The GED, or General Educational Development test, is a standardized exam that kids can take when they don't want to or can't get a high school diploma. It helps them get better jobs or go on to higher education. One of the most important and difficult parts of the GED is the essay. Here are steps you can take to successfully tutor your students in this area.
Instructions
1. Assign GED students lots of reading. Give them articles from university journals and essays in books from great writers. Have them outline the essay so they can see how the author develops his argument.
2. Explain what a thesis statement is to your students. They need to understand that every essay they write has to have a central idea and their argument, story or discussion centers around it.
3. Tutor students on organizing their thoughts. Because they'll be under pressure, creating an organized outline before they begin will make the writing go faster. Teach them the five-paragraph structure, which will help them focus the ideas they discuss in their essay.
4. Talk to them about writing introductions and conclusions. It's often difficult for students to begin and end their essays, so giving them strategies on easing into their discussions and ending with a sense of closure will allow them to concentrate more on the body of the essay.
5. Find examples of essays written in different tones. Make sure they understand that slang, jargon and sentence fragments aren't appropriate for the GED essay.
6. Review grammar rules only after your students learn create a thesis statement, organize their ideas, open and close their essays and use the appropriate tone. Students tend to get hung up on grammar issues, but teach them that expressing their ideas clearly comes first.
7. Give your students lots of controversial topics to write about. Guide them on researching these topics. They won't have the chance to do this during the exam, but it expands their knowledge and will help them if they get one of these topics.
8. Give your students practice tests from the GED Essay Topics site (see Resources). Spend tutoring sessions simulating the exam by limiting the student's time.
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