{"id":349,"date":"2016-03-28T16:34:38","date_gmt":"2016-03-28T23:34:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/?p=349"},"modified":"2018-12-15T21:22:39","modified_gmt":"2018-12-16T05:22:39","slug":"how-to-write-a-source-based-essay-for-praxis-core-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/how-to-write-a-source-based-essay-for-praxis-core-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Write A Source-based Essay for Praxis Core Writing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>There are two essay prompts at the end of the Praxis Core Writing Exam. The first prompt asks you to write about your personal opinions. The second essay requires you to write about the opinions of others. In this second Source-based essay, you\u2019ll read two passages about the same issue. The passages will be written by different authors who hold conflicting opinions about the issue.<\/p>\n<p>The issues in the Source-based Essay are very similar to the issues raised in the Argumentative Essay. In both cases, you\u2019ll be asked to write about an important social issue that some people may find controversial\u2014something like global warming, copyright restrictions, minimum wage, how to help the homeless, and so on. But unlike the argumentative essay, the source-based essay doesn\u2019t ask for your personal opinion. Instead, you simply need to summarize the opinions of the two passage writers.<\/p>\n<p>Many test-takers find summarization to be a bit easier than coming up with an original opinion. Indeed, the task of choosing and defending an opinion on an important societal issue be intimidating. But summarizing multiple sources poses its own challenges as well. Let\u2019s take a look at what you\u2019ll need to do.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Challenge # 1: Getting the facts right<\/h2>\n<p>Unless your essay response doesn\u2019t address the topic at all, there\u2019s no such thing as a completely \u201cright\u201d or \u201ccompletely \u201cwrong\u201d answer on the Praxis Core essays. However, it is possible to summarize the information from the passages in a way that will be \u201cwrong\u201d in the eyes of the ETS scorers who review your Source-based Essay.<\/p>\n<p>As you summarize both readings, be very careful not to misinterpret what\u2019s being said. A clear misstatement of fact can hurt your score <em>a lot<\/em>. And a failure to understand or properly restate the opinions in the passages can also cost you dearly.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s just as important to make sure that you summarize <em>all<\/em> of the key facts and arguments. Be aware of how both arguments are constructed, and understand the central ideas and evidence each author uses. Include <em>all <\/em>important information from the original writings in your source-based essay. Again, leaving something important out will make your summary inaccurate and hurt your score.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Challenge # 2: Create a well-constructed argument<\/h2>\n<p>As you look at the heading immediately above, you may be thinking \u201cHey wait a minute! You said to summarize, not make an argument!\u201d Yes, I know that we\u2019re talking about the Source-based essay now, not the Argumentative Essay. But in the Source-based essay, you still need to put forth an argument\u2026 in a sense.<\/p>\n<p>As the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ets.org\/s\/praxis\/pdf\/5722.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Praxis Core Writing Study Companion<\/a> indicates on pages 35-40, you are expected to put forth an argument in your Source-based essay. But in this case, you don\u2019t need to choose your own argument, as you would in the Core Writing Argumentative Essay. Instead, the argument is chosen for you\u2014the Praxis specifically wants you to assert that the issue covered in the passages in an important one. You will further be expected to claim that there is significant public debate surrounding the issue at hand.<\/p>\n<p>To support the argument that the essay prompt issue is an important matter of public debate, you\u2019ll use information from both passages as evidence. The writers of the passages clearly find the issue important\u2014otherwise they wouldn\u2019t be writing opinionated articles about the issue. Look for author-provided evidence of the subject matter\u2019s importance. Then look at the distinct opinions in each piece of writing. Compare these opinions side-by-side to demonstrate the nature of the controversy surrounding the topic.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Challenge # 3: Be objective<\/h2>\n<p>Remember that you\u2019re not putting forth your own opinion on this second Core Writing essay. You\u2019re merely summarizing the opinions of others, as seen in separate opinion pieces on the same topic. The idea here isn\u2019t to side with one opinion or the other. Instead you\u2019ll be expected to write a factual report on the issue from the two passages, taking the perspectives of both authors into account. In other words, you\u2019re writing <em>about<\/em> a social issue and a debate related to the social issue, rather than actually taking a side within a social issue debate.