For the multiple choice part, 80% of the questions will ask you to correct or revise specific parts of a text, such as a sentence or phrase. The remaining 20% are about construction shifts--questions that ask you to make revisions in organization and overall structure of a text or paragraph.
When you study, divide your time proportionally, that is, don't spend the bulk of your time on concepts that make up a small portion of the GED language arts writing test. Also keep in mind that you have 75 minutes to complete 50 questions.
Master the basics of usage and mechanics. You will be expected to know the rules for subject-verb agreement, agreement in number, how to use consistent verb tense, and how to use pronouns unambiguously. The GED will also test your grasp of English punctuation, capitalization, and spelling.
The GED sentence structure questions feature run-on sentences, fragments, and faulty modification and parallelism. The key to doing well is to use your ear to gauge when something sounds off, or when the sentence is ambiguous as to who or what is doing something, or who or what possesses some attribute. The correct answer will be grammatical and clear.
GED organization questions test your ability to divide or combine paragraphs, use appropriate topic sentences, and use good transitions. To answer these questions correctly, you must understand the logical structure of the text; think about what the author is trying to achieve.
The second part of the GED language arts writing test is an expository essay--one in which you explain or clarify a subject. The essay prompts allow much freedom of expression, and you won't need any specialized knowledge to answer the essay question. Possible topics could be "Describe a goal you want to achieve," or "Which book has most influenced your education and how?"
The GED essays are scored by two graders on a scale of 1 to 4. You pass if the average of the two scores is at least 2. Graders look for 5 things: (1) that you answer the question posed in the essay prompt, (2) that you organize logically, (3) that you include relevant examples and details, (4) that you use standard English, and (5) that you choose appropriate and varied words.
To earn a high score, you should do several practice sets of GED material and have a teacher or tutor read your practice essays. The more you study, the higher your GED score will be.