Liz’s World

Hey GED writers! Here’s a real good question from Shannon about writing an essay:

i have an essay due on tues the 2nd i have to think of one memoralble day i want to tell about i want to do it on having my two boys but i dont no how to start it i think of it in my head but it wont come out right on paper please help.

Gosh, I’m late getting back to you on this, but I hope this helps for future essays. First, don’t panic! You probably write better than you think. Just trying gets you a long way!

Sometimes it’s hard to get started writing, even if you have an idea. The good thing about writing about an event, like having a baby, is that you can write it as it happened… start at the beginning, write until you tell the whole story, and stop. That helps. But a lot of the time it seems like it just isn’t “coming out right.”

That’s okay. Writing is a process. That means that it doesn’t just all come together at once. It doesn’t have to be perfect when you write it down. It doesn’t even have to be close! The most important thing is to get started. Here’s what I suggest:

1) Prewrite. Start out by brainstorming what you remember, and just jotting down notes. You can just sit down and start writing, or you can make a map of things that are connected. Get your thoughts down… don’t worry about how it sounds.

2) Organize. Try to put your thoughts in order… for a story like yours, it’ll probably be simple, starting at the beginning and going to the end. Decide something interesting to say in the introduction, and something important to tell people in the conclusion.

3) Draft. The draft doesn’t have to be perfect. Use your notes to write a beginning, a middle, and an end. Don’t let thinking it’s got to be perfect stop you from writing it. Just get it down on paper.

4) Review. Read what you wrote. It’ll probably sound better than you thought. But, you’ll still want to make some changes. Think if you can improve the structure or ideas, and also the grammar and spelling and things like that.

5) Finalize. Rewrite your essay neatly to finish it, according to what your teacher asked for. This is your final chance to make any little improvements. But you’ll have come a long way.

Following a process for writing helps you get it on paper much better than just trying to write without a plan!

For more information about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at http://www.passGED.com or call 1-888-880-2164.