Writing an Effective Essay For The GED

In this guide, you'll learn how to recognize the parts of an effective essay. You'll also learn how to use the basic steps of the writing process to plan and draft an effective essay in response to a given prompt.
About the GED® Test EXended Response Question
The GED® Reasoning through Language Arts test features one EXended response item that requires you to write a short essay in response to a reading passage or pair of passages. These reading passages are between 550 and 650 words, and will focus on presenting arguments or viewpoints along with supporting evidence. Your job will be to analyze these arguments and evidence, incorporating your own knowledge and views while still focusing mainly on the author and his or her intent. Your EXended response should always include evidence presented within the passage itself as the main basis for your arguments. You should also analyze or evaluate the validity of the evidence presented in the passage. Note that this test item is not about choosing the 'right' or 'wrong' side of an issue. It is intended to test your ability to understand, analyze, and evaluate arguments.

Analyzing the Prompt
The prompt is the text that appears after the reading passage(s) and explains what your EXended response should cover. While it may not seem significant, the prompt is your key to figuring out the main idea for your EXended response. The prompt will tell you exactly what you should write about. For example, take a look at this prompt:
In your response, develop an argument about how the author's position reflects the idea of 'the common good' in American society.
Even without reading the passage(s), you already know the topic of your response: 'the common good' in American society, and how it is reflected in the reading passage. It will still be up to you to analyze the author's arguments, reasoning, and evidence and relate those to the topic mentioned in the prompt.
It is important to analyze the prompt prior to thinking in detail about your response. If, for example, the reading passage(s) that accompanied the sample prompt focused mainly on Social Security, you might think that the response should also focus mainly on Social Security. However, Social Security is not mentioned in the prompt. This is because you are being asked to place the author's position on Social Security into a larger contEX, covering the broad topic of 'the common good' in American society. Remember that your EXended response will not be about summarizing the reading passage(s); it will be about analyzing the information and details presented in the passage(s) to reach your own conclusions.

What's in an Essay

An essay is a short piece of nonfiction writing that presents the writer's point of view on a particular subject. Remember, short is a relative term; in this case, it basically means shorter than a book. An essay can actually be as short as a paragraph or two, or as long as 50 pages. On the GED® test, you'll want to shoot for a four or five paragraph essay.
Every essay has three main parts: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion, also known as a beginning, middle, and end.

In a five-paragraph essay, the first paragraph is the introduction, the last paragraph is the conclusion, and the three paragraphs in the middle are the body.

The Introduction
The introduction is the first paragraph in an essay. In a five-paragraph essay such as the one you'll be writing for the GED® test, the introduction is usually about three or four sentences long. It has three main purposes:
- state the main idea of the essay
- catch the reader's attention
- set the tone for the rest of the essay

Stating the Main Idea
A main idea is the main thing the writer wants the reader to know. The main idea of a paragraph is stated in the topic sentence, and the topic sentence is often the first sentence of the paragraph. Like a paragraph, an essay has a main idea. It is stated in a single sentence called the thesis statement, which is generally the last sentence of the introduction.
On the GED® test, your thesis statement should be a clear, concise answer to the prompt. For example, a possible thesis sentence for a sample prompt asking what you would choose if you could relive one day of your life might be as follows:
If I could do one thing in my life again, I would relive my wedding day.
This is a good thesis statement because it clearly answers the question in the prompt. It also presents the main idea of the essay without trying to tell the reader too much at once.

Catching the Reader's Attention
In addition to containing the thesis statement, a good introduction starts off with a couple of sentences that catch the reader's attention. Obviously, the content of these sentences will vary widely depending on your thesis statement. A possible introduction based on the sample thesis statement provided might look something like this:
What if you could live one day of your life over again? Some people might choose to relive a day in order to change something about their lives. Others might simply want a second chance to enjoy a great experience. If I could do one thing in my life again, I would relive my wedding day. A. you can see, the three sentences at the beginning of the paragraph lead into the thesis statement in a relatively engaging way. It might not be Harry Potter, but it's definitely better than the following approach:
This is my paper about the thing I would like to do over again in my life. I would like to live my wedding day over again.

