(1) I learned to swim at thirty-four, in a class where the next oldest student was nine. (2) For years I had told people I simply did not like the water. (3) The truth was that I was afraid of it. Which sentence, added after sentence 3, best sets up the main idea of the essay?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Development: proposition. The answer is read from the draft printed with the question.
(1) Many companies offer internships that pay nothing but “experience.” (2) These positions are presented as a favor to students. Which sentence, added after sentence 2, best states the main claim of the draft?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Development: proposition. The answer is read from the draft printed with the question.
(2) The cards are stained, and some are written in pencil so faint that I tilt them toward the window to read them. (3) None of them is complete. Which sentence, added after sentence 3, best supports it with an example?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Development: support. The answer is read from the draft printed with the question.
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Development, continued
(5) Band costs money, but it also brings money in. Which sentence, added after sentence 5, best supports it?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Development: support. The answer is read from the draft printed with the question.
(5) The plants and the loose soil beneath them hold the water until it soaks into the ground. (6) Students measured the results. Which sentence, added after sentence 6, best supports it with specific evidence?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Development: support. The answer is read from the draft printed with the question.
(6) The method is simple, but the results have been useful. Which sentence, added after sentence 6, best supports its claim?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Development: support. The answer is read from the draft printed with the question.
(6) The program was less expensive than the college had expected. (7) The cafeteria serves breakfast until ten. (8) Within six months, the pile produced enough compost for every flower bed on campus. The writer is considering deleting sentence 7. Should it be deleted?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Development: focus. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, On Paragraphs.
(8) The library also runs Saturday classes. (9) The most popular class teaches members to fix a leaking faucet. (10) The garage’s roof was replaced before the library moved in. (11) Last year, members completed more than four hundred repairs, the library’s records show. Which sentence should be deleted because it does not fit the focus of the paragraph?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Development: focus. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, On Paragraphs.
(9) Last year the group performed for an audience of two hundred. (10) Tickets cost five dollars. (11) The money paid for lumber and paint. The writer is considering deleting sentence 10. Should it be deleted?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Development: focus. The answer is read from the draft printed with the question.
(10) ______ (11) More than fifty vendors fill the square each Saturday. (12) Two of them are grandchildren of farmers who once sold from wagons. Which sentence, placed at 10, best introduces the paragraph?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Development: proposition. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, On Paragraphs.
Organization 10
(1) The Saturday market in Marlow Bend has met on the same square since the town was founded. (2) In its first decades, farmers sold from wagons and settled accounts once a year, after harvest. (3) Shoppers drove to larger stores, and only six vendors remained. (4) The market nearly ended when a highway bypassed the town. To make the order of ideas logical, sentence 4 should be placedCollege Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Organization: logical sequence. The answer is read from the draft printed with the question.
(2) Last fall, the cafeteria at Alder Hill College began collecting food scraps for compost. (3) Students scrape their plates into green bins by the door. Which sentence, placed before sentence 2, best introduces the draft?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Organization: introductions, conclusions, and transitions. The answer is read from the draft printed with the question.
(2) The count began after a retired farmer told a local biologist that his fields no longer glowed. (3) So she asked neighbors to help her collect some. (4) She had no data to confirm what he saw. Which change makes the order of these sentences logical?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Organization: logical sequence. The answer is read from the draft printed with the question.
(2) They perform in a church hall, a school gym, or wherever a stage can be borrowed. (3) The group owns no workshop either. (4) ______ everything the audience sees is made by members. Which transition best begins sentence 4?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Organization: introductions, conclusions, and transitions. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Transitional Devices.
(5) Paying interns even a modest wage would widen the pool of applicants. (6) ______ it would change how companies treat the work. (7) An employer who pays for a task makes sure the task is worth doing. Which transition best begins sentence 6?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Organization: introductions, conclusions, and transitions. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Transitional Devices.
(6) Last year, concert tickets and the spring fundraiser covered much of the program’s cost. (7) ______ cutting band would save less than the board expects. Which transition best begins sentence 7?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Organization: introductions, conclusions, and transitions. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Transitional Devices.
(7) Before the garden, puddles stood in the lot for two days after a storm; now the basin drains within hours. (8) ______ the garden did need work. (9) Weeds crowded the young plants during the first summer. Which transition best begins sentence 8?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Organization: introductions, conclusions, and transitions. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Transitional Devices.
(7) He did not tell me to relax. (8) He told me to hum. (9) Humming, he explained, keeps air moving out through the nose so that no water gets in. (10) By the fourth week I could float, kick, and turn my head to breathe. Where should this sentence be added? “I doubted his explanation, but I hummed.”College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Organization: logical sequence. The answer is read from the draft printed with the question.
(8) Grandmother wrote them for her daughters, assuming they would be standing beside her at the stove. Which sentence, added after sentence 8, best concludes the essay?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Organization: introductions, conclusions, and transitions. The answer is read from the draft printed with the question.
(11) Last year, members completed more than four hundred repairs, the library’s records show. Which sentence, added after sentence 11, best concludes the draft by restating its main point?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Organization: introductions, conclusions, and transitions. The answer is read from the draft printed with the question.
