Each year, thousands of students sit down to take the TSIA, an assessment that is designed to ensure college-readiness. Many of these students will end up taking the exam multiple times before they graduate high school and move on to college or the professional world.
For the students taking the test, however, it’s important to consider how they can perform best. When students study, they tend to focus on Math and English, forgetting one of the most important sections of the test: the TSI essay.
In this article, we will deep dive into the TSI essay, looking at TSI essay prompts, sample TSI essays, and consider how the College Board grades TSI essays, and what is required for students to “pass” them.
What is the TSI Assessment?
Before we jump into the TSI essay specifically, however, let’s look back at what exactly the TSI itself is. The TSI (Texas Success Initiative) Assessment is a computer adaptive test taken by students in Texas who are interested in taking dual-enrollment courses or for those who plan to attend a Texas public college after graduation.
The whole assessment is composed of four subtests in Math and English (depending on how students perform, they might only see two of these subtests) and an essay. The exam is untimed but usually lasts 2-4 hours. Tested concepts include reading comprehension, writing mechanics, and math through Algebra I.
TSI Essay
Now that we’ve refreshed our memory about the details of the TSI Assessment, let’s turn our attention specifically to the TSI essay itself. Like the rest of the TSI Assessment, the TSI essay is untimed, though most students take about 30-60 minutes to complete it.
The essay itself is based on a prompt question, and should be multi-paragraph and 300-600 words (although remember–longer essays tend to score better!). The essay is graded on an 8-point scale.
TSI Essay Prompts
Although the specific prompts for TSI essays change for each test, the general format they take always remains the same. You’ll be given a short paragraph-long passage that will introduce a topic. This paragraph will often include quotes from experts on the topic, and is designed to get students thinking about different aspects of the topic and question.
After the passage, students will see a short, open-ended question about the topic introduced in the passage. Students will then see a line of text, asking students to: “Plan and write a multiparagraph essay (300-600 words) in which you develop your point of view on the above question. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, or observations.”
In answering this question, students don’t necessarily have to directly respond to or utilize the information contained in the short passage, but they are welcome to! Largely, students should mine their own studies and lives for evidence to support whatever positions they choose to adopt in response to the question. This might sound a little daunting, but don’t worry–the prompts are designed so that you’ll be able to use life experiences to help answer them!
Let’s look at an example of a TSI essay prompt and passage:
How is the TSI Essay Graded?
The TSI essay is scored on an 8-point scale, with 8 being the highest score and 1 being the lowest.
There are six distinct categories upon which these essays are graded: Purpose and Focus; Organization and Structure; Development and Support; Sentence Variety and Style; Mechanical Conventions; Critical Thinking. Look at the chart below for more information about each category:
In each of these categories, students can be awarded up to three points, and their holistic score is determined based on how many points they received in each of these categories added together. Generally, earning 10 or fewer points will result in a score of 1-3; earning 11-16 points will result in a score of 4-6; and earning 17-18 points will result in a score of 7-8.
On Piqosity, we are excited to announce our new AI-powered essay scoring system. When a student submits an essay in response to one of the practice TSI essay prompts, the essay will be read and graded by our software, and they will receive not only a holistic score based on College Board’s scale, but they will also receive feedback noting some of the strengths and weaknesses of their essay and suggesting areas for improvement.
TSI Essay Examples
Now that we know about TSI essay prompts and how the TSI essays are graded, let’s look at a few sample essays and scores.
Let’s take a look at a sample TSI essay prompt:
Now, let’s look at some sample student responses to this prompt, and how they scored based on the TSI essay scoring criteria.
To begin with, let’s take examine the essay of a student who did not score well, and has many areas where they could improve.
Sample Student Response #1; Score of 3:
Boldness might matter if you wanna be a good leader, but I think its also okay to just be kind of normal. I’m not really sure why some CEOs act like psychopaths, but maybe it helps them make tough calls. Honestly, you can just do your job without being super bold or super cold. People talk about integrity and emotional intelligence too, which might be good, but a leader might only need a bit of both.
If someone is too bold, they could make bad decisions because they feel unstoppable. But if they arent bold at all, the company might not grow. I guess the best thing is to be somewhere in the middle. I’ve seen people in charge of school clubs who just do enough to keep things running. That seems to work okay most of the time.
