im going to go take my GED test again tomorrow, i only have to do the writting part and social studies. When i write any kind of paper, i write as if i was talking to the person face to face. i dont mean to but i guess a cant grasp that i have to make it sound “pro.”

Sounding like a pro can be hard, especially if you spend a lot of time reading stuff on the internet. There’s so many blogs and journal posts out there, and they’re all written pretty informally. Most of the time, when I’m writing something myself, it’s a letter to my kids or a journal entry that’s meant for my friends or something. I don’t think too much about sounding formal. So, just like with math, it’s difficult to do something you’re not practicing all the time.

First of all, why should you sound professional when writing an essay? Is it just ’cause the GED judges are snobs? I don’t think so. It’s more about making sure people can understand you. I mean, that’s what writing and talking is about in the first place, letting people know what you think, right? Sounding professional just means getting your ideas across in the best possible way by using a straight version of English that everyone can understand.

Here’s my list of a few things to avoid in order to make your writing sound a little better:

Avoid Slang

You shouldn’t use slang when writing a formal essay. Even words like, cool or lame are slang.

“I think that snowboards are sick ’cause you can tear up the mountain like a maniac.”

This could be something you’d say to your friends, but is it going to make sense to everyone? Maybe you could write more like this.

“I think that snowboards are great because you can slide down mountains at neck-breaking speeds.”

Keep to Traditional Contractions

The internet has created a lot of new contractions that seem normal, but might not be appropriate for an essay. Words like gonna, ’cause, I’mma, and shoulda don’t seem wrong ’cause you see them online a lot. In fact, the first three words in that list didn’t even come up as “wrong” in my spell check! But they might not be the best choice for an essay. Stick with traditional contractions like it’s, you’re, don’t, and I’ll. If you’re not certain what’s “official” and what’s not, just don’t use the contraction. You’re not gonna be docked points for saying “I will” instead of “I’ll.”

Leave out Filler Words

When you talk, you use a lot of filler words. You say things like so, like, well, and anyway. These words just fill an essay up with fluff and can usually be left out all together. If you want to join two thoughts together, it’s ok to put words like, “however” or “therefor” when the ideas connect to each other. However, saying, “anyway” is more like you got off the topic and are trying to get back to it, which doesn’t make for a very well constructed essay in the first place.

Write with Certainty!

Writing prompts often ask you what you think about something. Formal writing should sound certain about its answer. Starting an essay with, “I think that snowboards are great…” is immediately less certain than just saying, “Snowboards are great.” Leave out words like maybe, and possibly.

Avoid the Second Person

What’s the “second person?” It’s one of the “points of view.” The “first person” is I, the “second person” is you, and the “third person” is he, she, or it. When you’re writing a formal essay, the word “you” kinda makes it informal ’cause you’re suddenly talking directly to the person who’s reading it. I’ve found that using “we” is a good substitute. For instance:

“If you find it difficult to sleep at night, you can take a sleeping pill to help.”

This is kind of like getting into the private life of the reader. It’s making assumptions about the reader’s sleeping habits. If you just replace you with we then it immediately takes a step back and makes it feel a little more formal.

“If we find it difficult to sleep at night, we can take sleeping pills to help.”

Just remember that “we” is plural while “you” isn’t, so make sure to make any changes necessary, like how I changes “pill” to “pills.” After all, we all can’t take one pill between us!

Here’s a prompt and answer from CanTeach:

What is a good neighbour?

I think a good neighbour is someone who’s friendly, but not overly friendly, you know? Like, it’s ok if a neighbour comes over for a cup of sugar or something, but if the neighbour’s coming over all the time and using up all your sugar, then that’s way too friendly. A good neighbour has to be like a yin-yang. They have to keep to their space, but also not only keep to their space. ‘Cause then they’re just a recluse, and not really a neighbour at all. And if you’re like, “Hi neighbour!” and they just ignore you, then that’s just rude!

So, how could you fix this paragraph? I’ll see if I can clean it up myself in my next blog. Good luck with your GED! And keep writing!

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

Here’s an essay by a GED student that might help you! It has a few grammar problems in it, but overall it’s a pretty good essay. Let me say, first, it’s good to start out by stating your opinion at the beginning of an essay, like this one. I think that overall the structure of the essay is good. The writer starts out by telling what his opinion is, and then relates it to his real life. Then, he gives reasons why he has that opinion, and ends with a conclusion. This is a structure that works!

The essay has got some grammar problems… I’ve put my notes on how to fix them in bold and blue in the essay below… These grammar issues are not as important as the structure, but improving them always helps!

