Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators · Writing

Praxis Core Writing (5723) Practice Test & Study Guide

Prepare for Praxis Core Writing with independent practice, flashcards, and quick review. Understand the official requirements, choose a focused study route, and use explanations to plan your next session.

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What is the official Praxis Core Writing assessment format?

ETS lists Praxis Core Writing (5723) as 100 minutes: 40 selected-response questions in 40 minutes and two 30-minute essays, one argumentative and one source-based. A selected-response score alone does not assess the essays. Confirm your state or program’s requirements; independent practice here is study feedback, not an official Praxis score.

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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.

DiagnoseTake Practice Test 1 cold, 40 questions in 40 minutes. Then, separately, set a timer for 30 minutes and write one argumentative essay on any issue you care about. Notice whether you finished.
Learn the rules by nameFor every question you missed, write the rule down in your own words. Comma splice, dangling modifier, faulty parallelism, agreement across an intervening phrase. There are perhaps twenty rules on this whole test.
Rehearse the two essay clocksWrite one timed essay of each type each week. Four minutes to plan, twenty to draft, the rest to proofread. An unfinished essay costs more than a rough one.
Prove itTake Practice Test 2 under the same conditions. If the same rule catches you twice, it is not carelessness, and the deck card for it is where to go.

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.

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.

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Praxis Core Writing: study questions

What is the official Praxis Core Writing assessment format?

ETS lists Praxis Core Writing (5723) as 100 minutes: 40 selected-response questions in 40 minutes and two 30-minute essays, one argumentative and one source-based. A selected-response score alone does not assess the essays. Confirm your state or program’s requirements; independent practice here is study feedback, not an official Praxis score.

Official source ↗
How should I use these independent Praxis Core Writing study tools?

Start with a practice activity, review explanations for missed questions, and use quick review or flashcards for one weak topic. The practice results are study feedback, not official exam scores. Compare a book’s contents with your course or test requirements before buying.

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