About the ged writing exam 7

Chia sẻ: Sun Flower | Ngày: | Loại File: PDF | Số trang:6

Thêm vào BST

Báo xấu

65
lượt xem 6
download

Download Vui lòng tải xuống để xem tài liệu đầy đủ

Tham khảo tài liệu 'about the ged writing exam 7', ngoại ngữ, anh ngữ phổ thông phục vụ nhu cầu học tập, nghiên cứu và làm việc hiệu quả

Chủ đề:

Bình luận(0) Đăng nhập để gửi bình luận!

Lưu

Nội dung Text: About the ged writing exam 7

– ORGANIZATION – On this basic level of main idea → support, every- The following is a list of some of the most common thing in the passage or paragraph should support or chronological transitions: develop that main idea. When sentences or paragraphs ﬁrst, second, third, etc. before lose focus or stray from that controlling idea, the passage or paragraph loses its effectiveness. after next now Writers can use several different strategies for organ- then when as soon as izing their support. One of these strategies often serves as the overall organizing principle for the text, while indi- immediately suddenly soon vidual sections may use other techniques as well. For during while meanwhile example, imagine an essay comparing and contrasting two ﬁlm versions of Frankenstein. The support will be later in the meantime at last organized by comparison and contrast. But the writer eventually ﬁnally afterward may also use other organizational techniques within that comparison and contrast structure. For example, he or she may use order of importance when explaining what The third paragraph of the Batman text from page 30 makes one version better than the other. uses this organizational pattern. The transitions are The four most common organizational patterns are: underlined: 1. chronological order Kane’s Batman was a big success right from the 2. order of importance start. The masked hero soon moved from comic 3. comparison and contrast books to its own newspaper strip, and in 1943, Bat- 4. cause and effect man episodes were aired on the radio. In 1966, live- action Batman shows hit the TV screen. The series To answer many of the questions about organization was wildly popular, and the syndicated show still on the GED, you will need to be able to determine the airs today on channels like the Cartoon Network. writer’s purpose and to recognize organizational patterns on both the essay and paragraph levels. By identifying the Order of Importance organizational pattern, you can determine where to With this organizational pattern, ideas are arranged by insert sentences or paragraphs and whether any sen- rank instead of time. What’s most important comes ﬁrst tences or paragraphs are misplaced, such as a sentence or last, depending upon the writer’s purpose. that is out of chronological order. Organizing ideas from most important to least important puts the most essential information ﬁrst. Many writers do this when they are offering advice or Chronological Order When writers use time as their main organization prin- when they want to be sure readers get the most impor- ciple, it is called chronological order. They describe events tant information right away. Newspaper articles, for in the order in which they did happen, will happen, or example, generally use this structure. They begin with should happen. Much of what you read is organized in the most important information (the who, what, when, this way, including historical texts, instructions and pro- where, and why of the event) so readers don’t have to cedures, and essays about personal experiences. read the whole article to get those key facts. Details and Passages organized by chronology typically use a lot of background information come later in the article. transitional words and phrases to help us follow the pas- When writers move from least to most important, sage of time. The transitions help us see when things they save their most important idea or piece of infor- happened and in what order. They help us follow along mation for last. Writers often use this approach when when the passage shifts from one period of time to they are presenting an argument. That’s because this another. Transitional words and phrases keep events kind of structure is usually more convincing than the linked together in the proper order. (Transitions are cov- most-to-least organizational pattern. The more contro- ered in more detail on page 72.) versial the argument, the more important this structure. 70
– ORGANIZATION – Many writers “save the best for last” because that’s where Cause and Effect The fourth most common organizational pattern is “the best” often has the most impact. cause and effect. A cause is a person or thing that makes Transitions are very important for this organizational something happen (creates an effect). An effect is an pattern, too. Here’s a list of the most common transitions event or change created by an action (or cause). A pas- writers use with the order of importance structure. Most sage about cause explains why something took place. You of these work for both the most-to-least important and might ask, for example, “What caused the Cold War?” A least-to-most important formats: passage about effect, on the other hand, explains what ﬁrst and foremost most importantly happened after something took place. What happened as a result of the Cold War? more importantly moreover Just as certain key words indicate whether you are above all ﬁrst, second, third comparing or contrasting, other key words indicate whether things are causes or effects. Here is a partial list last but not least of words and phrases that indicate cause and effect: Comparison and Contrast WORDS INDICATING CAUSE When you show how two or more things are similar, you are making a comparison. When you show how two or because (of) created (by) more things are different, you are contrasting them. As an since caused (by) organizational technique, this pattern allows you to place two (or more) items side by side and see how they meas- WORDS INDICATING EFFECT ure up against each other. How are they similar or dif- therefore so ferent? And why does it matter? For example, a writer comparing and contrasting the 1931 and 1994 ﬁlm ver- hence consequently sions of Frankenstein might aim to show that the 1994 as a result version is far truer to the book because it portrays Victor Frankenstein as just as much of a monster as the creature he creates. E ffective Paragraphs Like other organizational patterns, a key to a good comparison and contrast is strong transitions. Here are Sentences are the building blocks of paragraphs, and some words and phrases that show similarity: paragraphs are the building blocks of essays. Effective organization in an essay depends upon unity within similarly in the same way likewise those paragraphs. like in a like manner just as In an essay, all paragraphs should work together to support one main idea. The same is true of a paragraph. and also both A paragraph is, by deﬁnition, a series of sentences about one main idea. If there’s more than one main idea, you The following words and phrases, on the other hand, should have more than one paragraph. show difference: A paragraph is one or more sentences about but on the other hand yet one main idea. Indicate a new paragraph by skipping a line or by indenting the first line. however on the contrary in contrast A topic sentence is a sentence that states the conversely while unlike main idea of a paragraph. 71
