How to Write a Fully Supported Response—Video 6 of How to Pass the GED Extended Response

Hey, GED test-takers, I'm Alice.

I passed the GED Reasoning
Through Language Arts test,

and I'd like to help you pass too.

I studied with the "Writing
for the GED Test" series

from New Readers Press.

Practicing with these books
boosted my confidence

and helped me
to write a great extended response.

In the last video, we talked about
writing the supporting paragraphs

and the conclusion to your response.

How do you know
when your response is finished?

What should an extended response
look like?

How do you know your response
is fully supported?

How much should you write?

I'll use the answer guidelines

provided by the GED Testing Service

to help answer these questions.

What should an extended response
look like?

Your response is your answer
to the extended-response prompt.

The prompt
asks you to analyze both positions

to determine which one
is best supported

and use relevant and specific evidence
from the articles

to support your response.

To completely answer the prompt,

your response
should be a fully-supported argument.

It should contain four
to seven paragraphs

and be about three hundred
to five hundred words.

What does that mean?

In general,
your paragraphs should each contain

three to seven sentences,
or about seventy-five to eighty words.

If you write an introductory paragraph,
three body paragraphs,

and a concluding paragraph,
your essay should easily add up

to about three hundred
to five hundred words.

A very short response
may not demonstrate

enough of your writing skills
to earn any points.

How do you know your response
is fully supported?

The best way is to organize
and plan your essay

following this structure:

introduction: one paragraph,

body: two to five paragraphs,

and conclusion: one paragraph.

Each paragraph needs
its own topic sentence, or "main idea."

Then, use the rest of the paragraph
to fully explain this idea.

Connect your ideas
with logical transitions

in order to build
a convincing argument.

Express your ideas clearly
so that the reader

will understand your argument
and your reasoning.

Reread each paragraph
to make sure you have made your point.

Relevant and specific evidence
includes details

that directly relate
to the point you are making.

Be sure to use the evidence in a way

that strengthens your argument.

As you write, keep this in mind:

Analyzing
is not the same as summarizing

or restating the author's argument.

You need to use your own words
to explain

how the authors try to prove
that their ideas are correct.

You have a total of 45 minutes
to write your extended response,

but if you spend 15 minutes reading
and analyzing the passages

and save 5 minutes at the end
to proofread and revise,

that leaves you about 25 minutes
to plan and write.

This is not a lot of time, so it
will help if you have a good plan.

Move quickly and follow your plan.

Because you
have a limited amount of time to write,

your essay is being scored
as if it is a draft.

It is not expected to be perfect,

but it is important
to clearly state your claim

and write a draft that is
well-organized, logical, and focused.

Here's a tip to improve your score:

Use transition words and phrases
to connect ideas

and to link one idea to the next.

Some common transitions include,
"for example,"

"such as," "because,"

"so," "therefore,"

"most important," "first,"

"second," "mainly,"

"and," "also,"

"in addition," "but still,"

"on the other hand," "in contrast,"

"rather."

For more practice writing
an extended response,

buy "Writing
for the GED Test" books 3 and 4

from New Readers Press.

Now that we've reviewed the process
for planning and writing

your extended response,
in the next video,

I will talk about checking
and revising your writing.