How to Write a GED Essay

One of the biggest hurdles to earning your GED is passing the writing test. Many students who fly through the other portions of the test, stumble when faced with writing the 200-word essay. Follow these steps to overcome this obstacle.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Planning Your Essay

1. Read your assigned topic. Then take a few minutes to brainstorm what you want to say about that topic.

2. Jot a few notes on the paper you are given for planning. List the main ideas you want to discuss in your paper, creating a simple "road map" to keep you on track for an excellent GED essay.

3. Add ideas for examples you want to include in your essay. Good examples can persuade your reader to see your point of view while adding words to help you reach your 200-word limit.

Writing Your Essay

1. Create a strong introduction. Begin by copying the topic you have been assigned as the first sentence of your essay. Follow that with a brief mention of the two or three ideas you plan to develop.

2. Keep your key points in the same order in the body as you mentioned them in the introduction. Organization is one of the key elements of writing a successful GED essay.

3. Craft a well-ordered body. Each idea you mentioned in the introduction should have its own paragraph in the body of your GED essay. Add whatever definitions, explanations or examples you need to add substance to each paragraph.

4. Tie it up neatly with a concluding paragraph of two or three sentences. First, rewrite the assigned topic in your own words. Then, list your key points one last time, keeping them in the same order you have used throughout your essay.

Editing Your Essay

1. Save ten minutes of your allotted time to edit your GED essay once you've finished writing.

2. Read carefully through your essay. Watch for spelling, punctuation and grammar errors. Correct them.

3. Review the organization of your essay. Read it AGAIN, making sure your key points stay in the same order from the introduction through the conclusion.

4. Count your words. Although you were assigned 200 words to write your essay, a few more or less won't matter. However, writing only 150 words may be a problem

5. Take a deep breath and hand it in. You've done your best, now go home to recuperate.

Tips & Warnings

• Relax. All the assigned topics are based on your opinions or experiences. This is NOT a research paper.

• If you have difficulty with punctuation or grammar, find a teacher or tutor to study with before you schedule your test.

• Write neatly. If nobody can read it, your essay won't pass the test.