The essay topic is whether it’s harmful for both parents of a preschool child to work outside the home. Here’s the essay:

Based on our opinion, (You don’t need to say “Based on our opinion” or “I think” in an essay.) it is harmful for both parents to work outside before a child’s preschool. My ex-wife (Madeline) and I decided in order to avoid any problems for our child we decided (You can remove “we decided,” because it’s already in the sentence, where it says “I decided.”) to split the hours in our jobs. Madeline would work days and I at night. The reason for these shifts is to always have one of us with our child. And while one of us were (“was” is correct) with our child we share (should be “shared”) the house chores also.

According to the media, there has (have) been day-cares, baby-sitters, or even some one (someone) close; (no semicolon is needed) who would: (no colon is needed) spank, shake, starve, and yell to any child they would take care off. (“of,” not “off.”) These situations brought us to our attention and fear. (This sentence is a little awkward… Maybe it would be better to say, “When these situations were brought to our attention, we were filled with fear.”)

I recommend a child to be in care of a parent (Adding “because he or she” would make this sentence clearer.) would be more prepared before pre-school. There is no other comparison, (it needs the words “with being,” or say “Nothing can be compared to being…”) taught by both parents, other than (it should say “instead of,” not “other than.”) some one (someone) else or agency. Parents can bring (“raise” would be a better word choice than “bring”) a child healthy, smarter, clean, and disciplined.

So when a child reach to an age (“reaches an age”) to start school they are well prepared. In my opinion, these are the reasons why both parents should be able to work out a schedule to spend the time with his or her (You can say “there” “their” here, because you used the plural “parents” before.) child. All the time dedicated, means a lot to a child.

I like the ending. I think the last sentence sounds good. What do you think? Can you make any other improvemens to this essay, or find a way to make it sound better? When you look through your own GED essay, try reading it quietly out loud to yourself or in your head, to see how it sounds. Use your ear to hear if it sounds right..or natural. That’s the best way to fix any mistakes!

Let me know if you need any help with your GED essay!

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.

WHY I THINK AN SUV IS BETTER

I think an SUV is better than a regular car for many reasons. Wich i’m going to explain to you. SUV’s are big, i have a very good view while i drive. The car is high so it gives me the advantage of looking over other cars. Suv’s are roomy, good for big families or to go grocery shopping. They are strong, and safer too.

I’m going to give you some examples why you would like a SUV too.

Imagine driving one day far from home, the clouds are dark, and starts to rain. The streets are getting flooded, cars are getting stock, and full of water. BUt there you go in your SUV on your way home cause you are so high above the gorund that you have no problem.

Another example could be tha you see an accident. Someone in a small car that got destroyed by a medium aize truck. The people in the small car are rush to
the hospital in critical condition. You realize that it would no have been that way if they where driving an SUV. Or at least ti would not been that bad.

Yet another good example is that SUV’s are so strong that you can easily pull a boat, a trailer, a camper or another car that has broken down. The only bad thing about SUV’s is that they are not good on gas mileage, but is not a reazon not to get one with all the pros i told you about.

I guess that what you can do, if you are not sure about buying an SUV, is to rent one for a couple of weeks. Give it a try, drive around, take a trip, and after that you’ll see that i was right. SUV’s are better cars.

Thanks, Andre! My first reaction is you’re doing a good job. You’ve got a main idea, examples, and organization. You’ve got an introduction and a conclusion. That goes a long way to getting a good grade on the writing GED. I think there are some areas that you can improve… the two things I’d say are (1) go through and check spelling and capitalization after you’re done writing, and (2) delete sentences that talk about the essay itself. Here’s what I mean… Here’s the introduction:

I think an SUV is better than a regular car for many reasons. Wich i’m going to explain to you. SUV’s are big, i have a very good view while i drive. The car is high so it gives me the advantage of looking over other cars. Suv’s are roomy, good for big families or to go grocery shopping. They are strong, and safer too.

This is good because it says what your main idea is, that an SUV is better than a car, and it gives some reasons why that you’ll talk more about later. That’s great. To take it to the next level, I would check the spelling and capitalization. “I” needs to be capitalized, and “SUV” should be capitalized everywhere…and the word “wich” should be “which.”

I think an SUV is better than a regular car for many reasons. Wich i’m Which I’m going to explain to you. SUV’s are big, i I have a very good view while i I drive. The car is high so it gives me the advantage of looking over other cars. Suv’s SUV’s are roomy, good for big families or to go grocery shopping. They are strong, and safer too.