The people who grade GED® test EXended responses read dozens, perhaps even hundreds of essays written from the same prompt. An essay with a clear, creative introduction will almost certainly earn a higher score than an introduction that merely states what the essay is supposed to be about.

Setting the Tone for the Essay
Finally, a good introduction sets the tone for the rest of the essay. Tone refers to the attitude the writer takes toward the subject and the reader. For example, your tone might be formal, informal, humorous, ironic, aggressive, or apologetic. The tone you choose depends to some EXent on your purpose for writing. For example, if your purpose is to amuse the reader, your tone will be humorous.
On the GED® test, it is a good idea to use a formal tone. That means using standard English vocabulary and grammar, rather than casual slang such as you might use with a friend. You should strive to use complete sentences with correct grammar and punctuation, and to keep contractions (words like can't, don't, and won't) to a minimum. Using a formal tone in your writing shows respect for your readers while proving that you are able to write correctly.
To better understand the difference between formal and informal tone, take a look at the following examples.\

The first example is written using an informal tone. The second uses a formal tone. In both examples the thesis statement is bold so that you can easily locate it.

Example 1: You know, living your life over again would be like a dream. I guess some people would want to go back and try to change something they messed up the first time, and some people would probably just want to relive a day when they did something really cool. I would totally do my wedding day again.

Example 2: What if you could live one day of your life over again? Some people might choose to relive a day in order to change something about their lives. Others might simply want a second chance to enjoy a great experience. If I could do one thing in my life again, I would relive my wedding day.

While the first example may be a more accurate representation of how people speak, it is not an acceptable way to write an academic essay. The second example uses a tone that is appropriate to academic writing. You will be expected to write using a similar tone on the GED® test.
Notice that in both introductions the thesis statement is the last sentence of the paragraph. You should strive to structure your introductions in the same way. Just as business people generally chat for a few minutes before getting down to business, a good writer strives to get the reader's attention before stating the essay's main idea.
Now you try it. Using the space below, draft and write an introduction only in response to the following prompt:
What is your favorite thing? Whether it is a gift you were given during your childhood or something you saved up for years for and bought, you probably have something that is special to you. Write about this special object and why it is important to you.

Introduction:

The Body
The body is the part of the essay where you develop and defend your argument. Like the essay itself, the body can range from a single paragraph to many pages in length. For the purposes of the GED® test, however, the body of your essay should be two or three paragraphs long.
You have learned that each paragraph must have a topic sentence stating the main idea of the paragraph. As previously mentioned, it's a good idea to make the topic sentence the first sentence of the paragraph so that your reader knows right away what the paragraph is going to be about.

The following paragraph is an example of a body paragraph that might follow the sample introduction on reliving one's wedding day:
Reliving my wedding day would give me the opportunity to see my family together again. It was the only day of my life when my mom's and my dad's families came together to celebrate in one place. Furthermore, my wedding day was the last time I saw my grandfather because he passed away a few weeks later.
The first sentence is the topic sentence and states the main idea of the paragraph—that reliving the wedding day would allow the writer to see his or her family together again. The other sentences support the main idea by providing examples of how the family was united that day. As a whole, the paragraph develops the main idea of the essay, which is that the writer would like to experience his or her wedding day again.

Practice: Using the space provided, write a thesis and body paragraph that explores the following prompt.
What is your favorite thing? Whether it is a gift you were given during your childhood or something you saved up for years for and bought, you probably have something that is special to you. Write about this special object and why it is important to you.

