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ESSAY MINI-LESSON

ESSAY MINI-LESSON. Content Standards: Communication G4S1.a.1, G4S1.b.1-2. ESSAY MINI-LESSON.

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ESSAY MINI-LESSON

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  1. ESSAY MINI-LESSON Content Standards: Communication G4S1.a.1, G4S1.b.1-2

  2. ESSAY MINI-LESSON Students will learn what is required of them to pass the GED essay. They will learn how to plan and organize an essay and look over a sample essay. They will discuss different types of essays, and learn transitional words to use when writing an essay. They will also view the scoring guide that is used by the essay graders.

  3. FACTS ABOUT THE GED ESSAY: • THE GED ESSAY IS PART OF THE LANGUAGE ARTS WRITING TEST. PART 1 IS 50 MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS (75 MINUTES). PART 2 IS THE ESSAY (45 MINUTES). • If you complete the essay in less than 45 minutes, you will have extra time to complete the multiple choice section. • The essay is about an issue or a subject of general interest. The essay topic will require you to present your opinion or explain your views about the assigned topic. • You have 45 minutes to plan, write, and revise your essay. You will be given scratch paper on which you may jot notes, outline, and first draft. The answer booklet has 2 pages of lined paper on which you will write your final essay.

  4. FACTS ABOUT THE GED ESSAY: (cont’d) • Two trained readers will score your essay on the basis of the following features: well-focused main points, clear organization, specific development of your ideas, and control of sentence structure, punctuation, grammar, word choice, and spelling. • Each reader will score your essay on a 4-point scale, and the scores will be averaged to find your final score. If you earn a final score of less than 2 on the essay, you must retake both parts I and II of the Language Arts, Writing Test. Also, you must write only on the assigned topic; if you don’t, your essay will not receive a score. Remember, all writers make mistakes. But good writers take the time to go over what they have written and correct mistakes. Your writing will show your best skills if you take the time to plan what you want to say and review it to make any needed corrections.

  5. STEPS TO TAKE WHEN WRITING A GED ESSAY • Read the question carefully until you are sure that you know what the question asks. • Decide what your answer will be. • Use your scratch paper to jot down notes, ideas, a basic outline, or any other tools that might help you plan and organization and content of your essay. • Check your notes/ideas. Scratch out anything that is off topic. To be on topic, everything must answer, explain, or support your answer to the essay • Now organize your notes and ideas. Your essay should state your response and then explain why you answered the way you did. If you can, organize your writing into a five-paragraph plan.

  6. STEPS Cont’d. • Once you like the look of your plan, expand it into an actual essay. Expand it by using complete sentences and by adding complete explanations that include specific details and examples. Be sure that all the details and examples you provide in your essay are directly relevant to your response to the essay topic. In other words, stay on topic! • Once you have finished your essay, check for errors and make corrections by crossing out with a single line and writing the correction above the line.

  7. Check for the following: • Is the entire essay on topic? • Did you write in complete sentences? Every sentence should have a subject and verb. • Make sure your essay is about a page to two pages in length. Although there is not a mandatory length, too short or way to long is not a good thing. • Check for errors in spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and everything else you have studied in class.

  8. THE FIVE PARAGRAPH ESSAY • First paragraph (Introduction): This introductory paragraph must include your ANSWER to the question. It’s a great idea to include the essay topic/question in your answer. For example, if the essay question asks you if you prefer to live in the city or the country, you could start your essay by writing the following: If I had to choose between living in the city or the country, I would choose the country………..Now add three supporting ideas. Again, just list them briefly. This paragraph does not have to be too lengthy. Three to four sentences would be fine. • Second paragraph (body): This paragraph is all about the first supporting detail that you mentioned in paragraph one. It should be, at least 4-5 sentences in length.

  9. THE FIVE PARAGRAPH ESSAY (cont’d) • Third paragraph (body): This paragraph is all about the second supporting detail that you mentioned in paragraph one. Again, it should be, at least, 4-5 sentences in length. • Fourth paragraph (body): This paragraph is all about the third supporting detail that you mentioned in paragraph one. Try to write 4-5 sentences. • Fifth paragraph (conclusion): Your concluding paragraph will be very similar to your introductory paragraph. Include your answer to the question and your 3 supporting ideas. This paragraph can be very short.

  10. ESSAY EXAMPLE Looking for an easy way to figure out the structure of an effective essay? Take a look at this. Essay Topic: Tell about a hobby that you have and why it is important to you. Use your personal observations, experience, and knowledge to support your essay.

  11. DIFFERENT TYPES OF ESSAY QUESTIONS AND HOW TO ANSWER THEM • WHY: explain with 3 reasons • HOW: explain 3 ways how something can be done • WHY and HOW: Make sure you include both reasons why and ways it can be done. You may want to just include 2 longer paragraphs in the body of this essay. That would make this one a 4 paragraph essay (introduction, why paragraph, how paragraph, conclusion).

  12. COMPARE AND CONTRAST: You are comparing and contrasting two things. Again, this is better to answer in 4 paragraphs (introduction, paragraph explaining the similarities, paragraph explaining the differences, conclusion). • CAUSES: Explain three things that might cause something to happen. • EFFECT: Explain three results of something that has happened. • LIST AND GIVE EXAMPLES: Provide three items in your explanation. Then in the body of the essay list again the three items, and give several examples of each of these items.

  13. TRANSITIONS • Transitions are signals that help readers follow the direction of the writer’s thoughts. They are like signposts on the road that guide travelers. Here are examples of some common transitional words or phrases, grouped according to the kid of signal they give to the readers. • ADDITION SIGNALS: first of all, for one thing, second, the third reason, also, next, another, and, in addition, moreover, furthermore, finally, last of all • TIME SIGNALS: first, then, next, after, as before, while, meanwhile, now, during, finally • SPACE SIGNALS: next to, across, on the opposite side, to the left, to the right, in front, in back, above, below, behind, nearby

  14. TRANSITIONS (Cont’d) • CHANGE OF DIRECTION SIGNALS: but, however, yet, in contrast, otherwise, still, on the contrary, on the other hand • ILLUSTRATION SIGNALS: for example, for instance, specifically, as an illustration, once, such as • CONCLUSION SIGNALS: therefore, consequently, thus, then, as a result, in summary, to conclude, last of all, finally

  15. Scoring guide

  16. ADDITIONAL ESSAY TOPICS IN CLASSROOM BOOKS • G-6: pages 305-306, H-1 pages 363-364, H-2 page 123

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