– ORGANIZATION – In an essay, the controlling idea is usually expressed in For example, notice how the following paragraph a thesis statement. On the paragraph level, this control- loses focus: ling idea is often expressed in a topic sentence. The topic sentence is commonly found at the beginning of the (1)Electronic mail (e-mail) is very convenient, paragraph, but it can also be at the end. Less frequently, but it should not be used for every business the topic sentence is found somewhere in the middle of occasion and must be carefully managed. (2)E- the paragraph or is simply implied. In the ﬁrst paragraph mail messages should be concise and limited to below, the topic sentence is at the beginning; in the sec- one topic. (3)The Subject line should clearly ond example, the topic sentence is at the end. state what the e-mail is about, and the ﬁrst sen- tence or two of the e-mail should clearly convey Many people are afraid of snakes, but most snakes the main point of the message. (4)It is impor- aren’t as dangerous as people think they are. tant to be concise in business. (5)It is also There are more than 2,500 different species of important to be very polite. (6)Say what you snakes around the world. Only a small percent- need to say as succinctly as possible. (7)When age of those species is poisonous, and only a few complex issues need to be addressed, phone species have venom strong enough to kill a calls are still best. human being. Furthermore, snakes bite only 1,000–2,000 people in the United States each Sentences 4, 5, and 6, while true, do not ﬁt the focus year, and only ten of those bites (that’s less than of this paragraph about e-mail. The paragraph would be 1%) result in death. Statistically, many other much stronger if these sentences were omitted. animals are far more dangerous than snakes. In fact, in this country, more people die from dog Transitions bites each year than from snakes. There are more than 2,500 different species of Transitions are the words and phrases used to move from snakes around the world. Only a small percent- one idea to the next. They help words ﬂow smoothly and age of those species is poisonous, and only a few show readers how ideas relate to one another. Transi- species have venom strong enough to kill a tional words and phrases connect ideas within sentences human being. Furthermore, snakes bite only and between sentences, within paragraphs and between 1,000–2,000 people in the United States each paragraphs. They are essential to good writing. Notice, year, and only ten of those bites (that’s less than for example, the difference between the two paragraphs 1%) result in death. Statistically, many other below. In the ﬁrst version, the transitions have been animals are far more dangerous than snakes. In omitted. In the second version, they are underlined. fact, in this country, more people die from dog bites each year than from snakes. So although Why do we punish those who commit crimes? many people are afraid of snakes, most snakes There are two main theories of punishment: ret- aren’t as dangerous as people think they are. ribution and deterrence. Retribution argues that people who commit crimes deserve to be pun- In addition to a logical order and controlling idea, ished and that the punishment should ﬁt the strong paragraphs also need focus. Is there a piece of the crime. It is an “eye for an eye” philosophy. passage that seems to digress? Would removing a sen- Deterrence theory posits that punishing offend- tence or paragraph improve the focus of the text? Would ers will help prevent future crimes. adding another sentence make it clear how a certain sen- tence relates to the main idea of the passage? Why do we punish those who commit crimes? There are two main theories of punishment: ret- ribution and deterrence. The ﬁrst, retribution, 72
– ORGANIZATION – argues that people who commit crimes deserve With the appropriate transitions, the second para- to be punished and that the punishment should graph reads much more smoothly and makes its ideas ﬁt the crime. In other words, it is an “eye for an more clear. eye” philosophy. Deterrence theory, on the other Certain transitions work best for speciﬁc functions. hand, posits that punishing offenders will help For example, for example is a great transition to use when prevent future crimes. introducing a speciﬁc example. Here’s a brief list of some of the most common transitional words and phrases: IF YOU WANT TO: USE THESE TRANSITIONAL WORDS AND PHRASES: introduce an example for example for instance that is in other words in particular speciﬁcally in fact ﬁrst (second) of all show addition and in addition also again moreover furthermore show emphasis indeed in fact certainly acknowledge another point of view although though granted despite even though show rank more importantly above all ﬁrst and foremost show cause and effect because therefore thus consequently since as a result show comparison likewise similarly like show contrast unlike however on the other hand whereas instead rather show the passage of time then next later during after before soon meanwhile while 73
CHAPTER 10 Writing an Effective Essay PART II of the GED Language Arts, Writing Test has only one ques- tion—an essay prompt. But this test is just as important as Part I, and you must pass the essay test to pass the writing exam. This chapter will teach you how to write an effective essay for the GED. You will learn six steps to take during an essay exam, including how to brain- storm and organize ideas and how to write with style. O n Part II of the GED Language Arts, Writing Test, you will be asked to write a short essay about a general topic, such as whether there is too much violence on television or what makes a good par- ent. You will have 45 minutes to demonstrate how effectively you can express your ideas in writing. A strong GED essay will have these ﬁve key elements: 1. Response to prompt (Does your essay present a well-developed main idea and a focus that responds to the assigned prompt?) 2. Organization (Have you presented your ideas and support in a logical order?) 3. Development and details (Have you explained your ideas?) 4. Conventions of EAE (Have you followed the conventions of Edited American English?) 5. Word choice (Is the word choice accurate, diverse, and appropriate?) As a general guide, you will need to write about four or ﬁve paragraphs to have a sufﬁciently developed essay. That includes an introductory paragraph that states your main idea, two or three paragraphs developing and sup- porting that main idea, and a brief concluding paragraph. Your essay should be approximately 250 to 300 words. 75