Your thesis:

Body paragraph:
The Conclusion
The conclusion is the final paragraph of the essay. A good conclusion should accomplish the following things:
1. restate the main idea
2. give the reader a sense of closure
Restating the Main Idea
The purpose of restating the main idea in the conclusion is twofold; first, it reminds the reader of the most important thing you want him or her to remember. Second, it gives the essay a more unified feeling.
Restating the main idea, however, doesn't necessarily mean writing the exact same thing or simply switching the words around. You can be more creative this time around, including adding some EXra information or restating your ideas in a new and interesting way. Here's one way to restate the thesis statement we've been working with throughout this guide:

Original thesis:
Restated:
Though I will never have the chance, I would love to be able to experience my wedding day again.
In this example, the main idea is given in both sentences, but in the second one it includes something more: the idea that reliving any moment of one's life is impossible. It adds a sense of regret to the essay that can leave the reader feeling pleasantly wistful.
Now it's your turn to write. Using the following lines, rewrite the thesis statement you wrote in the previous example as it would appear in the conclusion of your essay.

Restated thesis:
Giving the Reader a Sense of Closure
To give readers a sense of closure means to make them feel satisfied with how the essay ends. It's difficult to say specifically what to do so that people come away with this feeling. It's fairly easy, however, to say what not to do. To ensure that readers feel a sense of closure at the end of your essay, - don't introduce completely new ideas.
- don't only refer to narrow, specific examples.
- don't end your essay with a question. A. example of an effective conclusion for the topic of reliving some moment of your life would be:

Beautiful weather, a fairytale setting, my happy family; for one day of my life, everything was perfect. Although I know I will never have the chance, I would love to experience my wedding day again.

As you can see, the conclusion doesn't have to be long and involved. It just needs to be a long enough to tie the essay together and leave the reader feeling satisfied. Although conclusions can be difficult to write well, it becomes easier with practice.
Using the following space, write a conclusion for the essay you've been working on in the previous examples. Include the restated thesis you wrote in the last exercise.

Conclusion:
How to Write a Powerful Essay

An effective essay is one that clearly and completely accomplishes its purpose. There are many possible purposes for an essay: to inform, to persuade, to entertain, to compare, to prove, or to disprove. The purpose of your essay on the GED® test will most likely be either to inform the reader regarding your opinion of an issue or to persuade the reader to agree with your point of view on an issue.

Planning
Writing an effective essay requires planning, something that new writers are often reluctant to do. Why? Many students are impatient and just want to get the job over with. Others worry that taking the time to plan out their essay will cause them to run out of time to write.
However, planning what you are going to write beforehand should make the writing process much smoother and easier. It will also help you come up with ideas for what to write, organize your ideas effectively, and express your ideas clearly once you start writing. Most of the writing you did in the last section of this guide was much like planning; in this section, you will learn how to plan more.

There are three main steps to successfully planning an essay:
1. come up with a thesis statement
2. brainstorm ideas related to your thesis statement
3. organize your ideas into an outline
The following subsections describe each step in detail.

Coming Up with a Thesis Statement
Many students find it difficult to come up with an effective thesis statement. Often, writing a thesis statement for the GED® test is as simple as answering a question about yourself, a question that may appear in the prompt. Then all you have to do is answer it. For example:
The question here is What is your favorite thing? Your thesis statement should answer that question in a complete sentence.
Sometimes, the prompt provided is in the form of a statement. In this case, there will be a sentence that gives you instructions to tell, describe, or explain something. Simply take the sentence that instructs you to do something and turn it into a question. For example:
Many people believe that humans' spirits remain on earth after they die, in the form of ghosts. Explain why you do or do not believe that ghosts exist.
Notice that the second sentence of the prompt gives you instructions: Explain why. Drop the word explain and turn the statement into a question: Do you or do you not believe that ghosts exist? Again, your thesis statement should answer that question. Let's practice what you've learned so far. Write a thesis statement in response to the following prompt:
Embarrassing moments often remain clear in our memories, despite the fact that we would like to forget them. Tell about one of your most embarrassing experiences.

Thesis statement:
Brainstorming Your Ideas
Brainstorm is simply another way of saying write down anything you can think of as fast as you possibly can. The purpose of brainstorming is to help you get all your ideas down on paper so that you can figure out how to organize them later.
So let's say you've come up with the following thesis statement: If I could do one thing in my life again, I would relive my wedding day. To brainstorm ideas related to this thesis, you would take out a blank sheet of paper, write your thesis at the top, and then spend about three or four minutes writing down whatever related thoughts come to you, in no particular order.

