Praxis Core Writing Online Center
This Praxis Core Writing Online Center brings together practice, lessons, worksheets, flashcards and review tools. Choose the resource that matches the skill you want to work on next.
Praxis Core Writing Practice Center
Both forms cover the 40-question selected-response section, timed at the real 40 minutes. The two essays are handled in the quick review below and in the deck, since an essay needs a reader rather than an answer key. Read the explanation under every question you missed; each one names the rule, which is what makes the next question easier.
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Praxis Core Writing at a glance
This subtest comes in three separately timed pieces: forty selected-response questions in forty minutes, then an argumentative essay in thirty minutes, then a source-based informative essay in thirty. The selected-response half is a grammar and usage test with a research-skills tail. The essay half is not a writing-talent test; it is a test of whether you can take a position, support it, and finish inside half an hour.
| Test code | 5723 (Writing). The combined Core test is 5752. |
|---|---|
| Part of | Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators, alongside Reading (5713) and Mathematics (5733). |
| Who takes it | Candidates in roughly 40 states, usually for entry to a preparation program or for certification. |
| Number of questions | 40 selected-response questions plus 2 essays |
| Time limit | 100 minutes total: 40 minutes for the selected-response section, then 30 minutes for each essay |
| Selected-response item types | Usage, sentence correction, revision in context, and research skills |
| The two essays | One argumentative essay on a given issue, and one informative or explanatory essay written from two provided sources |
| Content categories | Text types, purposes, and production 60% (this includes both essays), Language and research skills for writing 40%. |
| Passing score | Set by each state, so check the requirement where you are certifying rather than a national number. |
The 60 percent figure for text types is misleading if you read it as a plan for the selected-response section, because it counts the two essays. Inside the 40 questions, the language and research category is the bulk of what you face. Study grammar for the questions and structure for the essays.
The two categories, in plain language
ETS groups the test into two content categories, one of which carries the essays.
Category 1: Text types, purposes, and production (60% of the test)
Can you write a clear, supported piece under time, and revise one?
- Take a clear position on an issue and support it with reasons and examples
- Write an informative or explanatory piece drawing on two provided sources
- Organize a piece so a reader can follow the line of thought
- Develop an idea rather than restate it
- Cite and credit source material appropriately
- Revise a passage for focus, development, and coherence
Category 2: Language and research skills for writing (40% of the test)
Do you control the conventions, and can you judge a source?
- Apply the conventions of standard English grammar and usage
- Recognize and correct errors in sentence structure, including fragments, run-ons, and faulty modifiers
- Apply the conventions of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
- Choose precise and appropriate words, and correct commonly confused words
- Maintain consistency in tense, number, person, and parallel structure
- Assess the credibility and relevance of a source
- Recognize how to cite sources and avoid plagiarism
A study routine that fits a three-part test
The two halves of this subtest need different preparation, and most candidates only do one of them. Grammar rules are learnable in a couple of weeks. Writing a finished argument in thirty minutes is a physical habit that needs rehearsal.
Complete lesson map
Thirty-seven lessons on the grammar, usage, and punctuation the selected-response section tests. Each one opens in a new tab so you can keep this page open while you work.
Sentence Foundations
Sentence Boundaries
Agreement, Verbs, and Pronouns
Punctuation and Capitalization
Spelling and Confused Words
Knowledge of Language
Before test day
Two different things decide this subtest. On the questions, it is whether you can name the error rather than just hear it, because the choices are written so that several of them sound acceptable. On the essays, it is whether you finish. Readers can forgive a rough sentence in a thirty-minute draft; they cannot score an argument that stops halfway. Plan for four minutes, draft for twenty, and leave yourself the last six to fix what you notice.
A USEFUL NEXT STEP
Praxis Core Writing: study questions
What can I study in this Praxis Core Writing Online Center?
This Praxis Core Writing Online Center includes practice, lessons, worksheets, flashcards and review tools. Topics on the page include Category 1: Text types, purposes, and production (60% of the test), Category 2: Language and research skills for writing (40% of the test), Sentence Foundations.
How should I use the Praxis Core Writing resources?
Choose a topic or practice activity from this Online Center. Review the linked explanation, try the practice, and use the result to decide what to study next. Check each resource’s directions for its format and access requirements.
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