clean, Don t smell, Don t make noise, Don t cost a lot of money Dog: Smart, Fun to play with, Good company, Good protection, Learn tricks easily Don t waste time trying to pick the best thing to write about. There are many correct ways to answer the essay question. Some students fail the essay question because they get stuck wondering what to write about.

11 How to Start the Essay What kind of animal do you think makes a good pet? Give examples. Use your experience, observation, and knowledge in your answer. Suppose you choose a dog for this essay. Before you begin writing, you must choose three reasons why you think a dog makes a good pet. Think of why people love their dogs. Think of movies, stories, or friends that have shown why dogs are good pets. 11 My dog is fun, My brother s dog is a quick learner, Companion dogs on TV help sick people, Dogs bark at strangers, Dogs help people with stress, Dogs can learn tricks like sitting and fetch

12 How to Start the Essay Choose three of the reasons why people love their dogs. These should be reasons that you are comfortable explaining. 1. good companions 2. easy to train 3. good protection 12 There are many more reasons why people think dogs make good pets. You only need three reasons for the essay. You can write the first paragraph now that we have the three ideas. Some people get stuck starting the essay because they cannot think of the right words to begin. Use the following outline to start almost any opinion essay:

13 How to Start the Essay Use this paragraph outline to start almost any opinion essay: There are many. First,. Second,. Third,. These are the reasons why. 13 Keep reading to see how this will work. Notice that the middle sentences start with First, Second, and Third. This tells the reader what you will be explaining in the essay. It gives the order that these things will be explained in the essay. Use a comma after each.

14 How to Start the Essay Here are the three reasons for our essay about why dogs make good pets. 1. good companions 2. easy to train 3. good protection We will write each of these reasons as a complete sentence, like this: 1. Dogs are good companions. Dogs are easy to train. Dogs are good protection. We repeated the word dogs at the beginning of each sentence. That is okay. Each sentence needs a subject. The subject of each sentence is dogs because that is what we are talking about. Each of these sentences will be part of our first paragraph. Each of these sentences will also be a main sentence for the three middle paragraphs of our essay. In each sentence, I am speaking about dogs a plural word that is my essay subject. All of my sentences in the essay (except where I talk about a specific dog) will use the plural word dogs. If I switch and begin using a dog, my essay may have serious grammar errors. 14

15 How to Start the Essay What kind of animal do you think makes a good pet? Give examples. Use your experience, observation, and knowledge in your answer. The first paragraph will look like this: There are many animals that make good pets. I think dogs make good pets. First, dogs are good companions. Second, dogs are easy to train. Third, dogs are good protection. These are the reasons why dogs make good pets. See how the three reasons helped to write the first paragraph? Now, look at the three reasons again: Dogs are good companions. 2. Dogs are easy to train. 3. Dogs are good protection. Each of these reasons will become the main topic of the next three paragraphs. Next, write four or five ideas that support each of these sentences, like this:

16 How to Write the Middle Three Paragraphs Dogs are good companions. Next, write four or more ideas that support each of the above three idea sentences. Asking questions with who/what/when/where/how/why can help, like this: Who are dogs good companions for? What do dogs do that make them good companions? What examples have I seen? How are dogs easy to train? Dogs are good companions. 1. Dogs like to be with people. 2. Dogs make people feel relaxed and happy. 3. Dogs can help people feel less lonely or less stressed. 4. For example, I feel less stressed when I play or even just sit with my dog. 5. Sometimes, the best part of my day is the time I spend with my dog. 16 Dogs are easy to train. Dogs are easy to train. 1. Dogs can learn lots of tricks. 2. Dogs learn very quickly. 3. For example, I taught my dog to sit in only a few days. 4. I also taught my dog to stay and to fetch.5 5. He seems to learn faster each time I teach him something. Dogs are good protection. Dogs are good protection. 1. Dogs help protect people and property. 2. Dogs bark and give warnings when strangers are near. 3. Dogs can also attack to protect owners. 4. I feel safer in my home because I know my dog will bark if anything is wrong. 5. These are some examples of why dogs are good protection.