Here is a sample brainstorm on this thesis statement:
- flowers
- beautiful day
- perfect temperature
- no rain
- family together
- husband handsome
- felt like a princess
- beautiful hair
- grandmother's dress
- mom and dad happy
- mom's family and dad's family
- no fighting
- laughter
- great music

At this point, the brainstorm doesn't look anything like an essay; it just looks like a bunch of ideas. The next thing to do is to sort through the mess by going over each thing you wrote down, circling related ideas, and connecting them by drawing a line between them.
This leaves you with a brainstorm that looks like this:




The largest groups in the brainstorm should tell you what the main ideas will be for the body of your essay. In this brainstorm, there are three ideas related to the weather (beautiful day, perfect temperature, no rain), three related to the bride's appearance (felt like a princess, beautiful hair, grandmother's dress), and five ideas related to the family (family together, mom and dad happy, mom's family and dad's family, no fighting, and laughter). That means the two body paragraphs in the essay should have to do with weather, her appearance, and the family.
Now it's your turn to brainstorm. Using the space provided, brainstorm about your favorite object and why it's important to you.


Organizing Your Ideas
The next step in the planning process is to organize your ideas into an essay outline. An outline is basically a list of the major elements in your essay: introduction (ending with the thesis statement), topic sentences, support, and conclusion, in the order in which you plan to write them.

Here's a sample outline structure. To create an outline for an essay, all you need to do is fill in the blanks.
Introduction:
Thesis Statement:
Body Paragraph #1—Topic Sentence:
Support #1:
Support #2:
Support #3:
Body Paragraph #2—Topic Sentence:
Support #1:
Body Paragraph #3—Topic Sentence:
Conclusion:

You should have already written a thesis statement when you started planning, so that part's done. The next thing to do is to write the main ideas for your body paragraphs as topic sentences. Remember, a topic sentence is a complete sentence that states the main idea of the paragraph.
In the example we've been using, the main ideas focus on weather and family. To turn these ideas into topic sentences, you need to answer the question, What about them? What about the weather? Was it terrible? Was it boring? No, according to the notes in the brainstorm, the weather on the writer's wedding day was perfect. So a topic sentence on that main idea could simply state, The weather was perfect on my wedding day. It could also be more creative, On my wedding day the weather was more beautiful than I would have ever imagined.

Let's say the writer has come up with the following three topic sentences:
Topic sentence #1: The weather was perfect on my wedding day.
Topic sentence #2: I felt like a princess on my wedding day.
Topic sentence #3: The best thing about my wedding day was seeing my family together.

These three sentences should be added to the outline. The order they go in depends on the writer's purpose, but on the GED® test, it's a good idea to go with order of importance. Therefore, whichever idea is least important should come first, followed by the next important, and finally the most important.
The next step is filling in the support. Supporting sentences provide examples and help to explain the main idea. Flip back to the brainstorm for a minute and take a look at all the ideas that are related to weather. Some of those ideas can be used as support.

Body Paragraph #1—Topic Sentence: The weather was perfect on my wedding day.
Support #1: perfect temperature
Support #2: no rain
You don't have to have exactly three supporting sentences for each topic sentence; you can write more or fewer as the situation requires. It's a good idea, however, to shoot for at least two. If you have fewer than two supporting sentences, there's a good chance that you haven't fully explored the main idea.
Like topic sentences, supporting sentences should be organized. You can put them in order from least to most important, chronological order, or ordered by cause and effect.
Also note that for the purposes of an outline, it's not necessary to write out the support in complete sentences. You will expand the notes into complete sentences during the writing process.

Save time during the planning process by writing short phrases, rather than complete sentences, for your essay support. You'll have time to flesh things out when you start writing.
The final step in writing the outline is to draft your conclusion. Remember, a good conclusion should restate the thesis statement and give the reader a sense of closure.

