Liz’s World

Hi, all GED writers! I thought I’d go back to the GED writing multiple choice test, to go over some of the other common things on there. The GED writing test is different from the other tests, because it’s got two parts that are so completely different! The GED essay is one part, and of course, it’s different because you show your writing skills by writing an essay, something that you don’t have to do anywhere else on the test. The multiple choice test is the other part… it’s more like the rest of the exam, where you need to choose the right answer. But there are definitely a few skills to learn to do well!

One of those skills is seeing fragments. It’s a pretty common problem–not noticing fragments in your writing. On the multiple choice test, it’s a good thing to watch out for. Here’s an example:

If you find that you cannot return to work before the end of the day. Please update your time card the following day to indicate the time you left.

This is a hard one to see, because if you just read it to yourself, it sounds okay. It might sound a little formal, but that’s all. Actually, you need to pay attention to where the periods are… where the sentences come to an end. Each sentence should stand by itself, to give you a whole idea. Try looking at them separately:

If you find that you cannot return to work before the end of the day.

Please update your time card the following day to indicate the time you left.

Which one sounds complete? Which one sounds wrong by itself, without anything else? The first one is incomplete. It leaves you with a big question: If you can’t come back to work–then what? It doesn’t tell you. Words like if, when, since, because, while, after, although, unless, and now that begin a phrase that NEEDS to be attached to a whole sentence. They open up questions… because you did this–what happened? after you did that–what happened? unless you do this–what will happen? If you don’t have it attached to a sentence, the question isn’t answered. You don’t have a complete thought.

The GED test will ask you questions about fixing fragments like this. Try answering this GED writing practice question to fix the fragment:

If you find that you cannot return to work before the end of the day. Please update your time card the following day to indicate the time you left.

Which group of words would be included in the most effective combination of these two sentences?

A)  the day, please update

B)  the day that you please update

C)  the day, but please update

D)  the day, so please update

E)  the day, and you will please update

The trick to answering this kind of question is not to just look at the answers. They won’t make much sense by themselves. Try to put them in the sentence, to see what it looks like.

A)  If you find that you cannot return to work before the end of the day, please update your time card the following day to indicate the time you left.

B)  If you find that you cannot return to work before the end of the day that you please update your time card the following day to indicate the time you left.

C)  If you find that you cannot return to work before the end of the day, but please update your time card the following day to indicate the time you left.

D)  If you find that you cannot return to work before the end of the day, so please update your time card the following day to indicate the time you left.

E)  If you find that you cannot return to work before the end of the day, and you will please update your time card the following day to indicate the time you left.

You might be able to tell by reading these aloud to yourself that answer A is right. It sounds best–most natural to your ear. The other way to tell is to know that fragments like this, that start with when or since or although or if or any words like that (they’re called subordinating conjunctions!)…anyway, if this kind of fragment goes with the sentence after it, you can usually just join them together with a comma. If it goes with the sentence before it, you can usually just join them together–no comma needed. Answers B, C, D, and E all add extra words… words that you don’t need and that are confusing at best! The best answer is A.

Good luck!

For more information about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at http://www.passGED.com.