That’s not going to make a huge difference in your score, but it will help. The other thing is that you want to take out things that don’t really add to your argument. For example, saying “I think” isn’t a very interesting way to begin a sentence… in fact, it makes it sound a little wishy-washy. The whole point of your essay is to say what you think, so you don’t need to say “I think.” It’s better to say, “An SUV is better than a regular car, for many reasons.” It’s stronger, more confident. Then, you say “Which I’m going to explain to you.” I’d just take that out completely. Just go ahead and explain… you don’t have to say what you’re going to say next in your essay. Take out things that talk about the essay itself… leave in the stuff that talks about your subject, SUVs.

I think an An SUV is better than a regular car, for many reasons. Which I’m going to explain to you. SUV’s are big, I have a very good view while I drive. The car is high so it gives me the advantage of looking over other cars. SUV’s are roomy, good for big families or to go grocery shopping. They are strong, and safer too.

I see is run-on, too… “SUV’s are big” is a sentence, and so is “I have a very good view while I drive.” You could ad “so” here to make the sentence correct, or change the comma to a semicolon. In the next sentence, you really should have a comma before the word “so,” because it’s joining two complete sentences. These are really minor things that probably won’t count against you on the GED test, though.

An SUV is better than a regular car, for many reasons. SUV’s are big, so I have a very good view while I drive. The car is high, so it gives me the advantage of looking over other cars. SUV’s are roomy, good for big families or to go grocery shopping. They are strong, and safer too.

The next paragraph isn’t really a whole paragraph, just the sentence. And I don’t think you need it. It’s not talking about SUVs. It’s talking about the essay, what you’re going to say. I would just delete it.

I’m going to give you some examples why you would like a SUV too.

The next three paragraphs are the body, or middle of your essay, where you give examples explaining your reasons for saying SUVs are better than other cars. To me, this is the best part of your essay. You’ve got great examples. You paint a picture for the reader, saying things like “Imagine driving one day far from home, the clouds are dark…” That is really effective. Again, you should go through to correct minor errors, but these aren’t going to count against you too bad on the GED. Look for words you left out on accident, or accidental misspellings. Also look for places you’re talking about the essay itself and not the subject:

Imagine driving one day far from home. , the The clouds are dark, and it starts to rain. The streets are getting flooded, and cars are getting stock, stuck and full of water. BUt But there you go in your SUV on your way home because you are so high above the gorund ground that you have no problem.

Another example could be tha Perhaps you see an accident. Someone in a small car that got destroyed by a medium aize size truck. The people in the small car are rushed to the hospital in critical condition. You realize that it would not have been that way if they where driving an SUV. Or at least ti it would not have been that bad.

Yet another good example is that SUV’s are also so strong that you can easily pull a boat, a trailer, a camper or another car that has broken down. The only bad thing about SUV’s is that they are not good on gas mileage, but that is not a reazon reason not to get one with all the pros i told you about.

It’s good that you mention a reason people might disagree and then refute, or argue against it. Overall, great job. The last paragraph is your conclusion. It works. It gives a new thought and doesn’t just restate the beginning. I’d take out “I guess” for the same reason I’d take out “I think,” and probably you don’t need to say “what you can do.” Other than that, I like this paragraph a lot.

I guess that what you can do, if If you are not sure about buying an SUV, is to rent one for a couple of weeks. Give it a try, drive around, take a trip, and after that you’ll see that i I was right. SUV’s are better cars.

I think you’ll do really well on the GED writing! Thanks for sending in your practice essay. It’ll help a lot of other students, too.

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

Here’s the conclusion I wrote in my draft for the GED practice question:

Because of my own bad reaction to being surprised, I almost missed my son’s wedding and missed out on having a new daughter-in-law who I love. It teached me that I need to think before I react and not let my feelings get in the way of what’s important. I really wasn’t looking at things from my son’s point of view, because I was so sure I was right. By stopping and listening to my son, I could have made all of our lives happier.

Like the other paragraphs, I’m going to go over this looking at the same things a GED reader looks for. Here are the questions:

1. Did I answer the GED question and stay on topic?

The conclusion really shows your main point, so it has to go back to the GED test question. The original practice question was:

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.

Well, I described the situation and my reaction in the first few paragraphs of the essay. And in the conclusion, I say that I wish I’d acted differently and why…by saying what I learned and how I’d like to act different in the future. That’s answering the question… and that’s what I want to do on the GED!

2. Is my writing organized?

In my conclusion, I tell what I learned from what happened. That makes a good ending, because it ties everything together, but it also tells something new. It’s not just repeating things, which is bad writing anywhere, including the GED. I don’t want to be boring… I want to be as interesting as I can. Maybe it’s not the most interesting story in the world, but at least I don’t have to just repeat myself… I think it’s organized, but if you have any suggestions, let me know.

3. Did I give enough good details?

The GED readers like to see details… not just generalizations. Most of the details go in the middle of the essay, but did I get any details in this last paragraph? I guess it’s a detail that I almost missed my son’s wedding. That was a big deal to me, too.