Essay Outline
A complete essay outline will look something like this:

Introduction: What if you could live one day of your life over again? Some people might choose to relive a day to change something about their lives. Others might simply want a second chance to enjoy a great experience.
Thesis statement: As for me, if I could do one thing in my life again, I would relive my wedding day.
Body Paragraph #1 (Topic Sentence): The weather was perfect on my wedding day.
Body Paragraph #2 (Topic Sentence): I felt like a princess that day.
Support #1: beautiful hair
Support #2: holding flowers
Support #3: wearing my grandmother's dress
Body Paragraph #3 (Topic Sentence): The best thing about my wedding day was seeing my family happy together.
Support #1: mom's and dad's family there
Support #2: no fighting
Support #3: everyone laughing

Conclusion: Beautiful weather, a fairytale setting, my happy family; for one day of my life, everything was perfect. Though I know I will never have the chance, I would love to experience my wedding day again.
That's it for planning. Now you know what your essay is going to be about, what the topic sentences of your body paragraphs are going to be, and what support you're going to use to back them up. You're now ready to move on to the next step: writing the essay.
Using the following outline form as a guide, create an outline for the essay topic you've been working on about your favorite object.

Body Paragraph #3—Topic Sentence:

Writing
Once you've thoroughly planned your essay, writing it should be a relatively simple process of expanding on what you've already written in your outline. As mentioned in previous sections, you'll want to begin your introduction with a few sentences to catch the reader's attention and lead into the thesis statement. Each body paragraph will start with the topic sentence you've already written and continue with the support you've noted to explain and develop the main idea. Finally, the conclusion will bring the essay to an end, restating the thesis and giving the reader a sense of closure.

A sample essay based on the outline in the previous section might look like this:
What if you could live one day of your life over again? Some people might choose to relive a day to change something about their lives. Others might simply want a second chance to enjoy a great experience. As for me, if I could do one thing in my life again, I would relive my wedding day.
The weather was perfect on my wedding day. Although it was supposed to rain that day, it didn't. The sun was shining, and the temperature was perfect. I could tell from the start that it was going to be a great day.
I felt like a princess that day. My hair was styled beautifully. As I walked down the aisle, I carried a bouquet of daisies, just as I had always imagined princesses doing as a little girl. I was even wearing my grandmother's wedding dress, which had a long, old-fashioned train, just as I imagine royalty must wear.
The best thing about my wedding day was seeing my family happy together. My parents are divorced, but both my mom and my dad's families came to the wedding. For the first time in my life, they didn't fight. They were all laughing together and having a good time.
Beautiful weather, a fairytale setting, my happy family; for one day of my life, everything was perfect. Though I know I will never have the chance, I would love to experience my wedding day again.

Practice: Write an essay on your favorite object, using all the tools and strategies covered thus far. The prompt is reprinted below for your convenience.
What is your favorite thing? Whether it is a gift you were given during your childhood or something you saved up for years for and bought, you probably have something that is special to you. Write about this special object and why it is important to you.

Revising an Essay

Good planning can save you a lot of time, both in writing and in revising your essay. Ideally, you should not have to make any major revisions like adding sentences or moving paragraphs around. However, it is a good idea to take the last few minutes before your time is up to read over your essay and check for proper grammar, punctuation, and word choice. Here are a few things to look out for:
- Capitalization. Make sure the first word of every sentence and all proper nouns are capitalized.
- Punctuation. Make sure you've ended each sentence with a period or a question mark, as appropriate. Also check to see that you haven't thrown in any unnecessary punctuation, like commas or apostrophes.
- Spelling. Double-check homonyms like to/too, its/it's, your/you're, and there/their/they're. It's easy to make mistakes with them when you're in a hurry.
- Repetition. If you see a word, a phrase, or an idea that has been repeated, draw a single line through the second usage.
- Unrelated information. If you come across a sentence that has nothing to do with the rest of your essay, draw a line through it.
- Clarity. If something in your essay doesn't make sense to you, it probably won't make sense to anyone else, either. Take a moment to figure out what you were trying to say and rewrite it.
If you've spent enough time in the planning phase and followed your outline well, you should need no more than five minutes to complete your revisions. When time is up, you should feel confident that you are handing in a complete and well-written essay.

