Writing an Effective Essay: GED Test Prep

General Writing Strategies

To do well on the essay, you need to have a solid grasp of general writing strategies. These strategies are those basic techniques writers use to develop a readable and engaging text. They include the ability to:

• write in a way that is appropriate for audience and purpose
• provide appropriate and sufficient support
• craft effective introductions and conclusions
• use effective transitions
• revise for more effective writing

Audience and Purpose

Effective writing has at its core a constant awareness of and attention to audience and purpose. Good writers are always thinking about their readers: Who are they? What do they know about the subject? What prejudices or preconceived notions might they have? What will keep their attention? Good writers are also always thinking about purpose. Is their goal to teach a lesson? Provide information? Entertain? Answer a question? Convince or persuade?

Writing for Your Audience

Knowing your audience will help you make a couple of key writing decisions. First, it helps you determine your level of formality. Will you use slang or very formal language? It depends upon your relationship with your reader. On the GED, you will be expected to write for a general audience. That is, you should assume your readers are "everyday" people with a wide variety of interests and backgrounds. You will need an appropriate level of formality for this audience. Treat your readers with respect, but do not put them off by sounding too formal or pretentious. Avoid slang (too informal) or jargon (technical or specialized language). Let your writing be natural without being too informal.

Your audience also determines the level of detail and specificity in your essay. Because you are writing for a general audience and not friends, you cannot assume that readers know the context of your ideas and experiences. For example, if you are arguing that Internet sites should be censored, do not assume that readers have seen the kind of sites you are talking about—or even that they have been on the Internet. You will need to briefly describe those sites to give your readers sufficient context.

Knowing Your Purpose

As important as knowing whom you are writing for is knowing why you are writing. What is the goal of your essay? What are you hoping to convey through your writing? The more clearly you can articulate your purpose while you outline your essay, the more effective your writing and revising states will be.

Here are some verbs you might find helpful for describing your purpose:

Of course, your specific goals will be guided by the prompt you receive on Part II. In a narrative essay, for example, your main purpose will be to describe. In a persuasive essay, your main purpose will probably be to convince. In an expository essay, you may aim to inform, compare, propose, or explain, depending upon your topic. As you think about how to write your essay, think about how you would fill in the blank in the following sentence:

My goal in this essay is to _ _ _ _ _.

Beginnings, Middles, and Ends

As you know, essays have three distinct parts:

• beginning (introduction)
• middle (body)
• end (conclusion)

You will be expected to have all three parts in your essay.

Introductions

First impressions count, and that's why introductions are so important in writing. A good introduction:

1. indicates what the essay is about (its topic) and what the writer is going to say about the topic (its main idea)
2. grabs the reader's attention
3. establishes the tone of the passage

Techniques for grabbing attention include opening with:

• a question
• a quotation
• a surprising fact or statement
• an imaginary situation or scenario
• an anecdote
• interesting background information
• a new twist on a familiar phrase

For example, a more attention-grabbing introduction to the Batman passage in the pretest might be something like the following:

Pow! Bam! Zap! Batman triumphs again, saving the citizens of Gotham City from evil.

This opening plays upon a convention of comic strips and the Batman television series. And because it is unique and uses exclamation points, it generates interest and excitement in the reader.

Conclusions

Conclusions, too, should be powerful. After all, people tend to remember most what comes first and last, and the final words have the power to ring in readers' ears for a long time afterward. A good conclusion will:

1. restate the main idea
2. provide a sense of closure (not "open a new can of worms" by introducing a new topic)
3. arouse readers' emotions to make the ending and main idea memorable

The Batman text, again, provides a good example. In Batman, Kane gave us an image of our own superhero potential.

This concluding sentence sums up what makes Batman so popular, rounding out the passage in a way that makes readers think about their own similarities to Batman and what sort of superheroes they could be.

Many of the same introductory techniques can be used to help make conclusions memorable:

• a quotation
• a question
• an anecdote
• a prediction
• a solution or recommendation
• a call to action

For example, the conclusion to an essay about a healthy diet might end with a call to action:

Take a good, long look in your refrigerator and pantry. What unhealthy foods call your icebox and cabinets their home? Find them, get rid of them, and stock up on foods that will help you live a longer, healthier life.