Because of my own bad reaction to being surprised, I almost missed my son’s wedding and missed out on having a new daughter-in-law who I love. It teached me that I need to think before I react and not let my feelings get in the way of what’s important. I really wasn’t looking at things from my son’s point of view, because I was so sure I was right. By stopping and listening to my son, I could have made all of our lives happier.

But I think I give a lot of details earlier in the essay, and the conclusion is more about telling what I learned than details, so I think it’s okay for details. The important thing is that it gives new information…and it does say specifically what I could have done different… “stopping and listening to my son.” That’s not too general, is it?

4. Are there language mistakes, like spelling and grammar?

This is another big deal for the GED, and it’s a hard one. Spelling and grammar mistakes always get by me when I’m writing. This is one place where revising can pay off when you take your GED. I see a problem… I say “teached.” I don’t know why, sometimes it slips out that way. I know it’s wrong…it should be “taught.” If you pay attention to what kinds of things you get wrong a lot, they’re easier to spot and fix.

Because of my own bad reaction to being surprised, I almost missed my son’s wedding and missed out on having a new daughter-in-law who I love. It teached taught me that I need to think before I react and not let my feelings get in the way of what’s important. I really wasn’t looking at things from my son’s point of view, because I was so sure I was right. By stopping and listening to my son, I could have made all of our lives happier.

Hmmmm… I also say “my own” right near there. That’s pretty redundant. It’s better just to say “my,” unless there’s a real reason to say “my own.” I’d better change it.

Because of my own bad reaction to being surprised, I almost missed my son’s wedding and missed out on having a new daughter-in-law who I love. It taught me that I need to think before I react and not let my feelings get in the way of what’s important. I really wasn’t looking at things from my son’s point of view, because I was so sure I was right. By stopping and listening to my son, I could have made all of our lives happier.

I don’t really see too much else in this paragraph… if you see anything, let me know.

5. Did I choose the best words to say what I mean?

Choosing good words is also important. That means, building up your vocabulary for the GED! The more words you know, the easier it will be to think of a better word. Let me see…I use the word “bad”… “bad reaction.” I need to get away from that word, because it’s too simplistic! I mean, I want to express myself better, and that means using words with more complicated meanings. “Bad” is a generic word. What’s a better word? Why was it bad? Because I didn’t stop to think. What’s a word that means bad because you don’t stop to think? “knee-jerk”? I kind of like that.

Because of my bad knee-jerk reaction to being surprised, I almost missed my son’s wedding and missed out on having a new daughter-in-law who I love. It taught me that I need to think before I react and not let my feelings get in the way of what’s important. I really wasn’t looking at things from my son’s point of view, because I was so sure I was right. By stopping and listening to my son, I could have made all of our lives happier.

Can I think of a better word for “so” when I say “so sure I was right”? Something that’s got more feeling? What about instead of “so sure” I say “completely convinced”? Or, even better “stubbornly convinced.” That goes back to emphasize again how much of a donkey I was being!

Because of my knee-jerk reaction to being surprised, I almost missed my son’s wedding and missed out on having a new daughter-in-law who I love. It taught me that I need to think before I react and not let my feelings get in the way of what’s important. I really wasn’t looking at things from my son’s point of view, because I was so sure stubbornly convinced I was right. By stopping and listening to my son, I could have made all of our lives happier.

What other word could I improve? How about “happier”? Happy is a pretty generic word. Is there a better one? What would have our lives had to make them happy? Peace instead of fighting, I guess. And love instead of being like strangers! Why don’t I say “peaceful and loving.”

Because of my knee-jerk reaction to being surprised, I almost missed my son’s wedding and missed out on having a new daughter-in-law who I love. It taught me that I need to think before I react and not let my feelings get in the way of what’s important. I really wasn’t looking at things from my son’s point of view, because I was stubbornly convinced I was right. By stopping and listening to my son, I could have made all of our lives happier peaceful and loving.

Well, I think that’s the end of writing this GED essay, and the whole process from beginning to end. Here’s the whole final practice essay:

The unhappiest time in my life was when I didn’t talk to my son for a year. I reacted atrociously to my son’s engagement. I was furious and didn’t want him to get married. His engagement was surprising and shocking to me, and I wish I had reacted different.

My son came over one day for dinner, and he brought a girl I never met before. He didn’t even tell me he was bringing anyone. Then he told me they were getting married. I was terribly upset! I thought he was too young. When he saw I wasn’t happy, my son got extremely angry at me, and we had a fight.

