Writing Sample

Praxis: You will be asked to write about a topic below for a maximum of 5 minutes. Write a short essay. You will have 30 seconds to organize your ideas before the recording begins.

This task is NOT marked, but it is sent to your prospective college, university, or employer.

Time: 3 to 5:00 minutes.

TIPS:

Use the essay form to organize your response – a 3 or 4-paragraph essay.

Vary your sentence structure and use 3 or 4 less common words (see Part 6)

 

For example:

3 to 5 minutes for all six

questions

1:43

 

Write for 3 to 5 minutes about the topic below:     Agree or disagree with this statement:   “Electric vehicles are critical for the future of the earth” Explain your reasoning.

Your response                         Next

 

You must know Essay form, Paragraphing– Topic Sentence (support and examples/detail), expressing 2 sides of an argument – 4 paragraph essay form.

For this task, the test-taker must write consecutive paragraphs that mention both sides of an argument. This is typically a 4-paragraph response that includes:

1. Introduction
2. Body Paragraph (one side)
3. Body Paragraph (the other side)
4. A Conclusion Paragraph

Since this essay is to be written in a maximum of 5 minutes, the test-taker does not have to write a lengthy essay. What is MOST IMPORTANT is that your response is organized!

For example, Question Prompt: Agree or Disagree with this statement:

“New Technologies improve lives.” Explain your reasoning.

NOTE: It does matter what side of the argument you choose – you are being marked on the ‘form of your response’ by an algorithm, so there is no right or wrong answer. Just make sure you choose a side of the argument where you can develop or give good reason(s) ‘why’ technology improves or makes life worse for people.

Essay 1:

Introduction

Some people argue that ‘new technology’ helps improve people’s lives. Whereas others believe it does not. This essay will argue the former by way of explicit examples.

Body Paragraph 1:

There are many devices nowadays that improve people’s lives for the better. The cellphone is a perfect example. A cellphone allows people to use email, access different applications, search the internet, or make a telephone call from most remote places throughout any city on a continent. This access to information has allowed the world to communicate at a greater rate than at any time in the past.

Body Paragraph 2:

Another device that improves lives is a Magnetic Resonance Image machine or MRI. In the medical field, this machine allows doctors to see all of a person’s tissue in a particular area of the body. For example, MRI machines can illuminate blockages, torn ligaments, or broken bones immediately, so people can start to recover from their issues quickly. In this way, the MRI machine helps save people from a lot of pain and maybe even their lives.

Conclusion (Summary)

In conclusion, both the cell phone and MRI machine are examples of how ‘newer technology’ makes people’s lives better. Cell phones make life easier by way of communication, and the MRI machine helps discover medical issues quicker, so people can recover quicker.

(212 words – approximately 42 words a minute)

 

NOTE*: This may be too long a response for some people to type in 5 minutes. Please see the next example below for a 3-paragraph response that is organized.

Essay 2:

Introduction

Although some people maintain ‘new technology’ has improved life on the planet, I tend to disagree with this statement.

Body Paragraph

How have computers, and by extension cellphones, made life better for people? These devices have allowed people to communicate quicker but at such a cost that people, ironically, do not communicate at all, really. Text messages and emails are all very fine, but it has come to the point where people do not sit face-to-face and talk anymore. For this reason, people do not even ‘know’ other people anymore. Also, both devices distract people from what they should be doing. It is far too easy to not do important work because people divert their attention too often to things that do not matter, like watching YouTube, playing a game on an app, or looking at pictures of celebrities!

Conclusion

In conclusion, with all the excitement around ‘new technology’ these days, it looks as if the future will lead people to become slaves to their devices and miss all the fun of real relationships with people face-to-face.

(174 words – approximately 35 words a minute)

Note: 150-word organized responses should be a test-takers goal (approximately 30 words a minute)

Please see more examples in Part 3