How Your Essay Is Scored
The EXended response essay on the GED® Reasoning through Language Arts test is scored in three different categories. In each category, you can receive up to 2 points, for a total of 6 points maximum. This score is then doubled and included in your overall point score for the test.
The categories in which your EXended response will be scored are:
- creation of arguments and use of evidence
- development of ideas and organizational structure
- clarity and command of standard English conventions

Essentially, the first category focuses on the ideas you present in your essay. The second category focuses on the way in which you present those ideas. The third category focuses on your ability to express those ideas in writing by following rules of spelling, grammar, and basic mechanics and conventions of the language.

Creation of Arguments and Use of Evidence
In this category, you will be evaluated on several different aspects related to the ideas you present. First, the ideas should be relevant to the EXended response prompt. You may have a beautifully crafted argument, but if it does not focus on the topic mentioned in the prompt, you will not receive a top score.
Second, your argument or position must be supported by information from the source tEX(s). Use the information and details from the reading passage(s) to support your claims. However, do not include overly long quotes taken directly from the reading passage(s), since this will look like you are trying to fill space or simply copy what was already stated. Also, make sure that the specific details you cite are relevant to the argument you are making. If you include irrelevant details that do not support your argument, you may receive a lower score.
Third, your EXended response essay should evaluate the claims or positions made in the reading passage(s). In other words, you should indicate in your response the validity of the authors' positions by determining whether their arguments are sound or flawed, and provide reasons and evidence to back up your evaluation. Simply stating 'the author's reasoning was valid' will not be enough to achieve a top score.

Development of Ideas and Organizational Structure
For this category, the most important element is how your ideas are structured and presented. This means that your essay should flow logically when presenting the steps of an argument; do not jump around in an attempt to cram in as many different ideas as you can think of. The best essays will feature several ideas taken from the main reading passage(s), but those ideas will be expanded and elaborated on in ways that reflect the central idea of your essay. The ideas should also be arranged in a logical progression that builds toward the broadest or most significant points at the end.
Your essay will also be evaluated on its organizational structure. Be sure that each paragraph focuses on a single central idea. Also, be sure to use transitions appropriately when moving from one idea or argument to another. Simply listing facts or arguments in a series is not representative of a high-scoring essay.
Another important element in this category is your use of style appropriate to the audience and purpose of the essay. In general, your EXended response essay should be written in a formal style with a tone that avoids bias. Note that bias is different from a well-supported argument. Bias includes the use of emotionally charged words; for example, an essay that refers to unemployed people as 'loafers' exhibits bias and an informal writing style inappropriate for the intended audience.

Clarity and Command of Standard English Conventions
This category focuses on your ability to write according to the basic rules of English grammar, spelling, and related mechanics. The variety of your sentence structure will also be evaluated under this category; try to include sentences of various lengths, but do not create awkward sentences just for the sake of adding length. The same basic rules of usage that apply to other writing-related portions of the test also apply here. Double-check for frequently confused or misspelled words, subject-verb agreement, correct use of pronouns, correct use of capitalization, and appropriate use of punctuation. Note that your EXended response does not have to be flawless in this category to earn a high score. However, it is always worth it to reread your essay and check over these basic issues.

Sample Extended Response Question

Read the following pair of speech excerpts, consider the prompt, and take a look at the sample essay provided.

