GED Test: Reading for Meaning
You know, sometimes I struggle with reading things… that makes it hard to do a lot of the GED test readings! I try to understand each word I don’t know, and then I get lost in the little details. Then the questions on the GED test ask what the main idea was, and what the main point was. And I can’t answer! How do I get the main idea, while I’m trying to figure out hard words and things?
Finding the main idea is really important. I’ve learned a few things about it, when looking for information for the GED. You always have to ask yourself, when you’re reading for the GED, what’s the point?
That’s why summarizing is important to practice. It helps you find out the main idea. Some things that really help to identify the main idea are:
- Look at the beginning and end sentences of paragraphs. A lot of the time, they tell the main idea.
- Look at the end of poems or stories… a lot of time the main point is at the end.
- Look at the title of a reading. It can tell you what it’s all about!
I promised that I’d do a summary of this article about Vincente Fox: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/mexico_fox_dc;_ylt=AqEpWa18_E8yeU4JvB1Mk_Qdl.0A
So, I looked at the title. It said: “Mexico’s Fox falls from grace amid corruption probe.” Well, that’s confusing. Mexico’s Fox… that’s the guy, Vincente Fox. “falls from grace”? What’s that mean? “amid”? “corruption”? “probe”? Yikes! I can’t hardly understand a word. Corruption, though, that’s like being corrupt, taking bribes and stuff. Yup, anyone in Mexico knows about that! Okay… that gives me an idea what it’s all about.
I read the first sentence, and it seemed to be about Fox being corrupt, too. So, here’s my summary:
Vincente Fox was president of Mexico, and everyone thought he was an honest rancher. But now, he looks like he’s got a lot of money: a big car he didn’t pay for, expensive animals at his ranch. The government is investigating him, and people are starting to distrust him, even though he says he didn’t do anything wrong. The big scandal might be good for the other political party!
What do you think? Did I get the main idea?
June 30th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
[...] After you’re done reading something, or after you’ve studied for a while, something that helps a lot is summarizing. Summarizing means restating the important ideas you read in your own words. It helps you figure out what’s important and remember it. By putting something in your own words, you’ll remember better and understand more… Here’s a link to an article I wrote about it: http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/maria/2007/11/05/ged-test-reading-for-meaning/ [...]