This scoring guide is given for your convenience. Testing sites, the
state office and the national GED Testing Service will NOT
explain to examinees where “they went wrong” if
examinees desire information about their essays. Time and costs
would make it impossible to provide this service without substantially
increasing testing costs to you, the examinee.
For writing the essays, please consider using the five-paragraph method.
Briefly stated, open with an introductory paragraph; build on concepts
in paragraphs 2, 3, and 4; and summarize and wrap up in the last paragraph.
Please note that there is NO QUICK FIX to poor grammar skills
or poor writing protocol. You have to PRACTICE writing the right way.
Check with your local Adult Education program for training.
EAE mentioned below means “Edited American
English.” That is the common sense “rule book”
by which grammar is scored.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
| Inadequate |
Marginal |
Adequate |
Effective |
| Reader has difficulty identifying or following the
writer’s ideas. |
Reader occasionally has difficulty understanding or
following the writer’s ideas. |
Reader understands writer’s ideas. |
Reader understands and easily follows the writer’s
expression of ideas. |
Response to the Prompt
|
Attempts to address prompt but with little or no success in establishing
a focus. |
Addresses the prompt, though the focus may shift. |
Uses the writing prompt to establish a main idea.
|
Presents a clearly focused main idea that addresses the prompt.
|
Organization
|
Fails to organize ideas. |
Shows some evidence of an organizational plan. |
Uses an identifiable organizational plan. |
Establishes a clear and logical organization. |
Development and Details
|
Demonstrates little or no development; usually lacks details or
examples or presents irrelevant information. |
Has some development but lacks specific details; may be limited
to a listing, repetitions, or generalizations.
|
Has focused but occasionally uneven development; incorporates some
specific detail. |
Achieves coherent development with specific and relevant details
and examples. |
Conventions of EAE
|
May exhibit minimal or no control of sentence structure and the
conventions of EAE |
May demonstrate inconsistent control of sentence structure and the
conventions of EAE.
|
Generally controls sentence structure and the conventions of EAE. |
Consistently controls sentence structure and the conventions of
Edited American English (EAE). |
| Word Choice |
Exhibits weak and/or inappropriate words. |
Exhibits a narrow range of word choice, often including inappropriate
selections. |
Exhibits appropriate word choice. |
Exhibits varied and precise word choice. |
