: Introduction
Perhaps you’ve applied for a job and have been refused an application because you don’t have a high school diploma or a GED. Or maybe you were up for a promotion at work, but when your boss found out you didn’t finish high school, he said you weren’t eligible for the new job. Maybe you’ve always wanted to go to college but couldn’t even apply
because the college of your choice requires a high school diploma or equivalent (the GED) for admission. Or perhaps your kids are just about to graduate from high school, and you’re . motivated to finish, too
Whatever your reasons are for wanting to earn a high school diploma — whether we’ve mentioned them here or not — this book is for you. It takes you through the process of preparing to take the GED tests — which, if you pass them, offer you the equivalent of a high . school diploma without all the time-consuming bells and whistles of a high school educatio
: About This Topic
If you want a high school diploma, you can always go back and finish high school the oldfashion way. Of course, it may take you a few years, and you may have to quit your job to do it. Plus, you’d have to sit in a class withteenagers for eight or so hours a day (and probably be treated like one, too)
For most people, this situation doesn’t sound too appealing. This book presents a different solution: to earn a high school diploma in the shortest time possible. If you don’t mind preparing yourself for a series of challenging tests that determine whether you’ve mastered key skills, you can get a General Educational Development (GED) diploma that’s the equivalent
. of a high school education — and you can do so in much less than four years
If taking the GED tests to earn your diploma sounds like a great idea to you, this book is a necessary study tool because it’s a fun-filled and friendly instruction manual for succeeding on the GED tests. It isn’t a subject-matter preparation book — that is, it doesn’t take you through the basics of math and then progress into algebra, geometry, and so on. It does, however, prepare you for the GED by giving you detailed information about each test, two sets of full-length practice tests, and plenty of easy-to-understand answers and explanations for those tests. Use this book as your first stop. We include numerous practice tests you can take to help you prepare for taking the GED tests. After taking the first set of practice tests and going through the answers and explanations, you can determine which subject areas you need to work on
: Conventions Used in This Topic
: To help you navigate your way around in this book, we use the following conventions
Italics to emphasize certain words and to point out new words or phrases that we define in the text
Boldface to indicate key words in bulleted lists and action parts of numbered steps
Monofont to set apart Web addresses from the rest of the text
: Foolish Assumptions
: Here’s who we think you are
You meet your state’s requirements regarding age, residency, and the length of time since leaving school that make you eligible to take the GED tests. (Check with your local GED administrator to find out your state’s requirements.)
. You’re serious about getting a high school diploma as quickly as you can
You’re willing to put in the time to prepare, keeping in mind that you have a lot of other responsibilities, too
. Getting a high school diploma is a priority in your life
. You want a fun and friendly guide that helps you achieve your goal
. You want to gain some insight from the experience of others
If any of these descriptions sounds like you, welcome aboard. We’ve prepared an enjoyable tour of the GED
What You’re Not to Read
You probably have a very busy life with numerous responsibilities like children, a job or two, and social activities. You may not have the time to read every single word we write The good news is you don’t have to read everything. If you want to read just the essential information that can help you prepare for the GED, you can skip the sidebars. The sidebars are the areas of text on a gray background. They add a little background information, but they’re not essential to your understanding of the subject
How This Book Is Organized
This topic has seven parts, each of which prepares you for the GED. We’ve organized this second edition a bit differently from the first: The first part gives you the ins and outs of the GED, each of the next five parts deals specifically with one of the five tests, and the last part includes some fun tips for maximizing your test scores and being successful on the GED tests. The following sections explain each part in a little more detail
Part I : Putting the GED into Perspective
If you’ve never heard of the GED tests, you can use Part I to find out everything you need to know about the GED as a whole, including what it covers and who can take it. If you have heard of the GED, turn to this part to find out some extra information and some handy tips for succeeding on all five of the GED tests. You also find out how to register for the tests
. and how to figure out your scores after you receive them
Part II: Minding Your Ps and Qs
The Language Arts, Writing Test
