Self-Directed Study Guides for

Praxis I (PPST Writing Exam)

This Self-directed study guide is designed to assist you in

preparing for the Praxis I (PPST) exam. In order to receive

the full benefit of the study guide, you should:

1. Take the pre test that is attached

2. Correct your pre test and review the

information contained in the packet.

3. Take the post test that is attached

If you would like additional help preparing for the PPST,

please contact us.

For more information,

Contact Gary Waymire-Cooper

Phone: 414-229-3326

E-mail: gccooper@uwm.edu

)

www.soe.uwm.edu

Remember,

UWM’s school code for

the PPST is RA 1473

Office of Academic Services

Writing Pretest 2

UWM

School of Education

Education Resource Center

Writing Pre Test

Part A

Directions: In each of the sentences below, four portions are underlined and lettered.

Read each sentence and decide whether any of the underlined parts contains an error in

grammatical construction, word use, or an incorrect or omitted punctuation or

capitalization that would be inappropriate in carefully written English.

1. Scientific literature has been littered with studies of the past 40 years

A

documenting the superior language skills of girls, but the biological reason why

B C

has remained a mystery until now. No error.

D E

2. Certain drugs and alcohol seriously impairs the body’s reflexes, making it

A B

extremely dangerous for adults to drive themselves home from social

C D

engagements. No error.

E

3. On a gray day in mid-January, Lawrence Summers, the president of Harvard

A

University_suggested that innate differences in the build of the male and female

B

brains might be one factor underlying the relative scarcity of women in science.

C D

No error.

E

4. The child would of accepted the red balloon if it would have been offered to

A B

him_,_but the waitress offered him only blue balloons with white ribbons.

C D

No error.

E

5. Having finished the Boston Marathon, the athlete threw up his arms as with

A B

triumph , waved to his adoring fans, and prepared to speak to reporters. No

C D E

Writing Pretest 3

error.

6. Optimists_the opposite of pessimists, are believed by psychologists to be better

A B C D

liked, have stronger marriages, and have more fun. No error.

E

7. Simply listening to a cellphone distracts drivers, a study concludes, raising

A B C

questions about the effectiveness of laws_that ban the use of handheld devices

D

while driving. No error.

E

8. With hundreds of thousands of micro-thin strands colliding in every direction,

A

hair is an unusually complicated system—a set of independent objects working in

B C

an integrated whole. No error.

D E

9. Offering more depth than any anatomy textbook can deliver, the Visible Body is

A B

a web-based 3-D interactive model of the human body that is not only free to

C

students and educators but health and medical professionals. No error.

D E

10. Everyone in the council were in agreement that the school board did not need to

A

support a tax increase to fund the building of a new__athletic complex at Johnson

B C

High School. No error.

D E

Writing Pretest 4

Part B

Directions: In each of the following sentences, some part of the sentence or the entire

sentence is underlined. Beneath each sentence you will find five ways of writing the

underlined part. The first of these repeats the original, but the other four are all different.

If you think the original sentence is better than any of the suggested changes, you should

choose answer A; otherwise, you should mark one of the other choices.

11.The works of Tolkien sell better than John Grisham.

(A) sell better than John Grisham

(B) sell better than John Grisham does

(C) sell better than does John Grisham

(D) sell better than the works of John Grisham

(E) sell better than those of John Grisham

12 .Researching the effects of placebos upon patients’ healing, sugar pills are being

administered by doctors on a regular basis.

(A) sugar pills are being administered by doctors on a regular basis

(B) sugar pills have been administered by doctors on a regular basis

(C) doctors are administering sugar pills on a regular basis

(D) doctors had been administering sugar pills on a regular basis

(E) sugar pills had been administered by doctors on a regular basis

13 .To try and appeal to travelers wishing to have all the amenities of a first class

flight at a low price, more airlines are offering in-flight entertainment and food and

beverage service at no extra cost.

(A) To try and appeal

(B) With every intention to appeal

(C) To try to appeal

(D) Because they want to appeal

(E) Because they wanted to appeal

14 .The children, playing on the swings on a beautiful sunny day without being

noticed by hardly anyone.