Effective Essays and the Writing Process

Experienced writers know that good writing doesn't happen all at once. Rather, it develops in stages. That's because writing is a process, not just a product. And it's difficult to get a good product without going through each step in the writing process.

The writing process can be divided into three basic steps:

1. planning
2. drafting
3. revising and editing

When you are under pressure to write a winning essay in just 45 minutes, you may be tempted to skip these steps and just write your essay in one shot. You may end up with a successful essay with this approach. But your chances of doing well on Part II of the GED Language Arts, Writing Exam—indeed, on any writing task—will increase dramatically if you take the time to work through each step. Even though you only have 45 minutes, the ten minutes you spend planning and proofreading your essay will be time well spent. In fact, for essay exams, the planning stage is so important that it has been divided into six separate steps in the following section.

Six Steps to a Strong Essay

These six steps will help you write a strong, effective essay on the GED Language Arts, Writing Exam.

Step 1: Understand the Writing Prompt

Before you can begin to plan your essay, you need to be sure you understand the kind of essay you need to write. As noted earlier, it is essential that you respond accurately to the writing prompt you are given on the exam. If you write about a different topic, you will not receive credit for your essay. It's therefore critical to understand exactly what the prompt is asking you to do.

Earlier in this section, we divided the essay prompts into three types: narrative, persuasive, and expository. How do you know which kind of essay the prompt is asking for? Each prompt will have key words that can help you understand what to do. These key words include terms such as:

tell       describe       identify       explain

Notice, for example, the underlined key words in the following prompts:

The Internet includes many websites with images and content that are inappropriate for children. Other sites on the Internet promote violence or intolerance against certain groups of people. Should websites like these be censored? In your essay, state your position on this issueand explain why you take that position. Use your personal observations, experiences, and knowledge to support your essay.

Sometimes events take an unexpected turn and things end up differently than we imagined. Tell about a time when something unexpected happened to you. In your essay, describe what was supposed to happen and how things actually turned out. Use supporting details throughout your essay.

You are on your way to a successful essay if:

1. You understand what kind of essay to write: narrative (tell a story), persuasive (make an argument), or expository (explain an idea or respond to a situation or scenario).
2. You follow the directions exactly and directly answer the questions in the prompt. In the first example, you must state your position on the issue raised in the prompt—censorship of certain types of Internet sites. In the second example, you must tell a story about a specific kind of experience—a time when something unexpected happened.

Step 2: Formulate a Clear Thesis

Before you begin to write, you need to decide what you are going to write about. Once you are sure you understand the prompt, how will you answer the question it asks? Your answer will form the core of your essay. It will be the main idea that controls everything you write and determine the kind of support you will provide. In other words, your answer to the question in the prompt is your thesis—your main idea. It is the "argument" that you are going to make and the idea you need to support.

A thesis does not just repeat or paraphrase the question or prompt. It does not simply make general statements about the topic or state how others might respond to the question. A good thesis takes a clear, personal position. For example, look again at the following

Our relationship with our neighbors is very important. Sometimes these relationships are the source of great joy in our lives; other times, they can be the source of great trouble. In your opinion, what makes a good neighbor? In your essay, identify the characteristics of a good neighbor and explain why these characteristics are important for people living side by side. Use your personal observations, experiences, and knowledge to support your essay.

The following sentences are not thesis statements (they do not answer the question).

• There are all kinds of neighbors.
• What makes a good neighbor?
• There are many characteristics of a good neighbor.

These, however, are thesis statements. They respond directly to the question.

• Good neighbors are helpful and kind.
• The best kind of neighbors help when asked and otherwise mind their own business.
• Good neighbors are friendly, helpful, and respectful of boundaries.

Step 3: Brainstorm Support for Your Thesis

Once you have decided how to answer the question(s) in the prompt, decide how you will support your answer. On your piece of scrap paper, list at least three to five reasons, examples, or specific details to support your thesis or events to develop your story.