<\/p>\n<p>Never let your personal opinion distract you from the skills being tested in the Praxis Core Source-based Essay: reading comprehension and summarizations. And be sure to consciously shift gears as you begin this second essay task. Many students unthinkingly stay in \u201cpersonal opinion mode\u201d as they start to write the source-based essay, because they\u2019ve just finished defending their own opinion the inital argument-based essay prompt on the test.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Challenge # 4: Keep an eye on the quality of your writing<\/h2>\n<p>On the Praxis Core, the key \u201cgood writing\u201d components of the Argumentative Essay are also essential for a top-scoring Source-based Essay. To score well in this second Praxis Core essay, you need to have a logical progression of ideas that is expressed through error-free writing, just as you would in the first Core Writing Essay prompt.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are two essay prompts at the end of the Praxis Core Writing Exam. The first prompt asks you to write about your personal opinions. The second essay requires you to write about the opinions of others. In this second Source-based essay, you\u2019ll read two passages about the same issue. The passages will be written [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2436],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[4914],"class_list":["post-349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-praxis-writing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.7 (Yoast SEO v21.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Write A Source-based Essay for Praxis Core Writing - Magoosh Blog \u2013 Praxis\u00ae\ufe0f Test<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/how-to-write-a-source-based-essay-for-praxis-core-writing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Write A Source-based Essay for Praxis Core Writing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There are two essay prompts at the end of the Praxis Core Writing Exam. 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Additionally, he's helped students with TOEIC, PET, FCE, BULATS, Eiken, SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT. David has a BS and MA from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and an MA from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshEnglishLearning","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/david-recine\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCra3KQoJlOP7RYwaCyH2qew"],"knowsAbout":["TOEFL","IELTS","TOEIC","PET","FCE","BULATS","Eiken","SAT","ACT","GRE","GMAT"],"knowsLanguage":["English","Italian"],"jobTitle":"Content Creator","worksFor":"Magoosh","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/author\/davidr\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":4914,"user_id":80,"is_guest":0,"slug":"davidr","display_name":"David Recine","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b70c17ee6f3ef87dc4cc5dbdebda911d6dd30dfe15845e4b1d459a3e1b33ef98?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"Recine","first_name":"David","description":"David is a Test Prep Expert for Magoosh TOEFL and IELTS. Additionally, he's helped students with TOEIC, PET, FCE, BULATS, Eiken, SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT.\r\n\r\nDavid has a BS from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and an MA from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. His work at Magoosh has been cited in<a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/scholar?hl=en&amp;as_sdt=0%2C50&amp;q=Recine+magoosh&amp;btnG=\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> many scholarly articles<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/minds.wisconsin.edu\/handle\/1793\/65479\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> his Master's Thesis<\/a> is featured on the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.readingwithpictures.org\/2013\/09\/research-highlight-teaching-english-language-learners-with-comics\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Reading with Pictures<\/a> website, and he's presented at the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.witesol.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/2014-WITESOL-Program-FINAL-10-28-14.pdf\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> WITESOL (link to PDF)<\/a> and<a href=\"https:\/\/issuu.com\/interoff\/docs\/nafsaregionv_2014conference\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> NAFSA<\/a> conferences. David has taught K-12 ESL in South Korea as well as undergraduate English and MBA-level business English at American universities. He has also trained English teachers in America, Italy, and Peru.\r\n\r\nCome join David and the Magoosh team on<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCra3KQoJlOP7RYwaCyH2qew\"> Youtube<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshEnglishLearning\"> Facebook<\/a>, and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/magooshenglish\/?hl=en\"> Instagram<\/a>, or connect with him via<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/david-recine\/\"> LinkedIn<\/a>!"}],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/80"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=349"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}