Because of my narrow-minded attitude, my son wouldn’t talk to me unless I accepted him getting married. I grew more stubborn because I thought he was making a big mistake. Finally, though, his wedding date came up. I was sad that I might miss his wedding, and I called him. It was hard for him to trust me, after how angry and stubborn I was, but we both wanted to get along. I spent some time getting to know the girl he was engaged to by having dinner with her and taking her shopping, and I figured out that I liked her. I was able to go to their wedding, and now, I love my extended family.

Because of my knee-jerk reaction to being surprised, I almost missed my son’s wedding and missed out on having a new daughter-in-law who I love. It taught me that I need to think before I react and not let my feelings get in the way of what’s important. I really wasn’t looking at things from my son’s point of view, because I was stubbornly convinced I was right. By stopping and listening to my son, I could have made all of our lives peaceful and loving.

I bet I could still make it better. The more time you have left on the GED, the more changes you can make to improve your essay. You can go in and choose better words and find errors…and that will give you a higher score. Good luck on the GED! Hope this practice essay helps!

To find out more about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at passGED.com.

Here’s the third paragraph of my GED practice essay:

Because I couldn’t be happy about their getting married, my son wouldn’t talk to me. He said he would talk to me, if I accepted him getting married. But I got stubborn. I thought he was making a big mistake. Finally, though, his wedding date came up. I was sad that I might miss his wedding, and I called him. It was hard for him to trust me, after how angry and stubborn I was. But we both wanted to get along. I spent some time getting to know the girl he was engaged too and I figured out that I liked her. I was able to go to their wedding, and now, I love my extended family.

And here are the questions, asking about things the GED reader looks for:

1. Did I answer the GED question and stay on topic?

Remember, the best way to keep focused on the GED test question in your essay is to spend time organizing the GED essay before you write… so I’m doing good on this, I think. In this paragraph, I tell the rest of the story, and what the result is. That’s still focused… they need to know that to understand my conclusion, what I learned.

2. Is my writing organized?

See, I think that this goes with the other answer. If you spend time organizing your writing before you start the GED essay, then you’re going to stay on topic and have organization. Also, it helps to tell a story. That’s what I’m doing in the second and third paragraph. I start out by introducing everything and saying how my story relates to the GED essay question. Then, I spend a couple of paragraphs telling the story…what happened. Then, in the end, I tell what I learned, and relate it back to the GED question. That’s organization, and that’s what they look for!

3. Did I give enough good details?

Details are important on the GED, too, and you can think about details to include when you’re doing your organizing, also. Let’s see… where are the details in my paragraph? You can try underlining them when you’re looking at your essay when you take the GED.

Because I couldn’t be happy about their getting married, my son wouldn’t talk to me. He said he would talk to me, if I accepted him getting married. But I got stubborn. I thought he was making a big mistake. Finally, though, his wedding date came up. I was sad that I might miss his wedding, and I called him. It was hard for him to trust me, after how angry and stubborn I was. But we both wanted to get along. I spent some time getting to know the girl he was engaged too and I figured out that I liked her. I was able to go to their wedding, and now, I love my extended family.

So, what’s a detail and what’s not? That’s kinda a judgment call. Thinks like “I spent some time getting to know the girl” isn’t very specific. What did we do together? It doesn’t say. But “I was able to go to their wedding” is a detail, because it says what I did. I think I did pretty good, putting in a lot of details, but you can always put in more… maybe I can add some…

Because I couldn’t be happy about their getting married, my son wouldn’t talk to me. He said he would talk to me, if I accepted him getting married. But I got stubborn. I thought he was making a big mistake. Finally, though, his wedding date came up. I was sad that I might miss his wedding, and I called him. It was hard for him to trust me, after how angry and stubborn I was. But we both wanted to get along. I spent some time getting to know the girl he was engaged too by having dinner with her and taking her shopping and I figured out that I liked her. I was able to go to their wedding, and now, I love my extended family.

Does that tell the story better, with more details?

4. Are there language mistakes, like spelling and grammar?

Okay, on the GED, they want you to spell right and have good grammar. So I’ve got to look at my writing to see how I did. “Because I couldn’t be happy about their getting married” sounds a little awkward. Can I say it simpler? How about just saying “Because of my bad attitude”? I mean, I said what my attitude was already in the last paragraph.

Because I couldn’t be happy about their getting married, Because of my bad attitude, my son wouldn’t talk to me. He said he would talk to me, if I accepted him getting married. But I got stubborn. I thought he was making a big mistake. Finally, though, his wedding date came up. I was sad that I might miss his wedding, and I called him. It was hard for him to trust me, after how angry and stubborn I was. But we both wanted to get along. I spent some time getting to know the girl he was engaged too by having dinner with her and taking her shopping and I figured out that I liked her. I was able to go to their wedding, and now, I love my extended family.

