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Course: Praxis Core Writing > Unit 1
Lesson 2: Quick guides- Argumentative essay | Quick guide
- Source-based essay | Quick guide
- Revision in context | Quick guide
- Within-sentence punctuation | Quick guide
- Subordination and coordination | Quick guide
- Independent and dependent Clauses | Video lesson
- Parallel structure | Quick guide
- Modifier placement | Quick guide
- Shifts in verb tense | Quick guide
- Pronoun clarity | Quick guide
- Pronoun agreement | Quick guide
- Subject-verb agreement | Quick guide
- Noun agreement | Quick guide
- Frequently confused words | Quick guide
- Conventional expressions | Quick guide
- Logical comparison | Quick guide
- Concision | Quick guide
- Adjective/adverb confusion | Quick guide
- Negation | Quick guide
- Capitalization | Quick guide
- Apostrophe use | Quick guide
- Research skills | Quick guide
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Revision in context | Quick guide
What is “Revision in Context”?
Revision in Context refers to the process of editing and revising a student essay.
Each Praxis Core Writing exam features a passage in need of revision. Your job is to answer between 4 and 7 multiple choice questions about how to improve the writing in the passage.
- Where? This section starts around question 31 of each Praxis Core Writing Exam (after the Usage and Error ID question formats, but before Research Skills and the Essays)
- Passage length: about 300 words
What question types will I see in the Revision in Context passage?
There are six question subtypes within this section of the exam. Most of the subtypes (though not necessarily all) will appear alongside each passage.
Revise Sentence: Fix a grammar or style error within a sentence.
Precision and Concision: Order the sentences in the passage in the clearest and most logical way.
Transitions: Pick the most logical way to connect a sentence with the sentences around it.
Combine Sentences: Combine two sentences without changing their meaning or creating a grammar error.
Insert/Delete Sentence: Add or remove information from the passage based on its relevance to the focus of the passage as a whole.
Recognize Conclusions: Recognize when a sentence contains no grammar or style errors. This sometimes requires selecting the best sentence out of a list of possible options.
General strategy for the Revision in Context section
Step 1: Read the passage actively
As you read, keep asking yourself questions to check your understanding:
- What’s the point?: While you won’t be tested on the information contained in Reading in Context passages, you will need to understand the general point of the passage. The topic of the passage is important, but more important is what point the passage is making about the topic.
- What is each paragraph doing? As you work through the passage, review the point being made by each paragraph. Try to reframe it in your own words to get a strong hold on it.
- What’s out of place? While you won’t likely be ready to start making revisions, you may notice an error or two the first time you read the passage. Make a note of anything that seems out of place, whether it’s a vague pronoun, a sudden verb tense shift, or an abrupt change in topic. There’s a good chance this out-of-place element will serve as a clue for the answer to one of the questions.
Step 2: Answer the questions
- Work from the beginning to the end: The questions in this part of the test progress sequentially through the passage, so it’s best to answer them in order. As you reshape the passage by making revisions, you may inform your choices on later questions. For example, when choosing the “best conclusion”, it helps to have the rest of the passage well-focused and error-free!
- Make a prediction: Whenever possible, try to predict an answer to the question in your own words—before you look at the choices! This is especially helpful on questions in which multiple choices will be grammatically acceptable (e.g., Transitions). If you know what to look for before you start looking, you won’t be as vulnerable to misleading options. If one of the choices is similar to your prediction, you can select it and move on without being led astray—Trust yourself!
- Use Process of Elimination: While some choices may contain subtle errors that are difficult to identify, there’s a good chance a couple choices for each question will jump out at you as clearly wrong. Get yourself into the habit of crossing out these choices; elimination is a great way to get closer to the answer to a difficult question.
Thanks for reading this help article!
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Want to join the conversation?
What is the recommended time to read the passage? I always find myself running out of time especially when answering the last questions. I think reading the entire passage is the best strategy because it allows the person to get an understanding of what's going on before even getting to the questions; however, the time constraint makes it difficult to answer all questions in a timely manner and to the best possible way. Please advise on how to deal with this.
Thank you Khan Academy for all your help!(4 votes)
This is a great question. I have been told by teachers to read the questions and then the article so that you are already aware of what you need to look for but it is different with the praxis. In this case I have heard the best way to get through this portion of the test is to read the passage first and then go through the questions.(2 votes)
- Are there any revising sentence video lessons?(2 votes)
On khan academy probably not.(2 votes)
For the West-B writing test, all the questions are revision in context. I wish there was a study guide for the West test. Do you plan to add study guides in the future for these tests?(1 vote)