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Contemporary's GED Language Arts, Writing
Ellen Carley Frechette
Tim Collins

Writing Your GED Essay

Chapter Overview

This chapter focuses on the third step in the writing process. You will learn how to write each type of paragraph in the five-paragraph essay.

  • The introductory paragraph identifies the essay's main idea. It captures the reader’s interest. It tells how the essay will be organized. Its last sentence (the thesis statement) mentions the topic and main idea of each body paragraph.


  • Each of the three body paragraphs has a topic sentence (which refers back to the thesis statement in the introductory paragraph) and at least three supporting sentences (which refer back to the topic sentence of the body paragraph).


  • The concluding paragraph gives the essay a sense of completeness and reminds readers of the main idea. It goes from specific (reviewing the essay's main points) to general (stating the broader importance of the subject).

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