This part tells you everything you ever wanted to know about the Language Arts, Writing Test and provides you with two practice tests (and the answers that go with them) to help you prepare for this test. Here, you get to test your ability to organize content, improve sentence structure, and correct grammatical mistakes. You also get to try your hand at writing an essay
for Part II of this test. Don’t panic! This essay isn’t a full research essay — it’s a short essay that uses your past experiences and knowledge as research. And, to help you do your best, this part offers you a handful of pointers and strategies to keep in mind as you take the test
Part III : Finding Your Way: The Social Studies Test
This part is all about the Social Studies Test. Here, you get a chance to take inventory of your skills in understanding principles and concepts in history, geography, economics, and civics. You get to practice answering multiple-choice questions based on both textual and visual materials (these visual materials include maps, cartoons, and graphs). You also find some pointers and strategies to help you do your best on the test. Like the other test specific parts of this book, this part offers you two full practice tests and the answers that go with them. Take some time to go through these tests and read their corresponding answer explanations as you prepare for the Social Studies Test
Part IV: Peering at Your Specimen
The Science Test
For the Science Test, you’re expected to know some scientific vocabulary and have a very basic understanding of scientific principles. Don’t panic! You don’t have to understand Beilstein’s categorization of organic chemicals, but you do need to know basic concepts like the fact that carbon is present in many forms on earth. With a little bit of practice (hint: check
out Part IV!) and some outside reading, you can become much more comfortable with the Science Test and amaze yourself with how much you already know about the topics it covers
This part provides all the details you need to know about the Science Test, including the skills it tests you on, the test’s format, and a few strategies to help you do your best on the real test. It also offers you a ton of practice answering questions about physics, chemistry, and earth sciences. And, then, to help you prepare for the real test, it provides all the answers and explanations you need to figure out which questions you got right and which ones you missed.
Part V: Checking Your Comprehension
The Language Arts, Reading Test
This part focuses on preparing you for the Language Arts, Reading Test by showing you the test’s format, the skills it tests you on, and some strategies to help you do well on test day As you may or may not know, this test tests your ability to understand literary passages. To help you get ready to answer the passages that appear on this test, take the two practice tests in this part. Then spend some time reading the answers and explanations that go with
. them to find out what you may need to practice a little more before you take the real test
Part VI : Counting All the Possible Solutions
The Mathematics Test
— For those of you who cringe at the words mathematics, calculations, and problem solving or for those rare few of you who get excited about them — this part is for you. Here, you discover all the details about the Mathematics Test you need to know, including the skills it ,tests you on, the different answer formats it uses (and instructions on how to use them) and some strategies that can help you do well on the test. Take some time to go through the practice tests in this part, and then read all the answers and explanations to find out what you did right and what you did wrong (and why). If you’re not great at math, don’t worry! We’re here to help you get familiar with the Mathematics Test so that you can feel calm and confident as you sit down to take the real test
Part VII : The Part of Tens
This part is a treat to read — and you can review it in no time at all. Here you discover some key ways to prepare for the tests and improve your scores, ten ways to be successful on the . GED, and ten ways to use your GED diploma after you pass the tests
Icons Used in This Book
Icons — little pictures that you see in the margins of this book — highlight bits of text that
: you want to pay special attention to. Here’s what they mean
Whenever we want to tell you a special trick or technique that can help you succeed on the
. GED tests, we mark it with this icon. Keep an eye out for them
This icon points out information you want to burn into your brain. Think of the text with this icon as the sort of stuff you’d tear out and put on a bulletin board or your refrigerato
Take this icon seriously! Although the world won’t end if you don’t heed the advice next to these icons, the warnings are important to your success in preparing to take the GED tests
We use this icon sparingly to point out additional technical information that you don’t need to lose sleep over. When you see this icon, feel free to skip the material next to it if you’re short on time
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