Because you are still in the planning stage, write down whatever comes to mind. You don't have to include everything you list in your essay. And the more ideas you put down, the more freedom you will have to pick the best (strongest) support for your thesis.

For example, here's how you might brainstorm support for the previous prompt:

Thesis: Good neighbors are friendly, helpful, and respectful of boundaries.

Why?

Friendly neighbors are pleasant to have around, make it nice to live where you live.

Helpful is important—know you can count on them for small favors, when you are in need.

Need to respect boundaries, not to take what is yours, not to get too involved in your life—otherwise they will not be welcome.

Examples:

Friendly—my neighbor Selma and her family—always saying hello, often chatting, cookies at Christmas.

Helpful—lending tools to Dad, borrowing sugar etc., babysitting.

Respecting boundaries—don't just walk in, don't be nosy; they're your neighbors, not your family.

Listing is just one brainstorming strategy. You can also map your ideas. This is especially effective if you are a visual learner, as shown.

Step 4: Create a Detailed Outline

The next step is your opportunity to make sure the essay you write is both well organized and well developed. By creating a detailed outline, you can:

• put your ideas in a logical, effective order
• fill in any gaps in your support

Basic Outline Structure

Essays follow this basic structure:

1. introduction (states thesis)
2. body (explains and supports thesis)
3. conclusion (brings closure and restates thesis)

Your outline should follow this basic structure, too. Because you are writing a very short essay, you should have at least one point in your outline for each paragraph. Thus, the "body" section of your outline should be broken down into the individual supporting ideas for your essay:

1. introduction
2. support 1
3. support 2
4. support 3
5. conclusion

This basic outline has three supporting points. If each outline item has one paragraph, you will have a total of five paragraphs in your essay. While there's no set rule about how many points or how many paragraphs you should have in your essay, this is a good guide to follow. Three supporting paragraphs will generally give you enough support to make a strong case (if you are writing a persuasive essay), to sufficiently explain your ideas (expository essay), or to tell your story (narrative essay).

Organizing Your Support

Obviously, you know where to put your introductory and concluding paragraphs. But how do you organize the ideas in the body of your essay? Which of the four organizational patterns you reviewed earlier—chronology, comparison and contrast, cause and effect, and order of importance—should you use for your support?

If you are responding to a narrative prompt, chronological order is clearly your best choice. Describe the events in the order in which they happened. Be sure to use strong transitions and details as you tell your story.

If you are responding to a persuasive prompt, order of importance is probably the most effective pattern to use. Because the prompt asks you to take a position, your main support will consist of the reasons that you took this particular stance. A logical and effective way to present those reasons is by rank. Organize ideas from the least important to the most important reason, from the least compelling to the most compelling example.

If you are responding to an expository prompt, your organizational pattern will depend upon your purpose. Often, order of importance will be your most effective choice. This is true for the good neighbor prompt. Notice, for example, how you might organize the support from the previous brainstorm:

Introduction: Good neighbors are friendly, helpful, and respectful of boundaries.

1. Friendly neighbors are pleasant to have around, make it nice to live where you live.

Ex: My neighbor Selma and her family

2. Helpful is important—know you can count on them for small favors, when you are in need.

Ex: lending and borrowing things

3. Need to respect boundaries, not take what is yours, not get too involved in your life—otherwise, they will not be welcome. (It's okay to not be friendly and not be helpful, I can live with that—but it's not okay to not respect boundaries.)

Ex: physical boundaries (yard, house) and social boundaries (private family business)

Here, the characteristics that make good neighbors are organized by order of importance. The most important characteristic and most compelling examples come last.

Strong Supporting Paragraphs

Outlining your ideas not only sets up an effective organization. It can also show you if your essay is sufficiently developed. For an essay to be effective, each paragraph must be effective, too. And that means each paragraph must be sufficiently developed.

While there is no magic formula, there are some general guidelines regarding paragraph length. A paragraph with just one sentence—unless that sentence is specifically set off to create a special effect—is too short. It doesn't sufficiently develop its idea. A paragraph with ten sentences, on the other hand, is probably too long. There's likely to be more than one idea developed in that paragraph. (Remember, a paragraph, by definition, is a group of sentences about the same idea.) For an essay of this type, paragraphs of three or four sentences each should be enough to explain and provide specific details and examples for each of your supporting ideas.

