{"id":21778,"date":"2019-09-09T10:39:43","date_gmt":"2019-09-09T15:39:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/?p=21778"},"modified":"2020-09-11T20:40:46","modified_gmt":"2020-09-11T20:40:46","slug":"12-common-errors-on-the-praxis-writing-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/praxis\/12-common-errors-on-the-praxis-writing-test\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 12 Common Errors on the Praxis Writing Test"},"content":{"rendered":"

It may seem\u00a0like there are many things to think about during the selected-response portion of the Writing test<\/a>, but many of the questions can be categorized according to a few common types of errors. Familiarizing yourself with the most common error types will help you achieve test day success.
\n[ GOOD TO KNOW:\u00a0<\/strong>Praxis Essay Scoring Rubric<\/a>\u00a0]<\/strong>
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1. Verb Tense Errors<\/h3>
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\nThe subject and the verb of a sentence must agree in number. Put simply, this means that a singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb.\u00a0You also need to use the right form of the verb depending on whether the subject is first person, second person, or third person.
\nYou do this correctly a million times a day, and it\u2019s not as tricky as it sounds.\u00a0Check out these sentences:<\/p>\n

The ballerinas practices for eight hours a day.<\/em><\/p>\n

You spends too much time thinking about subject-verb agreement.<\/em><\/p>\n

Did you find the agreement errors? The sentences on the Core Writing test won\u2019t be quite this easy, but with\u00a0some practice, you\u2019ll be able to spot agreement errors in any sentence.<\/p>\n

2. Pronoun Errors: Case and Number<\/h3>
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\nThere will be questions on your\u00a0Core Writing test that look at the use of pronouns. The key thing to remember about pronouns is that they must agree with their antecedents in case and number.
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\nEvery pronoun must have an antecedent. The antecedent is the noun that corresponds to the pronoun in the sentence. Look at this sentence: Beck is a great singer, and he is also a fine songwriter.<\/em> \u201cBeck\u201d is the antecedent, and \u201che\u201d is the pronoun.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>
\nCase<\/strong> refers to the form in which the word appears in the sentence. If the pronoun refers to the subject, it has a different case than if it refers to an object.<\/p>\n

Sally dances, and she also sings.<\/em><\/p>\n

Bob praised Sally, and he also applauded her.<\/em><\/p>\n

These sentences are correct.<\/p>\n

Many people use they<\/em> to refer to a single person of unknown gender. While this is a common practice that is generally acceptable in spoken English and informal writing, many disapprove of it in formal writing, and it is unacceptable on the Praxis exam. Watch out for they<\/em> and them<\/em> on test day!
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3. Pronoun Errors: Ambiguous Reference<\/h3>
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\nAnother common pronoun problem you\u2019ll find on the Core Writing test is ambiguous reference. As you just read, every pronoun must have a clear antecedent.
\n[ RELATED:\u00a0<\/strong>How to Write Your Praxis Essay<\/a>\u00a0]<\/strong>
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4. Idioms<\/h3>
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\nThe test makers also occasionally like to test whether students can recognize the proper use of idioms. This can be\u00a0tricky for nonnative English speakers because idioms are\u00a0hard to learn in a foreign language. This is because idioms are simply word combinations that have become part of the language. They\u2019re correct, but there\u2019s no particular reason why they\u2019re correct. Most native speakers will know the proper idiom to use simply because their ears tell them what sounds correct.
\nPrepositions are the short words\u2014such as by<\/em>, at<\/em>, among<\/em>, and before<\/em>\u2014that link prepositional phrases to the rest of the sentence. Most preposition issues tested on the Praxis are idiomatic. This means that you\u2019ll be listening for word combinations that frequently go together. Use your ear to catch prepositions that just don\u2019t sound right.
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5. Comparison Errors<\/h3>
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\nWhen you compare two or more parts of speech, like nouns or verb phrases, the parts of speech must be in the same form. Take a look at this example:<\/p>\n

The producer agreed that casting a drama series is harder than comedy.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you heard this sentence, you\u2019d probably understand what it means, although it\u2019s not crystal-clear. The sentence would be clearer if it were written as follows:<\/p>\n

The producer agreed that casting a drama series is harder than casting a comedy series.<\/em><\/p>\n

Both parts of the comparison are in the same form, making the sentence easier to understand and grammatically correct.
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6. Adjective and Adverb Errors<\/h3>
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\nYou probably haven\u2019t thought about adjectives and adverbs since those junior high sentence diagrams. The good news is that you probably use adjectives and adverbs correctly all the time.<\/p>\n

That painting is beautiful.<\/em><\/p>\n

The artist painted it skillfully.<\/em><\/p>\n

In the first sentence, \u201cbeautiful\u201d is an adjective modifying \u201cpainting,\u201d a noun. In the second sentence, \u201cskillfully\u201d is an adverb modifying \u201cpainted,\u201d a verb form.
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\nAn adjective modifies a noun or pronoun. An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Most adverbs end in -ly<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>
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7. Double Negatives<\/h3>
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\nIn standard written English, the use of two negatives in a row can create ungrammatical or self-contradictory sentences. Just as in math, two negatives added together create a positive.<\/p>\n

I won\u2019t have none of that backtalk, young lady!<\/em><\/p>\n

This sentence, if you cancel the negatives, translates as follows:<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll have that backtalk, young lady!<\/em><\/p>\n

8. Sentence Fragments<\/h3>
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\nSentence fragments are incomplete sentences. To be complete, a sentence requires a main subject and a main verb. Some sentences are fragments because they lack the necessary elements to make logical sense or have an unnecessary connector like that<\/em> or because<\/em>.
\nHere are some fragments. How would you repair them?<\/p>\n

The busload of tourists that wandered curiously around the ancient ruins.<\/em><\/p>\n

Because Myrna likes the Adirondacks, frequently taking photos of them.<\/em><\/p>\n

9. Run-On Sentences<\/h3>
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\nA run-on sentence occurs when two complete sentences that should be separate are joined incorrectly. Here’s an example:<\/p>\n

Jane was the preeminent scientist in her class her experiments were discussed across campus.<\/em><\/p>\n

You can tell that this is a run-on sentence because it sounds like it should be two separate sentences. There are four ways to fix a run-on sentence.
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