Now, what about the next sentence? That’s a little repetitive. I already says “My son wouldn’t talk to me.” Saying “He said he would talk to me” is almost the same words repeated. Can I say something different? Like, “my son wouldn’t talk to me unless I accepted him getting married.” Sometimes shorter is better!

Because of my bad attitude, my son wouldn’t talk to me. He said he would talk to me, if unless I accepted him getting married. But I got stubborn. I thought he was making a big mistake. Finally, though, his wedding date came up. I was sad that I might miss his wedding, and I called him. It was hard for him to trust me, after how angry and stubborn I was. But we both wanted to get along. I spent some time getting to know the girl he was engaged too by having dinner with her and taking her shopping and I figured out that I liked her. I was able to go to their wedding, and now, I love my extended family.

I kinda have a lot of short sentences that maybe I should combine… and I start some of them with”but.” That’s not very formal…I guess I can fix that some…

Because of my bad attitude, my son wouldn’t talk to me unless I accepted him getting married. But I got stubborn because. I thought he was making a big mistake. Finally, though, his wedding date came up. I was sad that I might miss his wedding, and I called him. It was hard for him to trust me, after how angry and stubborn I was, but. But we both wanted to get along. I spent some time getting to know the girl he was engaged too by having dinner with her and taking her shopping and I figured out that I liked her. I was able to go to their wedding, and now, I love my extended family.

I see I used the wrong “to”… “too” means also or a lot. If you say “got engaged to” it should be t-o.

Because of my bad attitude, my son wouldn’t talk to me unless I accepted him getting married. I got stubborn because I thought he was making a big mistake. Finally, though, his wedding date came up. I was sad that I might miss his wedding, and I called him. It was hard for him to trust me, after how angry and stubborn I was, but we both wanted to get along. I spent some time getting to know the girl he was engaged too by having dinner with her and taking her shopping and I figured out that I liked her. I was able to go to their wedding, and now, I love my extended family.

Also, I need a comma before the word “and” (after “shopping”) because it joins two sentences.

Because of my bad attitude, my son wouldn’t talk to me unless I accepted him getting married. I got stubborn because I thought he was making a big mistake. Finally, though, his wedding date came up. I was sad that I might miss his wedding, and I called him. It was hard for him to trust me, after how angry and stubborn I was, but we both wanted to get along. I spent some time getting to know the girl he was engaged to by having dinner with her and taking her shopping, and I figured out that I liked her. I was able to go to their wedding, and now, I love my extended family.

Whew! That seems like a lot, but I guess that’s it for spelling and grammar…

5. Did I choose the best words to say what I mean?

I’m going to force myself to find at least two better words again. That worked pretty good for me in the last paragraph. What about “bad”? That’s a pretty common word… and not very specific. What exactly was bad about my attitude. I guess I was only seeing my own point of view… I’d call that narrow-minded.

Because of my bad narrow-minded attitude, my son wouldn’t talk to me unless I accepted him getting married. I got stubborn because I thought he was making a big mistake. Finally, though, his wedding date came up. I was sad that I might miss his wedding, and I called him. It was hard for him to trust me, after how angry and stubborn I was, but we both wanted to get along. I spent some time getting to know the girl he was engaged to by having dinner with her and taking her shopping, and I figured out that I liked her. I was able to go to their wedding, and now, I love my extended family.

Then, there’s the word “got.” There’s almost always a better word for “got.” What about “became”? Or even better, “grew more stubborn”. That shows how I was changing.

Because of my narrow-minded attitude, my son wouldn’t talk to me unless I accepted him getting married. I got grew more stubborn because I thought he was making a big mistake. Finally, though, his wedding date came up. I was sad that I might miss his wedding, and I called him. It was hard for him to trust me, after how angry and stubborn I was, but we both wanted to get along. I spent some time getting to know the girl he was engaged to by having dinner with her and taking her shopping, and I figured out that I liked her. I was able to go to their wedding, and now, I love my extended family.

I bet I could find some even better words. How about changing “big” or “sad” to something else? Do you have suggestions? Anyway, good luck with the GED studying! Next time I’ll finish my revisions to the GED essay, and you can see how it looks when it’s finished.

To find out more about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at passGED.com.

My son came over one day for dinner, and he bought a girl I never met before. He didn’t even tell me he was bringing anyone. Than he told me they were getting married. I was very upset! I thought he was too young. When he saw I wasn’t happy, my son got very angry at me, we had a fight.

