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How To Write A GED® Essay

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GED Essay Writing

The GED essay is your chance to show how well you can communicate your ideas in writing. You will have 45 minutes to write on a topic.

To earn a passing score, your essay must demonstrate that you can:

  • Clearly state the issue and your position in the introduction.
  • Use language appropriate to the audience you are addressing.
  • Support your position with facts, statistics, and reasons from the stimulus texts.
  • Show clear reasoning.
  • Conclude with a summary of your main points and state your claim.

How to pass the essay GED test

To earn a passing score, your essay must be well-organized and demonstrate your ability to develop and support a central idea. You will also need to use proper grammar and punctuation and show that you can effectively communicate your ideas in writing. You will have 45 minutes to review the presented materials, choose a stance, organize your thoughts, and develop your five paragraphs.

Here are a few tips to help your GED essay writing on test day:

  • Read the prompt carefully and make sure you understand what it asks you to do.
  • Plan your essay before you start writing. Jot down your main ideas and the supporting details you will use to explain them.
  • Write your essay in clear, concise language. Stay on topic and support your claims with evidence from the stimulus texts.
  • Edit and proofread your essay before you submit it. Make sure that your grammar, punctuation, and spelling are all correct.

GED WritingTopics

What topics are on the GED essay?

The GED essay is an argumentative essay. Test takers will be graded on how well they can analyze the arguments presented in the text and explain why one of these arguments is better.

It’s important to remember not to write a summary about both presented stances as part of your GED essay. Instead, you want to choose one argument and present your stance on the topic in your essay, using the two texts as your supporting details as needed.

There is no right or wrong stance to have, the important thing is that you are able to clearly present why you feel one way or the other.

Example GED writing prompts

Practicing with a real sample writing prompt can help you improve. Some examples of GED writing prompts may include:

  • Is cheerleading a sport?
  • Should students attend school all year round?
  • Whether people should be required to wear masks in public places
  • Should the minimum age to join the military be raised to 21?

How long does the GED essay have to be?

The GED essay should be in standard five-paragraph essay format. The format for how to write a GED essay should follow this structure:

Introductory Paragraph – The paragraph should introduce the reader to your argument and summarize the three reasons why you chose this stance or claim.

3 Supporting Paragraphs – Each paragraph should be at least 7 sentences long. Each paragraph should focus on one reasoning for your argument and include direct supporting details from the provided passages.

Conclusion Paragraph – This paragraph should affirm your stance and summarize all of the supporting reasons.

How is the essay test graded?

The GED essay or extended response question is graded on a point system. Test takers will be graded with a numerical score from 0-6 points. The GED essay is evaluated on three main criteria, each criteria is valued up to two points. Test takers will be evaluated on:
  • Are there grammatical or spelling errors, and is the essay written using standard English conventions?
  • Does the writer use proper format and development to craft and express their ideas and arguments? They are looking for complete paragraphs, an introduction and conclusion paragraph, transition words, and supporting details.
  • Developing an argument, remaining consistent, and using the passages’ main ideas and supporting details to strengthen their chosen argument.
Test takers will not be graded on their decision of which of the opinions or passages are better. They are graded solely on how they write the essay and express their argument, not their stance on the matter.

How many points is the GED Essay worth?

The extended response question is worth 6 points, valuing 20% of the overall GED score.

We took a look at the GED vs HiSET for states that offer the tests. See what we discovered. This article will provide you with a list of free practice tests and detailed explanations to help you better understand the questions. Good luck!

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