MTEL Communication and Literacy Writing Practice Test
Unofficial practice for the Writing subtest (201): main idea, grammar and usage, mechanics and sentence revision, each rule sourced.
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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education or Pearson. Bank checked October 9, 2026.
A draft thesis reads, "Pollution is bad." Which revision best follows the advice that a thesis statement should be specific?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0007
A writer plans an essay arguing that the town should extend its library hours. Which sentence would be the most effective thesis statement?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0007
"In my opinion, I think that the new schedule is better." Which revision removes the ineffective repetition?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Conciseness: Eliminating Words. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0007
One paragraph ends by noting that the playground swings were rusted through. The next begins, "______, the town removed two of them in April." Which transition fits best?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Transitional Devices. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0007
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Objective 0007: Main idea and organization, continued
One paragraph of an essay describes the costs of a longer school day. The next begins, "______, a longer day offers real benefits." Which transition fits best?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Transitional Devices. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0007
Read the paragraph. "(1) ______ (2) Some volunteers shelve the returned books each morning. (3) Others read aloud to children on Saturdays. (4) A few repair worn bindings." Which sentence best fills the blank as a topic sentence?Purdue Online Writing Lab, On Paragraphs: Elements of a paragraph. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0007
Read the paragraph. "(1) ______ (2) The path climbs through pine woods for the first mile. (3) Then it crosses a brook on stepping stones. (4) It ends at a ledge above the valley." Which sentence best fills the blank as a topic sentence?Purdue Online Writing Lab, On Paragraphs: Elements of a paragraph. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0007
Read the paragraph. "(1) Commuting by bicycle saves money. (2) A rider pays nothing for fuel or parking. (3) Repairs cost far less than repairs to a car. (4) Many bicycles today are painted in bright colors." Which sentence strays from the main idea?Purdue Online Writing Lab, On Paragraphs: Elements of a paragraph. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0007
Read the paragraph. "(1) Ms. Ortiz's class is raising trout from eggs. (2) Students test the tank water each morning. (3) They record the temperature and feed the fry. (4) Trout fishing draws tourists every fall. (5) In May the class will release the fish in a stream." Which sentence should be removed?Purdue Online Writing Lab, On Paragraphs: Elements of a paragraph. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0007
Read the paragraph. "(1) Sales of fries have fallen by half. (2) Twice as many students now take a vegetable. (3) Even the milk cooler empties faster. (4) Clearly, the new salad bar has changed what students eat." Which sentence states the main idea?Purdue Online Writing Lab, On Paragraphs: Elements of a paragraph. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0007
Read the paragraph. "(1) The town pool needs repairs before summer. (2) The lifeguards at the pool wear red uniforms. (3) The pump leaks, and the deck tiles are cracked. (4) Fixing both now would cost less than replacing the pump later." Which sentence detracts from the main idea?Purdue Online Writing Lab, On Paragraphs: Elements of a paragraph. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0007
Read the sentences. "(1) As a result, the brook flooded the lower field. (2) Heavy rain fell for three days. (3) The next morning the farmer moved her sheep to higher ground." Which order is the most logical?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Transitional Devices. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0007
Read the sentences. "(1) Next, she sanded the frame smooth. (2) Finally, she brushed on two coats of paint. (3) First, Dana scraped the old paint from the window frame." Which order is the most logical?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Transitional Devices. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0007
Which sentence is free of redundancy?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Conciseness: Eliminating Words. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0007
Which thesis statement fits an essay that explains how a school garden is planned?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0007
Objective 0008: Sentences, grammar and usage 10
A hallway notice is drafted four ways. Which draft uses the right form of its irregular verb?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Irregular Verbs. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0008
A handbook rule about late arrival is worded four ways. Which wording slips from the third person into the second?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Using Pronouns Clearly. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0008
A teacher proofreads a note to families about a late bus. Which line of the note is a sentence fragment?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Sentence Fragments. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0008
Four versions of one sentence describe a principal entering a classroom. Which version changes tense without a reason?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Verb Tense Consistency. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0008
In which of these sentences about a school day does the verb agree with its subject?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Making Subjects and Verbs Agree. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0008
In which sentence about a van and a mailbox can the reader not tell what the pronoun stands for?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Using Pronouns Clearly. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0008
In which sentence does the opening phrase about walking fail to connect with a walker in the main clause?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Dangling Modifiers and How To Correct Them. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0008
Two complete thoughts about a rained-out practice are joined in four ways. Which way leaves a comma splice?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Run-ons, Comma Splices, Fused Sentences. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0008
Which sentence makes the right choice among affect, effect, their, there and they're?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Spelling: Common Words that Sound Alike. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0008
Which sentence makes the right choice between who and which?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Relative Pronouns: Defining vs. Non-Defining. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0008