I’m going to go by the questions GED readers will think about again…and here they are…

1. Did I answer the GED question and stay on topic?

Am I still answering the question? Am I on the essay topic from the GED exam? Or did I go off on a tangent? The essay question is about how you reacted to something new or difficult, and if you wish you acted differently. GED essay questions are like that… they ask you about what you think or things in your life.

In this paragraph, I tell about the new situation, and how I reacted (getting angry!) So I’m on topic… that’s one of the most important things, and it’s pretty easy if you think about it.

2. Is my writing organized?

This paragraph is me telling the story of what happened. I begin at the beginning of the story… when my son came to tell me about getting married, and how I got upset. Telling a story of something that happened can be a good idea on the GED essay test, because it’s easy to stay organized and on topic… you’re just telling a story about something that happened to you. But remember, you’ve got to have a point at the end, too.

3. Did I give enough good details?

Well… I do give some details, right? My son coming over for dinner… and him bringing a strange girl. Me thinking that he’s too young is a detail, too. I’m not too specific about our fight… but I think it’s okay. It’s got some specific things, telling what happened, not just generalizations.

4. Are there language mistakes, like spelling and grammar?

The hardest thing about GED writing is getting the language straight! Let me look at what I did… uh, oh. I said “bought” instead of “brought.” I mean he BROUGHT a girl over for dinner… that’s a pretty bad mistake I mean, he didn’t BUY a girl. Oh my!

My son came over one day for dinner, and he brought a girl I never met before. He didn’t even tell me he was bringing anyone. Than he told me they were getting married. I was very upset! I thought he was too young. When he saw I wasn’t happy, my son got very angry at me, we had a fight.

I see another wrong word! I said “Than” instead of “Then.” “Then” means that something happens next, and “than” compares two things. I mean “then.”

My son came over one day for dinner, and he brought a girl I never met before. He didn’t even tell me he was bringing anyone. Then he told me they were getting married. I was very upset! I thought he was too young. When he saw I wasn’t happy, my son got very angry at me, we had a fight.

There’s one more thing I notice, now that I’m really reading through. I say, “my son got very angry at me, we had a fight.” That’s really two sentences, and you shouldn’t put them together with just a comma. I’ll add the word “and.”

My son came over one day for dinner, and he brought a girl I never met before. He didn’t even tell me he was bringing anyone. Then he told me they were getting married. I was very upset! I thought he was too young. When he saw I wasn’t happy, my son got very angry at me, and we had a fight.

5. Did I choose the best words to say what I mean?

On the GED test, choosing good words is important, and I don’t just mean accidentally saying “bought” instead of “brought.” (!) So, I’m going to look through for words that could be better… I don’t see anything right away, so I’m going to force myself to choose two words that could be better… hmmm… how about the word “very”? That’s one of those words you use all the time… and I’ve got it twice! That’s not good. I’m going to choose some other words for “very…”

My son came over one day for dinner, and he brought a girl I never met before. He didn’t even tell me he was bringing anyone. Then he told me they were getting married. I was very terribly upset! I thought he was too young. When he saw I wasn’t happy, my son got very extremely angry at me, and we had a fight.

“Very” is a good word to know some synonyms for… other words that mean the same thing. Like “extremely,” “terribly,” “incredibly,” “awfully,” or “decidedly.” That’s good preparation for the GED test… looking for words you can use instead of real common words. Next time… more revising!

To find out more about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at passGED.com.

The unhappiest time in my life was when I didn’t talk to my son for a year. The reason was that I reacted bad to my son getting engaged. His engagement was surprising and shocking to me, and I wish I had reacted differently.

Last time, I showed you some questions to ask yourself. These are the same questions GED readers ask about your essay, so it’s important to think about them. Put yourself in place of the GED reader… how would you grade the essay?

1. Did I answer the GED question and stay on topic?

Here’s the sample GED essay question I used to write my essay:

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.

I don’t really say, “A time when I was faced with a new and difficult situation was…” but I don’t need to repeat the GED question, do I? I mean, it was a new and difficult situation….as long as that’s clear, I’m answering the question. I say that I was surprised and shocked, and that I had a bad reaction. I think in the first paragraph, I’m doing a good job staying on topic and answering the GED essay question.

2. Is my writing organized?

Well, the first paragraph of a GED essay is basically the introduction. It starts out by saying what the problem was, and I think that’s pretty good. It tells what I’m going to talk about. I think if you do prewriting for your GED essay, your organization is probably going to be pretty good.

3. Did I give enough good details?

Hmmmm… are there details in the first paragraph of my GED essay? It says I didn’t talk to my son for a year. That’s a detail. And him getting engaged is a detail.