17 How to Write the Middle Three Paragraphs 17 What kind of animal do you think makes a good pet? Give examples. Use your experience, observation, and knowledge in your answer. The first paragraph is already written. The information below will be used to write the next three paragraphs. The fifth paragraph will look much like the first paragraph. Dogs are good companions. 1. Dogs like to be with people. 2. Dogs make people feel relaxed and happy. 3. Dogs can help people feel less lonely or less stressed. 4. I feel less stressed when I play or even just sit with my dog. 5. Sometimes, the best part of my day is the time I spend with my dog. Dogs are easy to train. 1. Dogs can learn lots of tricks. 2. Dogs learn very quickly. 3. Owners can teach their own dogs at home or at a dog school. 4. I taught my dog to sit in only a few days. 5. I also taught my dog to stay and to fetch. 6. He seems to learn faster each time I teach him something. Dogs are good protection. 1. Dogs help protect people and property. 2. Dogs bark and give warnings when strangers are near. 3. Dogs can also attack to protect owners. 4. I feel safer in my home because I know my dog will bark if anything is wrong. 5. These are some examples of why dogs are good protection.

18 How to Write the Middle Three Paragraphs What kind of animal do you think makes a good pet? Give examples. Use your experience, observation, and knowledge in your answer. Here are the first and the second paragraphs: There are many animals that make good pets. I think dogs make good pets. First, dogs are good companions. Second, dogs are easy to train. Third, dogs are good protection. These are the reasons why dogs make good pets. Dogs are good companions. Dogs like to be with people. Dogs make people feel relaxed and happy. Dogs can help people feel less lonely or less stressed. For example, I feel less stressed when I play or even just sit with my dog. Sometimes, the best part of my day is the time I spend with my dog. 18 When giving an example, start your sentence with the words, For example. Don t forget to put a comma after the word example.

19 How to Write the Middle Three Paragraphs What kind of animal do you think makes a good pet? Give examples. Use your experience, observation, and knowledge in your answer. Here are the third and fourth paragraphs: Dogs are easy to train. Dogs can learn lots of tricks. Dogs also learn very quickly. For example, I taught my dog to sit in only a few days. I also taught my dog to stay and to fetch. He seems to learn faster each time I teach him something. Dogs are good protection. Dogs help protect people and property. Dogs also bark and give warnings when strangers are near. Dogs can also attack to protect owners. I feel safer in my home because I know my dog will bark if anything is wrong. These are some examples of why dogs are good protection. Use the word also inside sentences to help make the sentences flow better. Do not use a comma in front of because. 19

20 How to Write the Fifth Paragraph What kind of animal do you think makes a good pet? Give examples. Use your experience, observation, and knowledge in your answer. Here is the first paragraph again: There are many animals that make good pets. I think dogs make good pets. First, dogs are good companions. Second, dogs are easy to train. Third, dogs are good protection. These are the reasons why dogs make good pets. Use the structure of first paragraph to write the fifth paragraph, like this. 20 In summary, dogs make good pets. Dogs are good companions for many people. Dogs are easy and quick to train. Dogs are good protection for people and property. These are the reasons why dogs make good pets. The fifth paragraph sounds like the first paragraph. It contains a little extra information that comes from paragraphs two, three, and four.

21 The Finished Essay What kind of animal do you think makes a good pet? Give examples. Use your experience, observation, and knowledge in your answer. Here is the finished essay: There are many animals that make good pets. I think dogs make good pets. First, dogs are good companions. Second, dogs are easy to train. Third, dogs are good protection. These are the reasons why dogs make good pets. Dogs are good companions. Dogs like to be with people. Dogs make people feel relaxed and happy. Dogs can help people feel less lonely or less stressed. For example, I feel less stressed when I play or even just sit with my dog. Sometimes, the best part of my day is the time I spend with my dog. Dogs are easy to train. Dogs can learn lots of tricks. Dogs also learn very quickly. For example, I taught my dog to sit in only a few days. I also taught my dog to stay and to fetch. He seems to learn faster each time I teach him something. Dogs are good protection. Dogs help protect people and property. Dogs also bark and give warnings when strangers are near. Dogs can also attack to protect owners. I feel safer in my home because I know my dog will bark if anything is wrong. These are some examples of why dogs are good protection. In summary, dogs make good pets. Dogs are good companions for many people. Dogs are easy and quick to train. Dogs are good protection for people and property. These are the reasons why dogs make good pets. 21

22 Try Another Essay Question What are the most important things to you when choosing a job? Do you think it is it better to live in a big city or in a small town? What are the qualities that make someone a good boss? What are the important lessons you would want your children to know to succeed in life? What are your goals after the GED? 22