The primary purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between scores on the multiple-choice General Educational Development (GED) Writing Skills test and scores on holistically graded essays. Secondary purposes included the following: (1) examining the relationship of essay scores to scores on the multiple-choice GED Reading Skills test and (2) examining the relationship of time spent in writing essays with scores on the essay tests. In the spring of 1984, the GED Testing Service holistically scored more than 2,300 essays written by a nationally representative sample of high school seniors. The students completed either the GED Writing Skills test or the GED Reading Skills test in conjunction with one, and in half of the cases, two, essay assignments. The three essay topics used in the study were designed in the rhetorical modes of description, persuasion, and exposition. Results indicated that students writing on more than one topic received different scores on different topics. The range of values for the correlations between the indirect and direct measures of writing indicates that there is a substantial relationship between the two, but that the essay and multiple-choice tests are measuring somewhat different skills. Similarly, the range of correlations between scores on essays in different rhetorical modes suggests that these modes tap slightly different writing skills. Finally, a positive but weak relationship was found for students writing on the description and persuasion topics. (Author/KC)