Feedback generated by Piqosity’s AI-powered essay evaluating software:
You point out that leadership can involve striking a balance between boldness and caution, but you could strengthen your argument by adding more specific examples and a clearer structure. Try to refine your style and correct informal usage to meet 10th-grade expectations. Greater depth and detail in your reasoning will also help showcase your critical thinking skills.
Holistic Score: 3
The goal of the feedback given by Piqosity’s software is not only to let students know how they would have scored on the essay had this been a real TSI Assessment, but also to give them clear ways to improve their scores on subsequent attempts.
Now, let’s look at an essay that scored a little better.
Sample Student Response #2; Score of 5:
According to Vik Malhotra, leaders need boldness to move the needle in their organizations, but I believe that’s only one piece of the puzzle. From what I’ve observed, a good leader also shows some level of integrity and emotional awareness, even if they sometimes make tough decisions that feel a bit cold. I recall watching a documentary about a CEO who pushed boundaries with big, risky projects, yet still held regular meetings to hear employee concerns.
It seems that a leader who shows boldness but ignores people’s emotions can lose valuable talent and create a tense environment. On the other hand, a leader who is too focused on being kind might miss opportunities to innovate or make necessary changes. Therefore, balancing decisive action with concern for others is the most important characteristic of effective leadership.
In the end, I’d say boldness, empathy, and integrity all matter, but no single trait stands out as the absolute winner for every situation. Leaders often need to pivot between pushing forward aggressively and stepping back to listen. If they can manage that combination, they stand a decent chance of succeeding at a high level.
Feedback generated by Piqosity’s AI-powered essay evaluating software:
You address the prompt directly by discussing multiple leadership traits, but you could further develop and reinforce your points with more concrete examples or a stronger thesis statement. Improving transitions between paragraphs and exploring alternative perspectives more thoroughly would enhance clarity. With more sophisticated sentence structure and additional evidence, your essay could demonstrate greater depth and nuance for a 10th-grade standard.
Holistic Score: 5
Finally, let’s take a look at the essay of a student who scored quite well.
Sample Student Response #3; Score of 8:
Vik Malhotra’s assertion that “if you’re not bold… you’re not going to move the needle” underscores one vital trait of leadership: the willingness to take decisive action. However, focusing exclusively on boldness neglects other essential dimensions of successful leadership. In my view, truly effective leaders combine courage with integrity, emotional intelligence, and a clear moral compass, enabling them not just to drive change but also to sustain trust and loyalty among those they lead.
First and foremost, boldness can spark innovation and encourage employees to step beyond their comfort zones. Leaders who are fearless about calculated risks open the door to breakthroughs in products, strategies, and organizational structures. For instance, during my volunteer work at a local nonprofit, the director initiated a bold shift in fundraising tactics by moving from mail campaigns to social media-driven appeals. Although there was uncertainty at first, her willingness to try something new motivated volunteers to experiment with fresh approaches, ultimately leading to a significant increase in donations.
Yet boldness alone is insufficient without integrity. People must believe that their leader’s daring decisions stem from ethical principles rather than reckless ambition. If a leader appears willing to sacrifice honesty or the well-being of others for personal gain, team morale can quickly deteriorate. We have all witnessed news stories of CEOs who pursued profits by circumventing regulations or deceiving their stakeholders, eroding both public trust and employee commitment.
Moreover, emotional intelligence is critical for managing interpersonal dynamics and sustaining a positive organizational culture. Even the boldest initiatives require buy-in from teams that feel heard and respected. My older cousin worked under a manager who was undeniably bold but often ignored employees’ concerns. Productivity dropped, and several talented team members left for workplaces where they felt their voices mattered. This illustrates how empathizing with others’ perspectives allows leaders to unite ambition with compassion.
Additionally, the passage mentions that some CEOs share traits with psychopaths, suggesting that a certain detachment can occasionally yield decisive, unflinching actions. Nonetheless, detachment must never cross the line into emotional callousness if a leader seeks long-term stability and success. Rather, high-level leaders do well to channel elements of cool-headed logic without abandoning ethical principles or empathy.
Ultimately, the most important characteristics of successful leadership revolve around balancing daring vision with empathy, moral conviction, and the ability to inspire trust. Boldness propels an organization forward, integrity cements its ethical foundation, and emotional intelligence strengthens collaboration. By weaving these traits together, leaders can truly “move the needle” while preserving the respect and engagement of those who follow them.