Excerpt from President George W. Bush's Speech on Global Climate Change, June 11, 2001
Our country, the United States, is the world's largest emitter of manmade greenhouse gases. We account for almost 20 percent of the world's man-made greenhouse emissions. We also account for about one-quarter of the world's economic output. We recognize the responsibility to reduce our emissions. We also recognize the other part of the story—that the rest of the world emits 80 percent of all greenhouse gases. And many of those emissions come from developing countries.
This is a challenge that requires a 100 percent effort; ours, and the rest of the world's. The world's second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases is China. Yet, China was entirely exempted from the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol.
India and Germany are among the top emitters. Yet, India was also exempt from Kyoto. These and other developing countries that are experiencing rapid growth face challenges in reducing their emissions without harming their economies. We want to work cooperatively with these countries in their efforts to reduce greenhouse emissions and maintain economic growth.
Kyoto also failed to address two major pollutants that have an impact on warming: black soot and tropospheric ozone. Both are proven health hazards. Reducing both would not only address climate change, but also dramatically improve people's health.
Kyoto is, in many ways, unrealistic. Many countries cannot meet their Kyoto targets. The targets themselves were arbitrary and not based upon science. For America, complying with those mandates would have a negative economic impact, with layoffs of workers and price increases for consumers. And when you evaluate all these flaws, most reasonable people will understand that it's not sound public policy.

Excerpt from President Barack Obama's speech on climate change at Georgetown University, June 25, 2013
In my State of the Union address, I urged Congress to come up with a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change, like the one that Republican and Democratic senators worked on together a few years ago. And I still want to see that happen. I'm willing to work with anyone to make that happen.
But this is a challenge that does not pause for partisan gridlock. It demands our attention now. And this is my plan to meet it—a plan to cut carbon pollution; a plan to protect our country from the impacts of climate change; and a plan to lead the world in a coordinated assault on a changing climate. . . .
Now, what you'll hear from the special interests and their allies in Congress is that this will kill jobs and crush the economy, and basically end American free enterprise as we know it. And the reason I know you'll hear those things is because that's what they said every time America sets clear rules and better standards for our air and our water and our children's health. And every time, they've been wrong.
For example, in 1970, when we decided through the Clean Air Act to do something about the smog that was choking our cities—and, by the way, most young people here aren't old enough to remember what it was like, but when I was going to school in 1979–1980 in Los Angeles, there were days where folks couldn't go outside. And the sunsets were spectacular because of all the pollution in the air.
But at the time when we passed the Clean Air Act to try to get rid of some of this smog, some of the same doomsayers were saying new pollution standards will decimate the auto industry. Guess what—it didn't happen. Our air got cleaner.
In 1990, when we decided to do something about acid rain, they said our electricity bills would go up, the lights would go off, businesses around the country would suffer—I quote—'a quiet death.' None of it happened, except we cut acid rain dramatically.
See, the problem with all these tired excuses for inaction is that it suggests a fundamental lack of faith in American business and American ingenuity. These critics seem to think that when we ask our businesses to innovate and reduce pollution and lead, they can't or they won't do it. They'll just kind of give up and quit. But in America, we know that's not true. Look at our history.

Prompt
These two passages present different arguments regarding the issue of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In your response, analyze both positions to determine which one is best supported. Use relevant and specific evidence from the passages to support your response.

Sample Response
These passages offer two significantly different views on how the United States should address its problem of greenhouse gas emissions. Both speakers concede that the United States is responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions, and both speakers acknowledge the need for reducing these emissions. However, each speaker adopts a different attitude regarding implementation of such policies.
In this excerpt from President Bush's speech, he emphasizes the importance of an international, cooperative effort to deal with the problem. He does state that the United States generates one-fifth of the world's greenhouse gases. However, he quickly follows this information by stating that the United States is responsible for one-quarter of all economic activity, and then points out that four-fifths of the world's greenhouse gases are generated by other nations. By doing so, he attempts to explain the reason for high U.S. greenhouse emissions while also shifting the focus to other nations. Indeed, he goes on to point out how China and India are exempt from restricting greenhouse gas emissions, even though they are among the top greenhouse gas emitters.
Another key argument in Bush's speech emphasizes the economic perils of forcing drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Bush argues that to do so would devastate the U.S. economy, causing massive job layoffs and raising the cost of consumer goods. This argument also serves as the focal point in the excerpt from President Obama's speech. However, Obama refutes the claim that greenhouse gas restrictions will harm the economy. To support his position, Obama offers several historical examples where similar claims were made when businesses faced government-imposed restrictions. In each of those cases, the dire predictions of economic harm proved to be unfounded.
In essence, Bush's speech emphasizes fair play among all nations to ensure that the United States is not being held responsible for more than its share of the problem. Obama's speech emphasizes leadership by example, noting that the United States has successfully dealt with similar issues in the past. Of the two, I find Obama's position to be better supported through his use of historical examples. I also find his statement of leadership through action more compelling than Bush's call for fairness and cooperation.

