The Praxis essay section is 30 minutes long and contains only one question. It asks you to reflect on your personal experience and observations and to use them for information, examples, and even generalizations throughout the writing process. The essay question generates a raw score that ranges from 2 to 12. This section of the exam tests your ability to read through the topic carefully, organize your argument before drafting the essay and then write it lucidly and concisely. The essay requires basic knowledge of college-level writing. Papers are scored on the writer’s ability to achieve a good level of organization and the development of ideas with supporting evidence of specific examples; identifying the essay’s intended audience; understanding of the assignment; masterful use of language; and accuracy of usage, mechanics and paragraphing.

• Carefully read through and examine the prompt. The Praxis essay topics ask you to discuss your stance on a given statement. This implies that you may either completely agree or disagree with a statement. In addition, you may use a middle-ground approach to your essay if that works best for you.
• Plan your essay for at least eight minutes. The planning is essential, because it will actually enhance the quality of the essay. Before you start writing, be sure to make a list of all your supporting details. Then select two or three of your finest arguments and organize them logically. Organizing the arguments in advance is critical, especially if you are taking the paper-based Praxis exam, as you would not be able to reorder huge chunks of the text once you have begun writing. Analyze and discuss your points in an interesting way.
• Draft the essay. Try to finish your draft in 15 minutes so you can have at least a few minutes to reread the essay at the end.
• Include a concise and clear introduction to your topic, but don’t spend too much time on it.
• Add an effective conclusion to the essay that accurately sums up the main points and evaluates the benefits.
• Use the remaining time to revise the essay. Read your draft carefully, looking for omitted words, awkward phrasing, problematic transitions and similar issues. Pay close attention to errors in sentence structure and subject-verb agreement. In addition, be sure to avoid the use of the second-person pronoun “you” in your writing.

Being a freelance writer is tough business, as there are more writers working freelance than almost any other profession in the country. It’s tough to compete with all of the other freelance writers that have more years of experience, better writing skill, lower rates, and a higher education than you, but the good news is that you don’t have to! All you have to do is market “you” as a brand, and you’ll be able to sell your writing skills on their own merits.

How can you sell your personal brand as a writer?

Guest Posting – Do you follow any blogs faithfully? If you have a topic in which you are knowledgeable, why not offer to provide guest posts for the blogs that you love? You’ll find that all great blogs are willing to accept quality guest posts, and it’s a good way to spread your name around. If you can provide people with links to posts you made on popular websites, it will be better than a professionally-worded resume. Quality examples of published content will speak much more loudly than any boring resume!

Create a Website – This may sound costly, but you’ll find that a simple website with a few static pages and a blog can cost you as little as $50 or so per year. You can use a simple WordPress template, buy the domain name and hosting, and get everything set up easily. Once you have your website, start writing and posting content to your blog. A professional-looking website will be one of the best marketing tools, and you can point potential clients to your site to see your writing style first hand.

Use Social Media – You’ll be amazed at how effective social media websites can be for building your personal brand. LinkedIn is the ultimate tool for professional freelancers, and you can expand your network, find job opportunities, and expand your horizons using this free social media site. Post a good profile complete with your information, projects, and links to content, and refer people to the page whenever you send out your resume. The larger your network, the greater your scope of influence. Leverage social media sites to help you market yourself, and you’ll be amazed at what you can do!

Email People About Your Services – If you happen to be the creative type of writer then maybe the best way to get the word out about your services is to have people you know be your first clients. Make sure you have plenty of examples and proof to share before you email your friends a sales pitch. If you are part writer part crafter you can create some Invitationbox customized wedding invitations or perhaps some blog post samples if you are a blogger for hire. You’ll be amazed at how extensive your network can become if you just let people know what you can do.

Set Up Portfolios — Websites like oDesk and Elance are great places to find freelance work, but they’re actually better for setting up a professional profile. Even if you never get a job from these websites, you can point people to your profile – where they can check out what you can do. Guru and Freelancer are also excellent sites to use, and you should take full advantage of these job board websites.

Writing is one of the most important life skills. Whether you are looking for a job, doing a job that requires written presentations or want to communicate with family and friends, the ability to produce well-written content is essential. Middle school is a time for kids to further develop their writing skills because in higher grades, a well-written paper is a prerequisite, not a goal, and it will be too late to catch up. Furthermore, students have to avoid the usual patterns and develop their own personal writing style, which during later grades is the focal point of teachers.

Read the essay aloud. You will be able to spot mistakes, parts that don’t make sense and sentences that are just too short or too long for the reader. Practice this method in your room and don’t hesitate to ask your parents to listen to you. Divide longer sentences that make you lose your breath into shorter ones, retaining their meaning. Combine successive short sentences that disrupt the flow of your speech. If certain words don’t work well together, consult your parents to find a better solution.

Combine sentences. This is one of the basic skills that separate middle school students from their early grades counterparts. “I am a 10-year-old boy. I used to be an only child.” Instead of writing that as two sentences, write: “I am a 10-year-old boy, who used to be an only child.” It is a very simple example, but it shows the ability to express more complex thoughts and identify the connection between two sentences, such as cause and effect or similarities and differences.

Broaden your vocabulary. One of the main reasons papers receive poor grades is because they only incorporate a handful of commonly used words, even in large essays. You should never use the same word more than once in the same sentence and avoid repeating it regularly in paragraphs. When you are doing your homework, consult dictionaries to look for synonyms of the words you constantly use.

Ask your teacher to specifically explain your mistakes. When you receive your essay with only a grade on top or some inexplicable corrections, you won’t be able to identify your mistakes and avoid them in the future. Don’t be afraid to ask teachers. They will be more than happy to help.

Read literature. The best way to learn how to write well is to read high-quality works. You don’t have to turn to Shakespeare, but there are numerous options of middle-school options in libraries and bookstores to choose from. Dedicate some of your spare time to reading books and you will find that apart from helping you improve your writing skills, it can also turn out to be an interesting activity.

Research your topic before you start writing the essay. Apart from your written skills, teachers are looking for original, well-presented content. Ask for your parents’ help to show you how to search for information in encyclopedias or on the Internet.