GED Writing Test

Test-Taking Strategies

What the Test Will Be Like

Part I: 75 minutes; 50 questions
No penalty for guessing
Multiple-choice questions with five answer
choices
Knowledge of organization, sentence
structure, standard usage, and mechanics
Short passages (200300 words)
Business, instructional, and informational
documents

Types of Documents
Business documents
Letters, memos, meeting notes, reports,
executive summaries, applications

Instructional documents
How to secure a job, how to write a
rsum, how to lease a car

Informational documents
Position papers, critical evaluations,
support papers

Common Errors
Sentence structure:
Complete sentences
Because it was a holiday.
Because it was a holiday, we had the day off
from school.

Run-ons and comma splices

He left early, we met him at the train.
He left early, so we met him at the train.

Common Errors

(Continued)

Sentence structure :
Wordy and repetitive sentences

I went to the grocery store to buy some milk,

and I went to the grocery store to buy some
eggs.

I went to the grocery store to buy some milk

and eggs.

Coordination or subordination

Computers are easy to use, so people are afraid

of them.
Computers are easy to use, yet people are afraid
of them.

Common Errors

(Continued)

Sentence structure :
Modification

Sitting in front of the television, her eyes

became glassy.
As she sat in front of the television, her eyes
became glassy.

Parallel structure

The report is intended to inform, amuse, and

being instructional.
The report is intended to inform, amuse, and
instruct.

Common Errors

(Continued)

Usage :
Subject-verb agreement

Jim and Raoul was at the meeting today.

Jim and Raoul were at the meeting today.

Verb tense or form

Tomorrow, the fun was just getting started.

Tomorrow, the fun will be just getting started.

Pronoun-antecedent agreement

Everyone should bring their drivers license.

Everyone should bring his or her drivers
license.

Common Errors

(Continued)

Mechanics :
Capitalization

I just flew in from england.

I just flew in from England.

Comma usage

Abby my dog loves to play fetch.

Abby, my dog, loves to play fetch.

Spelling (homonyms, possessives, contractions)

They took theyre film to the photo shop.
They took their film to the photo shop.

Common Errors

(Continued)

Organization :
Text division
Many products containing seaweed are used by
people every daytoothpaste, shaving cream, ice
cream, and salad dressing. People are often surprised
to learn just how prevalent seaweed is as an additive in
in
foods
foods
and
and
skin-care
skin-care
products.
products.
Although there is a big
market
for seaweed,
United States
Although
there is a companies
big market in
forthe
seaweed,
have not been
producing
it. However,
a recent
companies
in the
United States
have not
been discovery
called cell culturing
may
make seaweed
farming
producing
it. However,
a recent
discovery
called cell
profitable.
Scientists
at
several
U.S.
companies
culturing may make seaweed farming profitable.are
learning how
to use this
to grow
profits. how
Scientists
at several
U.S.process
companies
are learning
to use this process to grow profits.

Common Errors

(Continued)

Organization :
Topic sentence
Though having a roommate can save you money, this
kind of living situation is not completely problem free.
For example, a roommate, like a brother or a sister, is
likely to borrow your clothes without asking. What
happens if it turns out that your roommate does not
care to clean up after himself or herself? In addition,
figuring out who pays what bills and when can be a
major source of disagreement. There are bound to be
many difficult issues that will arise no matter how
compatible two people are.

Common Errors

(Continued)

Organization :
Unity or coherence
Id like to apply for a job at SafeCorp Investments. I
read that you have some openings in your customer
service department, and the positions sound interesting
to me. I am currently employed at WorldBank, and I
would welcome a change. Staying in one lousy place for
a long time can really start bugging me, know what I
mean? I would be appreciative if you would call me for
an interview. Thank you for your help in this matter.

Question Types
Sentence correction :
Sentence 1: Mr. Anderson, why does all the files need to be
printed now?
What correction should be made to sentence 1?
(1) remove the comma after Anderson
change does to do
(2)
(3) insert a comma after files
(4) change need to needed
(5) no correction is necessary

Answer choice (2) is correct. The verb does does not

agree with the subject, files, in this question.

Question Types

(Continued)

Sentence revision :
Sentence 2: Several improvements have been made to our
office, its a more pleasant place to work.
Which is the best way to write the underlined portion of the text? If
the original is the best way, choose option (1).
(1) our office, its a
(2) our office its a
(3) our office, but its a
(4) our office, in fact its a
(5) our office, so its a

Answer choice (5) is correct. The conjunction so corrects

the comma splice and makes sense in the sentence.

THE END