Objective 0009: Spelling, capitals and punctuation 10
A note for a substitute reads, "The room can ______ thirty students." Which spelling belongs in the blank?Wikipedia, "Commonly misspelled English words", list of words. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0009
A sentence about a team and a captain needs both its and it's. Which version uses the two correctly?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Apostrophe Introduction. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0009
A sentence mentions coats that belong to children and desks that belong to two teachers. Which version uses apostrophes correctly?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Apostrophe Introduction. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0009
A student writes, "The mistake did not ______ her." Which spelling belongs in the blank?Wikipedia, "Commonly misspelled English words", list of words. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0009
A thank-you note names a relative and a season. Which version of its first line is capitalized correctly?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Capitals: Help with Capitals. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0009
A writer wants to say that the assembly ended and then the students went back to class, in one sentence that begins with "After." Which version is punctuated correctly?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Extended Rules for Using Commas. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0009
Which sentence contains a spelling error?Wikipedia, "Commonly misspelled English words", list of words. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0009
Which sentence contains an error in capitalization?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Capitals: Help with Capitals. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0009
Which sentence follows the rule for capitalizing a title of office?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Capitals: Help with Capitals. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0009
Which sentence is missing a comma before its conjunction?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Extended Rules for Using Commas. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0009
Objective 0010: Revising sentences 7
"The committee postponed the vote. Because two members were absent." Which revision corrects the error?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Sentence Fragments. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0010
"The field trip was canceled the bus had broken down." Which revision corrects the sentence?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Run-ons, Comma Splices, Fused Sentences. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0010
"The girls on the team brought her own water bottles." Which revision corrects the sentence?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Using Pronouns Clearly. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0010
"The principals office is closed on friday's." Which revision corrects the sentence?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Apostrophe Introduction. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0010
"Running for the bus, my lunch fell out of my bag." Which revision corrects the sentence?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Dangling Modifiers and How To Correct Them. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0010
"There is several reasons the plan have failed." Which revision corrects the sentence?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Making Subjects and Verbs Agree. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0010
"When the storm ended the crew begun clearing the road." Which revision corrects the sentence?Purdue Online Writing Lab, Extended Rules for Using Commas. Written to MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, Writing subtest (201), objective 0010
How this list was compiled: Our own questions and sentences, written to the test objectives of the Writing subtest (201) of MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills, as the test information guide prints them on the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure website (https://www.mtel.nesinc.com/Content/StudyGuide/MA_SG_OBJ_01.htm and https://www.mtel.nesinc.com/TestView.aspx?f=HTML_FRAG/MA001_TestPage.html, read 2026-10-09): 35 multiple-choice questions, 7 short-answer sentence correction items and 2 open-response assignments; objective 0007, establish and maintain a main idea, 14 to 16 multiple-choice questions and 15% of the subtest score; objective 0008, sentence construction, grammar and usage, 9 to 11 and 10%; objective 0009, spelling, capitalization and punctuation, 9 to 11 and 10%; objective 0010, revise sentences containing errors, 7 sentence correction items and 15%; objectives 0011 and 0012, the summary and the composition, 50%. This bank holds 15, 10, 10 and 7. Every rule was read on 2026-10-09 in the public page named under its question: sixteen pages of the Purdue Online Writing Lab and, for three spellings, the Wikipedia list of commonly misspelled English words. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.
How it works
This MTEL Communication and Literacy writing practice test asks 42 questions of our own on Writing subtest 201. It is unofficial and not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education or Pearson.
Read the full guide
How the 42 questions are divided
The bank takes the middle of each range the test objectives publish: 15 questions on main idea and organization, 10 on grammar and usage, 10 on spelling, capitals and punctuation, and all 7 sentence corrections.
Sentence corrections are typed on the real test
On the real subtest the candidate rewrites each faulty sentence as a short answer. Here each one offers four revisions.
Where the rules come from
Each rule was read on the Purdue Online Writing Lab page named under its question; three spellings come from Wikipedia's list of commonly misspelled English words.
The summary and the composition are written and are not practiced here.
Questions and answers
How many questions are on the MTEL Communication and Literacy writing subtest?
The Writing subtest (201) has 35 multiple-choice questions, 7 short-answer sentence correction items and 2 open-response assignments. Online-proctored candidates get 3 hours for the Writing subtest alone; a test center appointment gives 4 hours for one or both subtests.
What is a passing score on the MTEL writing subtest?
The MTEL site gives a qualifying score of 240 on each subtest. The multiple-choice and sentence correction items are 50% of the Writing score and the two written assignments 50%, so a number right here carries no verdict.
What is on the MTEL Communication and Literacy writing subtest?
Six objectives: establishing a main idea (15% of the score); sentence construction, grammar and usage (10%); spelling, capitalization and punctuation (10%); revising sentences (15%); a summary exercise (15%); and a composition exercise (35%).
Do I have to take the reading and writing subtests together?
No. The MTEL site says the Communication and Literacy Skills test has two subtests, Reading (101) and Writing (201). Candidates must pass both and may take one or both at one appointment.