Quiz
Now that you know what's involved in writing an effective essay, use what you've learned to answer the following questions.
1. What is the purpose of a prompt? a. to help the student start writing about the topic b. to state the main idea of the essay c. to provide support for the main idea d. to suggest a possible conclusion
2. Which of the following states the main idea of an essay? a. thesis statement b. transition c. topic sentence d. introduction
3. Which of the following sentences would be a good thesis statement? a. My favorite object is my grandfather's old leather bag. b. This is an essay about my favorite object. c. The bag is made of leather. d. My grandfather's leather bag
4. Why is it helpful to brainstorm when writing? a. It helps give you ideas of what to write about. b. It takes up time. c. It helps you write the thesis statement. d. It puts your ideas in order.
5. What is the purpose of creating an outline? a. to organize your ideas b. to take up time c. to practice your spelling d. to make revision unnecessary
6. Which of the following should always state the main idea of a paragraph? a. topic sentence c. thesis statement
7. How many main ideas should a paragraph have? a. one b. two c. three d. no fewer than two
8. Which of the following is a purpose of supporting sentences? a. to provide examples b. to state the main idea c. to restate the thesis d. to give the reader a sense of closure
9. Which of the following should a good conclusion do? a. state a new idea b. end with a question c. use specific examples d. leave the reader with a sense of closure
10. What is the purpose of revising when writing? a. to move paragraphs b. to rewrite the essay d. to correct minor errors

Answers
1. a. The prompt is meant to get you started thinking about the topic of your writing. As you write, your essay will address the prompt using details and support.
2. a. The thesis statement tells the main idea of the entire essay. Each paragraph contains a topic sentence that states the main idea of that paragraph.
3. a. The thesis statement should be a complete sentence that answers the question stated in the prompt.
4. a. Brainstorming helps you get all your ideas down on paper. After you brainstorm, you can choose which ideas to include and put these ideas in proper order.
5. a. An outline helps you organize your ideas and decide which will be the main ideas and which will be supporting details.
6. a. The topic sentence tells what the paragraph will be about. The rest of the sentences support the topic sentence.
7. a. Each paragraph should have one main idea. All of the sentences in the paragraph should explain or support that idea.
8. a. Supporting sentences help explain the main idea by providing examples and additional information.
9. d. The conclusion restates the main idea, wraps up the essay, and provides a sense of closure for the reader.
10. d. Revising is the step in which you correct errors in spelling, capitalization, and grammar. This is also the time to remove unrelated or unnecessary information, and clarify ideas as needed.


Summary of this guide on writing effective essays
In this guide, you have reviewed strategies for writing an effective essay.
1. An essay has three main parts:
- an introduction
- a body
- a conclusion
You can think of these three parts as the beginning, middle, and end.
2. The introduction catches the reader's attention and introduces the main idea of the essay in the form of a thesis statement. The body develops the thesis statement in two or three paragraphs. The conclusion restates the thesis statement and brings the essay to a close.
3. The writing process has three main steps:
- planning
- writing
- revising
4. Planning is an important step in the writing process. It helps you decide what you want to write about and organize your ideas effectively. Planning includes writing a thesis statement, brainstorming ideas, and then organizing them into an outline. Once you've completed these three steps, writing your essay should go more smoothly.
5. Revising gives you one last chance to make sure your essay is as good as it can be. If you have planned well, you should not have to make any major changes during the revision process. Some things to check for include capitalization, punctuation, repetition, and clarity.