(A) The children, playing on the swings on a beautiful sunny day without

being noticed by hardly anyone

(B)The children played on the swings on a beautiful sunny day without

hardly being noticed by anyone

(C)The children played on the swings on a beautiful sunny day without

being noticed

(D)Hardly anyone noticed the children playing on the swings on a beautiful

sunny day.

(E)The children played on the swings

Writing Pretest 5

15.While running through the city to evade police, the Queen’s valuables slipped

out of the villain’s hand and went under the tire of a speeding car.

(A)the Queen’s valuables slipped out of the villain’s hand and went under

the tire of a speeding car

(B) the villain dropped the Queen’s valuables under the tire of a speeding

car

(C) the villain lost his grip on the Queen’s valuables, letting them fall under

the tire of a speeding car.

(D) the speeding car crushed the Queen’s valuables

(E) the Queen’s valuables slipped out of the villain’s hand

16.To be a successful businessperson it requires knowledge of finance and the

ability to get along with people.

(A) it requires knowledge of finance and the ability to get along with people

(B) requires knowledge of finance and the ability to get along with people

(C) requires financial knowledge and social skills

(D) requires the know-how of finance and the ability to get along with

people

(E) means that financial knowledge and people skills are essential to one’s

education

17.Poor dental care can lead not only to cavities but also it can have deleterious

effects on other systems of the body such as heart disease.

(A)it can have deleterious effects on other systems of the body such as heart

disease

(B)to other deleterious effects on other systems of the body such as heart

disease

(C)to heart disease

(D)it can cause heart disease

(E)it causes heart disease

18. Langston Hughes wrote passionately about the inequities of his

generation.

(A) wrote passionately about the inequities

(B) wrote passionate about the inequities

(C) wrote passionately about his generation

(D) did write passionately about his generation

(E) had written passionately about the inequities

19.Ballet is a rigorous and physical demanding art form, requiring years of study

and self-discipline from professional ballerinas and serious amateurs alike.

(A) physical demanding art form

(B) physically demanding art form

(C) it is a physically demanding art form

(D) is a physically demanding art form

(E) , a physically demanding art form

Writing Pretest 6

20. Upon feeling the presence of a predator, many small creatures change color as

a defense mechanism and to be a means of survival.

(A) as a defense mechanism and to be a means of survival

(B) as a defense mechanism and as a means of survival

(C) to be a means of defense and to be a means of survival

(D) to act as a means of defense and to act as a means of survival

(E) to defend themselves and to help themselves survive

Writing Pretest 7

UWM

School of Education

Office of Academic Services

PPST- Writing Pre Test Answer Sheet

1. C 11. E

2. A 12. C

3. B 13. C

4. A 14. D

5. B 15. B

6. A 16. C

7. E 17. C

8. E 18. A

9. D 19. B

10. A 20. B

Writing Pretest 8

UWM

School of Education

Office of Academic Services

Self Directed Study Guide for PPST-Writing

The writing portion of the PPST consists of two parts. The first part contains a variety of

individual sentences designed to measure your ability to recognize standard written

English. In the second part, you will be asked to write an essay.

Multiple Choice Questions

• There are two types of multiple choice questions on the writing portion of the

PPST:

1. Usage

2. Sentence Correction

Usage Questions

For each of these questions, a sentence will be provided that may contain an error in

grammar, usage, diction (choice of words), or idiom (word combinations that have

become part of the language).

None of the sentences contain more than one error

Some sentences are correct

The error, if there is one, is underlined and lettered.

Parts of the sentence that are not underlined are correct and cannot be changed.

Sample question:

Most of the delegates which attended the

A

convention felt the resolution was

B

too strongly worded, and the majority

C

voted against it. No error.

D E

Error at A.

Writing Pretest 9

Sentence Correction Questions

This section tests accuracy and effectiveness of expression. It asks you to consider

elements of sentences such as grammar, choice of words, sentence construction, and

punctuation. For each sentence, a portion or all of the sentence is underlined. Under

each sentence you will be given five options of phrasing the underlined portion, the first

of which is the original underlined portion. Select the choice that most effectively

expresses the meaning of the original sentence.

Sample Question:

In the United States, an increasing number of commuters that believe their families to be

immune from the perils of city life.

(A) that believe their families to be

(B) that believe their families are

(C) believes their families are

(D) who believe their families to be

(E) believe their families to be

Error at E.