Effective Language Use 10
(1) The school board has proposed ending the band program to save money. (2) The proposal treats music as an extra. The writer wants a more exact word than “an extra” to show that the board sees music as pleasant but unnecessary. Which choice works best?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Effective Language Use: precision. Word meaning: Wiktionary, "luxury" (noun).
(5) I tried to fix the cards, measuring each and every single ingredient as I cooked and then writing down the amounts in writing in the margins. Which version of sentence 5 is the most concise without losing meaning?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Effective Language Use: concision. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Eliminating Words.
(6) Most members are renters who have no garage and no room to store equipment. (7) Many of them say that, in their own personal opinion, they would never have tried to attempt a repair on their own. Which version of sentence 7 is the most concise without changing its meaning?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Effective Language Use: concision. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Eliminating Words.
(6) She moved the opening hour from dawn to nine o’clock. (7) She invited musicians. (8) She persuaded the bank to let vendors use its parking lot. Which choice best combines sentences 6 through 8?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Effective Language Use: syntax. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Parallel Structure.
(7) He did not tell me to relax. (8) He told me to hum. Which choice best combines sentences 7 and 8 to stress the contrast between them?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Effective Language Use: syntax. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Identifying Independent and Dependent Clauses.
(7) Rehearsals are a lot of fun and stuff. (8) New actors are paired with experienced ones, who teach them how to project their voices and where to stand. Which revision of sentence 7 best matches the style of the rest of the draft?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Effective Language Use: style and tone. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Levels of Formality.
(8) Some owners say they cannot afford to pay interns. (9) That excuse is totally lame. Which revision of sentence 9 best keeps the tone of the rest of the draft?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Effective Language Use: style and tone. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Levels of Formality.
(8) Two towns have responded. (9) They replaced the bright bulbs along their park paths with things that give off less light. Which choice most precisely replaces “things that give off less light” in sentence 9?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Effective Language Use: precision. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Conciseness.
(11) If the program keeps succeeding, the college’s future plans are to add additional bins to each and every dormitory. Which version of sentence 11 is the most concise without losing meaning?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Effective Language Use: concision. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Eliminating Words.
(11) The garden is nice. (12) Other schools in the district have asked for the class’s plans. Which revision of sentence 11 is the most precise?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Expression of Ideas (56–64% of the test), Effective Language Use: precision. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Conciseness.
Sentence Structure 7
(2) Two years ago, a science class proposed a rain garden. (3) A shallow basin planted with deep-rooted grasses and flowers. Which choice best revises sentences 2 and 3?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Standard English Conventions (36–44% of the test), Sentence Structure: sentence boundaries. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Sentence Fragments.
(3) A student who must pay rent takes a paying job instead, and you lose the chance to enter the field. Which change should be made to sentence 3?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Standard English Conventions (36–44% of the test), Sentence Structure: inappropriate shifts in pronoun person and number. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Using Pronouns Clearly.
(3) The library owns everything from hand drills to a floor sander. (4) A ladder can be kept for a week, a tile saw must come back in two days. Which is the best version of sentence 4?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Standard English Conventions (36–44% of the test), Sentence Structure: sentence boundaries. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Identifying Independent and Dependent Clauses.
(5) Band costs money, so it also brings money in. Which version of sentence 5 best expresses the relationship between its two ideas?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Standard English Conventions (36–44% of the test), Sentence Structure: subordination and coordination. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Identifying Independent and Dependent Clauses.
(5) Carpenters build the sets, painters finish them, and costumes are sewn by a retired tailor. Which is the best version of sentence 5?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Standard English Conventions (36–44% of the test), Sentence Structure: parallel structure. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Parallel Structure.
(5) Standing at the edge of a meadow, the flashes are tallied for ten minutes. Which is the best version of sentence 5?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Standard English Conventions (36–44% of the test), Sentence Structure: modifier placement. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Dangling Modifiers and How To Correct Them.
(5) Volunteers inspect each tool when it returned and sharpen the blades. Which change should be made to sentence 5?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Standard English Conventions (36–44% of the test), Sentence Structure: inappropriate shifts in verb tense. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Verb Tense Consistency.
Conventions of Usage 7
(4) Each of the unpaid interns I interviewed were supported by family. Which change should be made to sentence 4?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Standard English Conventions (36–44% of the test), Conventions of Usage: subject-verb agreement. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Making Subjects and Verbs Agree.
(4) Water from the roof now runs through a pipe into the basin. (5) The plants and the loose soil beneath them holds the water until it soaks into the ground. Which change should be made to sentence 5?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Standard English Conventions (36–44% of the test), Conventions of Usage: subject-verb agreement. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Making Subjects and Verbs Agree.
(6) The program was less expensive then the college had expected. Which change should be made to sentence 6?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Standard English Conventions (36–44% of the test), Conventions of Usage: frequently confused words. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Spelling: Common Words that Sound Alike.
(7) The county’s biologist thinks the streetlights affect the insects’ ability to signal one another. Which change, if any, should be made to sentence 7?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Standard English Conventions (36–44% of the test), Conventions of Usage: frequently confused words. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Spelling: Common Words that Sound Alike.
