Chapter 17
Social Studies Overview
If you look in some of the other study guides for the GED® test, you may get the impression that you will have to memorize a huge number of facts for the GED® Social Studies test. In fact, the Social Studies test does not require much specific knowledge of history, economics, or geography (or any other social studies topics). Every question will be based on a document, chart, map, picture, or some type of graphic organizer, and the information you need to answer the question will almost always be contained in that accompanying piece of information.
The questions asked by the Social Studies test are twofold: They want to make sure you have a background in the ideas covered in a typical social studies curriculum, and they want to assess what we will call "social studies skills" (reading passages and charts for relevant information). Thus, a strong familiarity with the major topics of social studies along with a smart approach to locating key facts will be just what you need for success on this test. In the following chapters, we will cover both of these elements.