Writing Pretest 10

Grammar and usage errors tall into several general categories. On the next few pages, we

will discuss these categories and provide you with some examples.

Verb tense

Verb tense is an important aspect of the essay portion as well. For example, if the prompt

is: ―Censorship of song lyrics, television shows, and offensive speech is necessary in

order to protect the rights of all members of society.‖ What tense would the majority of

your response be in?

If you write ―I agree that censorship is important…‖ then your essay will likely be in

present tense. This means that your MAIN tense throughout the essay will be present

tense.

IF you are referring to something that happened in the past, then use the past tense.

For example: ―Last year, I bought a CD and was shocked by the lyrics on it‖

IF you are referring to something that may occur in the future, then use the future tense.

For example: ―From now on, I will be sure to check for a parental alert label.‖

BE AWARE of unnecessary or inconsistent shifts in tense. Choose a main tense, most

likely present, and use the other tenses to indicate changes in time frame.

Remember: a verb’s tense tells you when the action is taking place. You will be listening

for incorrect use of tense- i.e. inconsistency of tense.

INCORRECT: When Mary was in college, she was reading many books.

CORRECT: When Mary was in college, she read many books.

Sample question:

As long ago as the twelfth century,

A

French alchemists have perfected

B

techniques for refining precious metals

C

from other ores. No error.

D E

Error at B.

Writing Pretest 11

Subject verb agreement: Collective Nouns

Collective nouns are ones that imply more than one person but are considered singular.

These include:

GROUP

TEAM

COMMITTEE

FAMILY

These words take a singular verb.

Sample question:

That particular pack of wolves were

A B

often considered to be the most

C

problematic in the entire region. No error

D E

Error at B.

Subject verb agreement: Intervening Phrases

Sometimes the test will challenge you by placing an intervening phrase between the

subject and the verb. This makes it more difficult to catch an error in subject-verb

agreement.

Sample Question:

Group therapy, a method of treatment

commonly recommended by

A B

practitioners, remain a cost effective

C

choice for consumers. No error.

D E

Error at C.

Writing Pretest 12

Subject verb agreement: Subject after Verb

Another way to challenge you is by placing the subject after the verb.

Sample Question:

Although researchers have criticized this

A

practice for many years, there is many

B C

teachers who continue to use direct

D

instruction. No error.

E

Error at C.

Double negatives: the nonstandard use of two negatives in the same sentence so they

cancel each other out. Avoid the use of double negatives.

no neither

not no one

none hardly

nothing scarcely

nowhere barely

nobody

INCORRECT: I barely have no advice for you.

CORRECT: I have no advice for you.

INCORRECT: I do not know nobody.

CORRECT: I do not know anybody.

Sample Question:

According to the doctor, this type of

A B

medication should not hardly be taken

C

more than once a day. No Error.

D E

Writing Pretest 13

Error at C.

Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives modify nouns or pronouns.

Look at the beautiful sky.

My teacher is helpful.

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Adverbs often end in –ly (but not

always!)

The boy ran swiftly.

On the test, you might be asked to recognize an error in which an adjective is modifying a

verb, or an adverb is modifying a noun.

INCORRECT: He danced beautiful all night long.

CORRECT: He danced beautifully all night long.

Homonyms and Frequently Confused Words

Their, There, or They’re?

Their: possessive pronoun. Their dog is very friendly.

They’re: a contraction for they are. They’re really a nice couple.

There: ―that place‖ OR in expressions ―there is‖ and ―there are.‖ Let’s go over there.

There are many reasons to support this idea.

It’s or Its?

It’s (with the apostrophe) means IT IS. I can’t believe it’s only Tuesday.

Its (without the apostrophe) is a possessive pronoun. The cat licked its paws.

Then or Than?

Than is associated with comparatives: I like ice cream more than yogurt.

Then refers to a point in time: First we’ll go to the store, and then we will cook.

THEN IS WHEN

Accept or except?

Except: a preposition that means ―apart from.‖I enjoyed everything except the dessert.

Accept: a verb that means ―agree with,‖ ―take in,‖ or ―receive.‖ I accept your

explanation. We accept either cash or checks.

Raise or Rise?

