PERT Writing study guide
PERT Writing · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The PERT Writing subtest is one component of the Postsecondary Education Readiness Test, a placement instrument used within Florida's public postsecondary system to gauge whether incoming students are ready for college-level coursework. It is intended for students entering or transferring into Florida colleges and for others who need a placement determination in writing. The subtest targets the conventions and craft of academic prose: grammar and usage, sentence structure, punctuation, organization and development, and the revision and editing of essay-style passages. Because placement results can affect which courses a student starts in, preparation is worthwhile even for confident writers. The PERT Writing study guide has 5 sections and about 1,615 words.
01Grammar and Usage
Grammar and Usage questions ask you to spot errors in subject-verb agreement, pronoun case and reference, verb tense and form, modifier placement, and comparisons. You are usually choosing the version of a sentence that is grammatically clean, not the one that sounds fanciest.
339 words, about 2 min02Sentence Structure
Sentence Structure questions test whether sentences are complete, correctly joined, and balanced. You will see fragments, run-ons, comma splices, faulty parallelism, and misplaced or dangling modifiers.
330 words, about 2 min03Punctuation
Punctuation questions check commas, semicolons, colons, apostrophes, dashes, and quotation marks. The goal is to use punctuation to clarify structure, not to sprinkle marks where a pause feels natural.
306 words, about 2 min04Organization and Development
Organization and Development questions ask whether a passage is logically ordered, whether paragraphs have clear main ideas and support, and whether transitions and sentence placement make sense. You are editing for coherence, not just correctness.
319 words, about 2 min05Essay Revision and Editing
Essay Revision and Editing asks you to improve a draft at the sentence and paragraph level: tightening wordiness, choosing precise words, maintaining consistent tone, fixing errors, and deciding what to add, cut, or reorder. Revision is about meaning and clarity; editing is about correctness.
321 words, about 2 min