To help you develop your paragraphs, expand your outline. For each main supporting idea, list at least one specific detail or example. Imagine each paragraph as a mini-essay,with its own thesis (topic sentence) and support (specific examples and details).Notice, for example, how the previous outline can be expanded as follows:

Introduction: Good neighbors are friendly, helpful, and respectful of boundaries.

1. Friendly neighbors are pleasant to have around, make it nice to live where you live.
   Ex: my neighbor Selma and her family—
   • always saying hello
   • often chatting
   • cookies at Christmas
2. Helpful is important—know you can count on them for small favors, when you are in need.
   Ex:
   • borrowing sugar etc.
   • Hank lending tools to Dad
   • Selma helping Mom sew curtains
3. Need to respect boundaries, not to take what is yours, not to get too involved in your life—otherwise they will not be welcome. (It's okay to not be friendly and not be helpful, I can live with that—but it's not okay to not respect boundaries.)
   Ex:
   • physical boundaries: don't just walk in; it's not your house, don't take things
   • old neighbors, the Wilcoxes, taking things from our shed w/o asking
   • social boundaries: don't be nosy; it's not your family; respect privacy
     • what happened when Uncle Andy's neighbors got too nosy
       • neighbors got involved in divorce
       • made painful experience more complicated and confusing for everyone

Notice now how clearly the order of importance of the organizational pattern stands out, especially in the last section. And because this outline is so detailed, it offers a guide for just about every sentence in the body of the essay.

Step 5: Write Your Essay

Now that you have a clear, detailed outline, you can begin to write. If you can quickly think of a catchy way to begin your essay, terrific. If not, don't spend precious minutes trying to come up with the perfect opening line. You don't have the time. Remember, you have only 45 minutes for the whole essay—planning, writing, and editing. You need to start writing as soon as you organize your thoughts. One good way to jump right in is to paraphrase (repeat in your own words) the key discussion note stated in the prompt and then state your thesis. Here's an example of this kind of introduction:

It is very important to have good relationships with our neighbors. In my opinion, there are three characteristics that make it easy to live side by side with someone. Neighbors should be friendly, they should be helpful, and they should respect boundaries.

Notice how this introduction also outlines the three main topics that will be developed in the body of the essay: being friendly, being helpful, and respecting boundaries.

Once you have written your introduction, write the body of your essay paragraph by paragraph, following your outline. Make sure each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and specific support. Don't forget about transitions between paragraphs. Key words and phrases such as more importantly, similarly, etc. help guide your reader through your argument. (See "Transitions" to review transitional words and phrases.)

After your supporting paragraphs, write a brief conclusion. Restate your thesis, but not in exactly the same words. Don't introduce any new topics. Instead, make readers feel as if you have covered your topic thoroughly and that they have gotten something meaningful from reading your essay. Here's an example:

When you live side by side with someone, it's important to have a good relationship. To be a good neighbor, you need to be friendly and helpful. Most important, you need to respect boundaries. Your house is your house; your life is your life. It doesn't belong to your neighbor.

Writing with Style

Style refers to the manner in which something is done. For example, we all buy and wear clothes that fit our own personal style—the way we like to look and feel when we are dressed. The same is true of our writing; each person has his or her own individual style, and the more you\ understand stylistic techniques, the more effectively you can express yourself in writing.

Style in writing is created by several different elements, including:

• word choice
• consistent and appropriate tone
• variety in sentence structure and use of punctuation and other techniques for effect

Word Choice

One of the most important decisions writers make is a constant one: word choice. As you write, you are always, in every sentence, thinking about the right words to express your ideas. The "right" word has three essential characteristics:

1. It expresses the idea you wish to convey.
2. It is exact (precise).
3. It is appropriate for the audience and tone.

Notice how effective word choice cuts back on wordiness and creates much more powerful sentences in the following example:

He walked very quickly into the room.

He rushed into the room.

He raced into the room.

He burst into the room.