Writing Pretest 14

These words are commonly confused because they both have the general meaning of ―to

move upwards.‖ The difference is that raise is a transitive verb, meaning that the action

of the verb has to be transferred to something/an object. We will raise the flag.

Rise is an intransitive verb and does not need an object. The sun will rise.

Sentence fragments

A sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence. Usually, a sentence fragment is a part of

the sentence that has become disconnected from the main clause. Consider the following

sentences (the errors are bolded):

Although the institution has the community’s best interests in mind. They ended up

making some significant errors.

In spite of the fact that the students are studying hard. The majority did poorly on the

final exam.

UWM offers a variety of majors. Such as education, social work, biological sciences,

and business.

As we were driving through very heavy traffic.

Every sentence needs a subject and a MAIN complete verb.

Having any form of a noun and a verb doesn’t necessarily make it a complete sentence.

Proper use of semi-colons

Semi-colons are often used to join together two independent clauses. The second part of

the sentence often makes a comment on the first. An independent clause contains a

subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought.

CORRECT: The store was bound to succeed; it filled a niche in the growing community.

INCORRECT: They went to the store; stopping at several shops, and browsing the

window displays.

Comma Splices

Comma splices join two complete sentences with a comma; they are incorrect in

academic writing.

INCORRECT: Peter stopped at the store on the way home, he was very hungry.

CORRECT: Peter stopped at the store on the way home because he was very hungry.

CORRECT: Peter stopped at the store on the way home; he was very hungry.

CORRECT: Peter stopped at the story on the way home. He was very hungry.

Writing Pretest 15

Run-on sentences

Run-on sentences join two or more complete sentences with no punctuation.

INCORRECT: I really enjoy my new part-time job but I don’t have as much free time

anymore but I needed extra money to pay all my bills and save for fall tuition.

How to correct? You can correct in a variety of ways including:

1. Make two separate sentences:

I really enjoy my new part-time job, but I don’t have as much free time anymore. I

needed extra money to pay all my bills and save for fall tuition.

2. You can use a semi-colon if the second part makes a comment on the first.

I really enjoy my new part-time job, but I don’t have as much free time anymore; I

needed extra money to pay all my bills and save for fall tuition.

Misplaced modifiers

Modifiers, phrases that provide additional information about nouns or verbs in a sentence,

should appear next to the word or words that they are modifying.

INCORRECT: Using this medication, many undesirable side effects are experienced.

Using this medication appears to modify side effects, but this makes no sense. The side

effects were not using the medication.

CORRECT: Using this medication, patients experienced many undesirable side effects.

INCORRECT: Walking home from school, a dog nearly attacked me.

CORRECT: Walking home from school, I was nearly attacked by a dog.

Pronoun errors

Who is she? What is it? Where are they?

Every pronoun must have an antecedent. The antecedent is the noun that corresponds to

the pronoun in the sentence.

Sherry is a great dancer, and she is also a talented singer.

Sherry is the antecedent and ―she‖ is the pronoun.

Pronouns: Ambiguous Reference

If you have no idea what the pronoun is referring to, there may be an error!

Sample Question:

The chemist Sir Humphrey Davy was a

friend of the poet William Wordsworth;

A

he would visit with several other guests

B C

at a tiny cottage in the English Lake

D

Writing Pretest 16

District. No Error.

E

Error at B.

Parallelism Errors

Parallelism is the use of matching grammatical elements (words, phrases, clauses) or

sentence structures to express equivalent ideas.

INCORRECT: Brittany enjoys shopping, watching videos, and to talk to her friends on

the phone.

CORRECT: Brittany enjoys shopping, watching videos, and talking to her friends on the

phone.

Coordination Errors

You may be presented with sentences that do not make sense because they are not

logically joined.

INCORRECT: Because he was very hungry, he refused to eat his dinner.

CORRECT: Although he was very hungry, he refused to eat his dinner.

INCORRECT: The college began demanding a higher GPA for admission; however,

more students began to receive rejection letters.

CORRECT: The college began demanding a higher GPA for admission; as a result, more

students began to receive rejection letters.

Amount vs. Number

The word amount is used to refer to quantities that can be measured but NOT counted.

Number applies to words that can be counted.

INCORRECT: Is this the right number of sugar?

