Liz’s World

Okay, I’m not going to put my whole GED essay draft in this post, so look back at the last post to read the whole thing. I want to get down to revising my essay for the GED… And I’ll start with the first paragraph: Read the rest of this entry »

Last time, I finished a draft of a GED essay, and I know a lot of people want to stop after they wrote their draft for the GED. It’s hard to write, after all, and maybe you just want to be done with it! I know I feel that way sometimes. But going back and reading over your writing, and making changes, can make it so much better. So, I’m going to talk about editing my GED essay. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s the timed GED essay I wrote, using this practice question:

What is one important goal you would like to achieve in the next few years?

In your essay, identify that one goal and explain how you plan to achieve it. Use your personal observations, experience, and knowledge to support your essay.

Now here’s my essay:

Much of my life has been about caring for other people. I cared for my husband and my children. Now, I am on my own. I need to care for myself and think about who I am. The GED is my first step toward my goal: finding something meaningful to do with my life.

This goal is not as clear-cut as goals like becoming a nurse or a pharmacist. However, defining what the goal means is part of the goal. The first step I will take is to try to understand what it most meaningful to me. Do I want to work toward a greater social good? Should I concentrate on bringing small pleasures to people?

Once I understand my priorities, I need to look for an activity that will work with my priorities. This may mean finding a new career, or it may mean finding volunteer work to fit into my life. Either way, the skills I’ve learned while studying for my GED will help me write a resume, apply for positions, and talk with people.

I look forward to using my growing skills in something that I find fulfilling. I am happy to have spent my life caring for my family, and I am equally happy to now have time to pursue new interests. Defining those interests is a journey that is just beginning.

Let me know what you think!

Happy New Year everyone! The old year is ending, and the new one’s coming up, with lots of possibilities for the future, right? Like passing the GED test! I guess we’re talking about endings and beginnings for the GED essay, too. I’ve been working on this GED essay practice question, and last time I drafted the middle of a GED essay question. Now it’s time to draft the conclusion… then a whole new step begins. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m still working on that GED essay to prepare for the test. Last time, I showed you how I drafted the first paragraph of a GED practice essay. Doing the first paragraph takes a little extra time, I think, because you want to make a good impression on the GED test readers. The middle is easier for me. So, here’s how I drafted the middle of the GED writing essay: Read the rest of this entry »

Last time, I showed how I drafted a GED essay for the test. Now, I’m going to show you how I went about drafting. Read the rest of this entry »

I thought I’d take a practice question and show you how I try to prewrite about it… so here’s the question!

Sometimes, we don’t know in advance how we’ll react to a new situation.

Describe a time when you were faced with a new or difficult situation and explain your reaction. Do you wish you’d acted differently? Why or why not? Use your personal observations, experience, and knowledge to support your essay.

Read the rest of this entry »

When it comes to writing the GED essay, I know that I was concerned about how much time it would take. I wanted to write it all down at once, and just be done. But in order to do it well and get a good grade, the best thing to do is prewrite, take a few minutes to get ideas in order before writing. Read the rest of this entry »

So, did you figure out a better way to write this?

The most important thing to me now that my children are all grown up is to have good relationships with my children, who are away in several places far from me. Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes, when I write, I get so involved in trying to pick out a really good word or a really pretty way to say something… well, I either get stuck, or it turns out sounding too formal or just wrong. It’s hard to figure out.

One thing Mr. Williams taught me is that good writing sounds natural. It doesn’t sound formal or forced… so whenever I feel like I’m just getting caught up in a bunch of words, I sit back and ask myself… what do I really mean? What am I trying to say? Then I try to say it like I think it, as simply as possible.

Here’s an example of something I wrote when I got all caught up in the words…

The most important thing to me now that my children are all grown up is to have good relationships with my children, who are away in several places far from me.

It’s just too long, isn’t it? Or something. I have to think about what I really mean, and then rewrite it. How would you rewrite it? I’ll let you know what I did next week.