(7) When my aunt talked with my mother about the cards, she said they had never been used for cooking. Which revision of sentence 7 makes clear who spoke?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Standard English Conventions (36–44% of the test), Conventions of Usage: pronoun clarity. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Using Pronouns Clearly.
(9) The market has three rules, and every vendor agrees to follow them. Which change, if any, should be made to sentence 9?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Standard English Conventions (36–44% of the test), Conventions of Usage: pronoun-antecedent agreement. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Using Pronouns Clearly.
(11) The pool had not changed; it’s depth was the same nine feet that had frightened me in September. Which change should be made to sentence 11?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Standard English Conventions (36–44% of the test), Conventions of Usage: possessive determiners. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Spelling: Common Words that Sound Alike.
Conventions of Punctuation 6
(1) My grandmothers recipes live in a tin box that once held her tea. Which choice correctly replaces “grandmothers recipes” in sentence 1?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Standard English Conventions (36–44% of the test), Conventions of Punctuation: possessive nouns and pronouns. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, The Apostrophe.
(3) For many students, band is the reason they come to school. (4) The students who play in the band practice before school every day. Which change, if any, should be made to sentence 4?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Standard English Conventions (36–44% of the test), Conventions of Punctuation: unnecessary punctuation. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Extended Rules for Using Commas.
(5) Then a retired teacher named Odessa Finch, who had sold eggs there as a girl offered to manage the market without pay. Which version of sentence 5 is punctuated correctly?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Standard English Conventions (36–44% of the test), Conventions of Punctuation: nonrestrictive and parenthetical elements. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Extended Rules for Using Commas.
(6) The group needs only three things from each new member time, patience, and a willingness to learn. Which punctuation mark belongs after “member” in sentence 6?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Standard English Conventions (36–44% of the test), Conventions of Punctuation: within-sentence punctuation. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Brief Overview of Punctuation.
(10) A well-managed pile does not smell, the crew reports. Which choice correctly replaces “well-managed pile” in sentence 10?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Standard English Conventions (36–44% of the test), Conventions of Punctuation: hyphenation conventions. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Hyphen Use.
(10) By the fourth week I could float, kick, and turn my head to breathe. Which choice correctly punctuates the list in sentence 10?College Board, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Writing placement test: Standard English Conventions (36–44% of the test), Conventions of Punctuation: items in a series. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Extended Rules for Using Commas.
How this list was compiled: Our own drafts and questions, written to the six question categories of the Writing placement test in College Board’s Next-Generation ACCUPLACER Test Specifications, Version 2.0 (https://accuplacer.collegeboard.org/accuplacer/pdf/next-generation-test-specifications-manual.pdf, read 2026-10-12): Development, Organization and Effective Language Use (Expression of Ideas, 56 to 64 percent of the test) and Sentence Structure, Conventions of Usage and Conventions of Punctuation (Standard English Conventions, 36 to 44 percent). Ten drafts with five questions each, two of them literary nonfiction and eight informational; 30 questions on Expression of Ideas and 20 on Conventions, so each run of 25 questions, taken in order, has the make-up of the specifications’ Table 4. Grammar, punctuation and style rules were checked at the Purdue Online Writing Lab (https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/index.html) and one word meaning at Wiktionary, both read 2026-10-12; a question on development or order is checked against the sentences printed with it. Licence: Drafts, questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site. The people, places and programs in the drafts are made up for practice.
How it works
This Accuplacer writing practice test has 50 questions of our own on ten short drafts, each asking for the best revision or edit. It is unofficial and not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by College Board.
Read the full guide
What the Writing test asks
College Board’s test specifications, read October 12, 2026, give the test 25 questions in five sets, each on one passage: one literary nonfiction and four informational. Expression of Ideas (development, organization, effective language use) takes 56 to 64 percent; Standard English Conventions (sentence structure, usage, punctuation) takes 36 to 44.
How this practice differs
Real passages run 300 to 350 words. Here each question prints only the numbered sentences it needs, five questions to a draft. The essay test, WritePlacer, is not practiced on this page.
Read the sentence before and the sentence after the one being revised. Many answers depend on them.
“No change” is sometimes right. Pick it when every revision adds an error or changes the meaning.
When two choices say the same thing correctly, the shorter one is usually the better revision.
Questions and answers
Is the Accuplacer writing test the same as Sentence Skills?
It replaced it. College Board’s specifications call the Writing test “formerly Sentence Skills” and say it moved from separate questions to sets of questions on a passage, with more weight on development and organization.
How many questions are on the Accuplacer writing test?
25 multiple-choice questions, the specifications say. College Board’s test page adds that there is no time limit and that the test is computer adaptive. Exam mode here asks a fixed 25, five drafts, with no clock.
Is there an essay on the Accuplacer writing test?
Not on this test. The essay is a separate test, WritePlacer, which College Board scores from 1 to 8. A multiple-choice tool cannot mark an essay, so it is not practiced here.
What is a good score on the Accuplacer writing test?
College Board names none. The test reports a score from 200 to 300, no one passes or fails, and each college sets its own placement scores. Your testing office can tell you its numbers.