CORRECT: Is this the right amount of sugar?

Many vs. Much

Many is an adjective that applies to nouns that can be counted: There are many people

here.

Much applies to non-countable nouns: How much water do I add to the soup?

Among or Between?

Among refers to groups of more than two things.

Between refers to just two things.

The three parties agreed among themselves to settle the question out of court.

Alexander’s empire encompassed all the territory between Macedon and India.

ALSO: When you see between used in a phrase such as ―between X and Y‖- look for

between… and…

INCORRECT: We shuttled between Chicago to Milwaukee.

CORRECT: We shuttled between Chicago and Milwaukee

Writing Pretest 17

Correlative Conjunctions: Not only/but also

Both/and

Either/or

Neither/nor

Whether/or

Sample Question

Neither the waitstaff in the restaurant or the host

A B

in the back noticed the group of teenagers

C

leaving without paying their bill. No Error.

D E

Error at B.

Idioms: Word combinations that have become standard usage in the English

language

Idioms may be relatively small errors!

INCORRECT: The dancer really made an impression for the audience.

CORRECT: The dancer really made an impression on the audience.

INCORRECT: similar as CORRECT: similar to

IINCORRECT: different than CORRECT: different from

The point on issue was whether the dock

A

workers, who were an extremely vocal group,

B C

would decide to return to work. No Error.

D E

Error at A.

Word Choice

You may be tested on identifying improper use of a word. The incorrect word may

be similar to the word you expect to be there- this may then be hard to notice. Read

Carefully!

The masterpiece auctioned so successfully

A

today depicts a Biblical scene in which the

B

king is on his throne with his counselors

C

Writing Pretest 18

respectively standing below. No Error.

D E

Error at D.

While we try to highlight commonly tested knowledge on the PPST, this review is by no

means comprehensive. Please utilize your Praxis Series Study Guide for additional

review. Materials are available for subsequent review of grammar/usage in the UWM

Education Resource Center. In addition, please come in to take practice tests and discuss

your questions with our staff!

Writing Pretest 19

UWM

School of Education

Education Resource Center

Writing Post Test

Part A

Directions: In each of the sentences below, four portions are underlined and lettered.

Read each sentence and decide whether any of the underlined parts contains a

grammatical construction, a word use, or an instance of incorrect or omitted punctuation

or capitalization that would be inappropriate in carefully written English.

1. The California Department of Motor Vehicles reports that more accidents result from

A B C

inattentive driving as from weather-related conditions. No error.

D E

2. Ten to twenty percent of women in the U.S. develop a more disabling and longer-

A

lasting disorder called postpartum depression in the first year after childbirth that often

B

impair their ability to care for their babies. No error.

C D E

3. The Chinese government is not only banning production and distribution of the

A

thinnest plastic bags in a bid to curb the white pollution__that is taking over the

B

countryside but taking measures to penalize those who fail to comply. No error.

C D E

4. Failing to kick the habit, smokers are not only jeopardizing their health but also

A B

missing his chance to make new friends or, in some cases, keep old ones, according to

C D

new research. No error.

E

5. A team of researchers is looking at handwriting rather than the ever-shrinking

A B C

keyboards (that frustrate typists) in a quest to improve the way we input information to

D

computers and cell phones. No error.

E

Writing Pretest 20

6. To counteract performance anxiety, Joseph O'Connor, author of Free Yourself From

A

Fears__recommends individuals rehearse their speech five minutes for every minute of

B C D

presentation. No error.

D

7. Faced with the choice among the prize money and the trip to Japan, the game show

A

contestant relied on the audience’s advice because he was too nervous to make the

B C D

decision on his own. No error.

E

8. The Tasmanian devil, a feisty marsupial that lives only in the Australian island state of

A B

Tasmania, was deemed an endangered species this week by the state's government. No

C D E

error.

9. An x-ray flash that signals the start of a stellar explosion could have helped

A B

astronomers predict supernovae and could boost the search for exotic phantom

C

particles__and ripples in space-time. No error.

D E

10. Reflecting a changing societal trend between 1978 to 2008, more unmarried people

A B

under 30 are buying houses rather than renting apartments. No error.

C D E

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Reproduction of this document without written consent is prohibited.