You know what’s missing? I say that I reacted bad, but I don’t really say what my reaction was. Just “bad.” That’s not much of a detail, and details are important in writing for the GED. Maybe I’ll add some detail…

The unhappiest time in my life was when I didn’t talk to my son for a year. The reason was that I reacted bad to my son getting engaged. I got angry and didn’t want him to get married. His engagement was surprising and shocking to me, and I wish I had reacted differently.

4. Are there language mistakes, like spelling and grammar?

This one’s important for the GED test, too. I know I should watch for this better… let’s see what I can find… “The reason was that” isn’t a very good way to start a sentence, is it? It’s just a lot of extra words that don’t mean much. So, I’ll change it.

The unhappiest time in my life was when I didn’t talk to my son for a year. I reacted bad to my son getting engaged. I got angry and didn’t want him to get married. His engagement was surprising and shocking to me, and I wish I had reacted differently.

I think the word “bad” is wrong, too. Shouldn’t it be “badly”? That’s right… “badly” is an adverb… and the “bad” thing is the verb, how I reacted. So, to go with a verb, it needs to be an adverb…badly.

The unhappiest time in my life was when I didn’t talk to my son for a year. I reacted badly to my son getting engaged. I got angry and didn’t want him to get married. His engagement was surprising and shocking to me, and I wish I had reacted differently.

I think that’s pretty good now. I don’t really see any big mistakes… It takes some practice to look for grammar and spelling. The trick is to try, and to try to remember what things you usually do wrong.

5. Did I choose the best words to say what I mean?

Let me look at my words… that word “badly” doesn’t sound too good. Maybe “negatively”? That doesn’t sound bad enough. I was pretty bad! I’m going to look at a thesaurus… I can’t do that on the GED test, but the more words I know before I take the test, the easier it will be on the GED! I found one… “atrociously.” That’s a good one.

The unhappiest time in my life was when I didn’t talk to my son for a year. I reacted atrociously to my son getting engaged. I got angry and didn’t want him to get married. His engagement was surprising and shocking to me, and I wish I had reacted differently.

What about “my son getting engaged”? That’s wordy, too. Maybe I can say it in less words… “my son’s engagement.”

The unhappiest time in my life was when I didn’t talk to my son for a year. I reacted atrociously to my son’s engagement. I got angry and didn’t want him to get married. His engagement was surprising and shocking to me, and I wish I had reacted differently.

“Angry” is another word I bet I can replace. What’s a better word for angry? Really, really angry? I’m going to the thesaurus again… how about “furious”? “was furious” is probably better than “got angry.”

The unhappiest time in my life was when I didn’t talk to my son for a year. I reacted atrociously to my son’s engagement. I was furious and didn’t want him to get married. His engagement was surprising and shocking to me, and I wish I had reacted differently.

I think that’s better… what do you think? I’m going to go through each paragraph of the GED essay to make it better, and that will give me some good practice for the GED test…

To find out more about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at passGED.com.

Here’s the GED practice essay 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.

And here’s my GED essay draft:

The unhappiest time in my life was when I didn’t talk to my son for a year. The reason was that I reacted bad to my son getting engaged. His engagement was surprising and shocking to me, and I wish I had reacted differently.

My son came over one day for dinner, and he bought a girl I never met before. He didn’t even tell me he was bringing anyone. Than he told me they were getting married. I was very upset! I thought he was too young. When he saw I wasn’t happy, my son got very angry at me, we had a fight.

Because I couldn’t be happy about their getting married, my son wouldn’t talk to me. He said he would talk to me, if I accepted him getting married. But I got stubborn. I thought he was making a big mistake. Finally, though, his wedding date came up. I was sad that I might miss his wedding, and I called him. It was hard for him to trust me, after how angry and stubborn I was. But we both wanted to get along. I spent some time getting to know the girl he was engaged too and I figured out that I liked her. I was able to go to their wedding, and now, I love my extended family.

Because of my own bad reaction to being surprised, I almost missed my son’s wedding and missed out on having a new daughter-in-law who I love. It teached me that I need to think before I react and not let my feelings get in the way of what’s important. I really wasn’t looking at things from my son’s point of view, because I was so sure I was right. By stopping and listening to my son, I could have made all of our lives happier.

Now’s the hard part… looking at what I wrote critically… so that I can find things that are wrong with it and improve. That’s important for the GED. I’m going to ask some questions, based on how the GED grades essays for the test:

1. Did I answer the question and stay on topic?

2. Is my writing organized?

3. Did I give enough good details?

4. Are there language mistakes, like spelling and grammar?

5. Did I choose the best words to say what I mean?

That’s what a GED reader looks for… so that’s what I’m going to look for. Look through the essay yourself, and try to answer these questions, like you were a GED reader. What do you think? I’ll start going through it one paragraph at a time next week.

To find out more about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at passGED.com.