Feedback generated by Piqosity’s AI-powered essay evaluating software:
You skillfully integrate personal examples with the broader discussion of boldness, ethics, and empathy. Your paragraphs flow logically and offer a clear argument, showing strong writing skills for a 10th grader. Adding an additional perspective or counterargument would further enrich your analysis, but overall, this is a well-structured, thoughtful essay.
Holistic Score: 8
How to Pass the TSI Essay
In order to pass the TSI essay, you must receive a minimum score of 5. This means that on the six grading criteria that the TSI essay is scored on, you must score at least a 12. Remember, these points can be distributed in any configuration across the scoring criteria, but generally, it means that you should be aiming to score at least 2 points in each category. In other words, you need to have to perform, at the very least, moderately well in every reporting category in order to pass the essay.
How to Write a Good TSI Essay
Now that we’ve looked at what exactly goes into a strong TSI essay, let’s think about how this would work in practice, when a student sits down to take the TSI Assessment.
The first thing that you should do is read through the passage/assignment 2-3 times. Once you’ve done this, take a minute or two to decide generally what you want to argue in your essay. Try to summarize this point-of-view in a single-sentence thesis statement (you can flesh this out further once you start to brainstorm evidence!).
Once you’ve done this, you want to start planning your essay. Having a strong plan before you begin writing is always a good strategy for earning a good score on standardized test essays. Since the TSI essay is untimed, you have as long as you want to spend on this step–we recommend using this to your advantage and creating a detailed outline before you begin writing your essay.
A good outline will provide a roadmap for each paragraph in your essay so, when you begin to write, you won’t have to think about what you want to say or how you want to organize your information. This will free you up to focus on more stylistic and technical concerns, like ensuring sentence variety and minimizing grammatical errors.
Sample Outline:
- Introductory Paragraph:
- Hook – This can be a question, an interesting fact, perhaps a short personal anecdote intended to get your readers interested in your essay. Often, this is a good place to include information learned in the provided passage.
- Thesis Statement – This should be the short sentence you generated earlier that summarizes your overall position on the topic, and gives the reader an idea of what to expect from your body paragraphs.
- Body Paragraph 1:
- Topic Sentence – This should be a sentence that summarizes the main argument of the paragraph.
- Evidence #1 – This should be information from the provided passage or outside information acquired from your studies or personal experience that supports the argument of the paragraph.
- Evidence #2 – If applicable, include an additional piece of information that supports your argument. Typically, in essays of this type, however, one piece of evidence is sufficient for each paragraph.
- Body Paragraph 2:
- Topic Sentence
- Evidence #1
- Evidence #2 (optional)
- Note: in essays like this, two body paragraphs should be considered the minimum.
- Body Paragraph 3 (optional):
- Topic Sentence
- Evidence #1
- Evidence #2 (optional)
- Conclusion:
- Restatement of Thesis – To close your essay, you should reiterate your overall argument in slightly different language.
- Expansion of the Argument – Often, it’s a good idea to end the essay by expanding the argument, or stating in broad terms why this argument is important. Alternatively, you can leave readers with a thoughtful question about the topic, or a notable insight.
- Ex: “Defining the traits of a good leader is a vitally important task, since good leaders are what make the world a better place. Once these characteristics have been identified, we can strive to instill them in our children, and thus ensure that future generations will have leaders worthy of them.”
Remember–four of the scoring criteria for the TSI essay have to do with the organization, clarity, and development of your essay! Most of this should be ironed out in the outline-stage of writing. Making sure that these are as strong as they can be could be the difference between passing and failing!
That being said, what you say is not the only important thing when it comes to penning a strong TSI essay; you also need to pay attention to how you say it. Generally speaking, this means that you want to have sentences that vary in length, style, and complexity. Often, truly strong writing is separated from merely passable writing on the basis of these characteristics.
Finally, remember to reread your essay for spelling and grammar errors before you submit it. Having no such errors in your essay is an easy way to score 3 points in one of the reporting categories! There is no time-limit on the essay, meaning you can spend as long as you need in order to ensure the absolute minimum of spelling/grammar mistakes.
TSI Essay Practice
Ultimately, the best thing you can do to ensure that you pass the TSI essay is to practice it beforehand. Piqosity is excited to announce six sample TSI essay prompts that can be accessed through our TSIA course.
When students submit responses to these prompts, they will automatically receive feedback generated by Piqosity’s AI-powered software. Students are welcome to submit essays as many times as they like, giving them the opportunity to practice incorporating the feedback and raising their scores!
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