Each of these italicized verbs has much more impact than the verb walked and its two modifiers, very quickly. These exact verbs create a vivid picture; they tell us exactly how he entered the room.

Exact nouns will improve your sentences, too. Here's an example of a general sentence made more precise:

The machine made a loud noise and then stopped.

The generator made a loud bang and then stopped.

The second sentence, with its exact nouns, tells us what kind of machine it was and what kind of noise it made, giving us a much clearer picture of what happened.

Adjectives, too, should be precise. Instead of writing:

I am very tired.

Try an exact adjective:

I am exhausted.

Exhausted means very tired—and it's a much more powerful word to convey your idea.

Appropriate Level of Formality

Word choice determines level of formality, and vice versa. Would you say to your boss, "Yo, wassup?" Probably not. But you certainly might talk that way to your friends. We're usually careful to use the right level of formality when we talk to someone. The same should be true of writing. Writers must decide how formal or informal they should be when they write, and they make this decision based on their audience and their purpose.

Level of formality can range from the very informal (slang) to the very formal (esoteric, ceremonial) to everything in between. Writers use word choice and sentence structure to manipulate the level of formality. Here's an example:

A: It was so cool. I mean, I never saw anything like it before. What a great flick! You have to check it out.

B: It was really an impressive film, unlike anything I've ever seen before. You should definitely go see it.

These two sentences are drastically different in style and in particular in the level of formality. Though they both tell the same story and both use the personal firstperson I, there's clearly a different relationship to the reader. From the word choice and style—the short sentences, the very casual language—we can tell that the writer of passage A has a more informal, more friendly relationship with the reader than the writer of passage B. The emotion of the writer in passage A is much more transparent, too, because the language is more informal and natural. You get the idea that passage A is addressed to a close friend, while passage B might be addressed to a colleague or supervisor.

In your essay, be sure to write at an appropriate level of formality. Do not use slang, but do not be excessively formal, either.

Consistent and Appropriate Tone

An appropriate and consistent tone is another essential element of effective writing. Tone is the mood or attitude conveyed by words or speech. Think, for example, of all the different ways to say sure or hello. It's how you say the word that conveys so much of its meaning.

When you listen to others, it's usually pretty easy to hear the tone of their voice. But how do you establish tone in writing?

When you speak, you create tone by how quickly or slowly you say a word, how loudly or softly you say it, and how you use facial expressions and body language. When you write, though, your readers can't hear how your words sound. And they certainly can't see your facial expressions or body language. But you can use word choice, punctuation, and style to establish tone. For example, recall this pair of sentences from the punctuation review:

Wait, I'm coming with you.

Wait—I'm coming with you!

Here, it's the punctuation that changes the tone. The first sentence is calm and neutral. The second sentence, on the other hand, is emotional and excited.

There are endless varieties of tones when you speak. Likewise, there are endless varieties of tone in writing. Here's a list of some of the more common words used to describe tone:

As you write, choose words that convey your desired tone. For example, if you are describing a humorous event, you might use the phrase topsy-turvy rather than chaotic or disorganized. Similarly, if you are describing an unpleasant event, you might use the word tumultuous or helter-skelter to convey the same idea.

Variety in Sentence Structure and Rhetorical Techniques for Emphasis

A strong essay will demonstrate an ability to manipulate sentence structure and punctuation for effect. Sentence structure, as noted earlier, is an important element of style. If all of your sentences have the same pattern, you will end up with writing that is monotonous and dry, like the following passage:

She is a teacher. She lives in Montana. She has a ranch there. She goes to California a lot. She has family there. She has two pets, a cat and a dog.

Unsophisticated and quite dull, isn't it? That's because all of the sentences are short and share the same structure; they all start with she and a present tense verb. This is quite different from parallel structure. Parallelism means using a repeating sentence pattern to create rhythm within a sentence or paragraph. This kind of repetition, on the other hand, creates monotony and shows a lack of flexibility in creating sentence patterns. Here is the same paragraph, revised to show variety in sentence structure:

She is a teacher and lives on a ranch in Montana with her cat and dog. Because she has family in California, she travels there frequently.

