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.