Notice how much more interesting this paragraph is now. The seven sentences have been combined into two, and only one sentence starts with she. Many of the short sentences have been turned into modifiers that make for more varied sentence patterns.

Sentence structure and punctuation can also be used to manipulate emphasis. The best place to put sentence elements that you want to emphasize is at the end (the "save the best for last" approach). What comes last is what lingers longest in the readers' ears.

He is tall, dark, and handsome. [The emphasis is on handsome. If tall is the most important characteristic, then that should come last.]

She is smart, reliable, and experienced. [The emphasis is on experienced; if smart is the most important characteristic, then that should be last in the list.]

You can also use a dash to set off part of a sentence for emphasis:

He is tall, dark, handsome—and married.

Here, the stress on the last element is heightened by the dash, which emphasizes the sense of disappointment in the sentence.

Step 6: Proofread Carefully

In the three-step writing process, the third step is to revise and edit. What exactly is the difference between revising and editing, anyway?

To revise means to carefully read over your essay and make changes to improve it. Revising focuses on improving the content (what you say) and style (how you say it). In other words, when you revise, you concentrate on the "big picture": your ideas and how you organize and present them in your essay. Editing, on the other hand, deals with grammar (correct sentences), mechanics (correct spelling, capitalization, and punctuation), and usage (correct use of words and idioms).

Editing is very important; your writing should be as clear and correct as possible. But as a general rule, it doesn't make much sense to carefully proofread each sentence only to realize that you need to rewrite several paragraphs.

However—and this is a big "however"—the guidelines are a little different on a timed essay exam, especially when the time is so short. Because your time is so limited, revising should actually take place before you write, while you are outlining your essay. As you outline, make sure you have a clear thesis that addresses the writing prompt, sufficient and relevant support, and logical organization. You probably won't have time to rewrite paragraphs or add new ones. That's why it's crucial to outline so carefully. But you will probably have a few minutes to change word order, adjust word choice, and correct grammatical and mechanical mistakes. And this final "polishing" step can help make your ideas come across much more clearly for your readers.

Sample Essay

You have seen the brainstorming and outline for the good neighbor prompt. Now, here is a complete essay. This essay would score a "6" on Part II of the GED Language Arts, Writing Exam.

No matter where you live, you have neighbors. The kind of neighbors you have can make a big difference in how happy you are. I'm lucky to have wonderful neighbors. The people who live next to me are friendly, they are helpful, and they respect boundaries.

Friendly neighbors help to make it nice to live where you do. Grumpy, unpleasant neighbors don't usually do you any harm, but they don't make you feel good, either. A friendly neighbor makes you feel welcome. For example, our neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Ulerio and their children, are very friendly. Whenever we see them they say a cheerful hello and ask how we're doing. Mr. and Mrs. Ulerio often chat with my parents, and every Christmas, Mrs. Ulerio and her daughter Jessica bring us homemade cookies. They make us feel like they're glad to have us next door.

Good neighbors aren't just friendly, they're also helpful. If we run out of sugar while baking or need one more egg for a recipe, we know we can run over to the Ulerios' or our other neighbors, the Zurowskis'. Mr. Zurowski is particularly helpful to my dad. My dad doesn't have a lot of tools, but Mr. Zurowski does, and he's always willing to lend them to my dad. He also helps my dad with projects once in a while, like fixing the roof on the dog house. There have also been plenty of times when we stayed with Mrs. Ulerio while our parents were out.

Perhaps the most important aspect of being a good neighbor is respecting boundaries. I think most of us could live with neighbors who are unfriendly or never offer a helping hand. But few of us will tolerate neighbors who don't respect our property and our privacy. Our old neighbors, for example, used to come and take toys and lawn equipment from our shed without asking. Sometimes, we'd have to go to their house and ask for our things back because they didn't return them. Even worse, my Uncle Andy's neighbors were extremely nosey and gossipy. They got involved in Uncle Andy's divorce and made the experience more complicated and painful for everyone.

Good neighbors like mine are hard to find. I hope I will always have neighbors like the Ulerios and Zurowskis. They are kind, they know when to help, and they respect our property and privacy.