TSI Essay Writing Component Overview

[Pages:2]TSI Essay Writing Component Overview

You will be asked to write a five-paragraph essay of approximately 300-600 words. The focus of the paper will be a controversial issue or one of current interest.

After reading the essay prompt--a short passage and an assignment question-- you will be expected to develop a clear point of view and support it will specific examples and explanations.

You will not be able to use a dictionary or any outside resources, but you may use plain scratch paper that will be provided at the testing center to plan your essay and write a rough draft.

According to College Board, the TSI developer, your writing is scored on the following expectations or criteria:

Purpose and focus--how well you identify a position and clearly stay with that one topic

Organization and structure--how well you connect the paragraphs and ideas in your essay to one another

Development and support--how well you offer examples, explanations, and definitions to show your reader that your idea makes sense and should be accepted

Sentence variety and style--how well you show skill in writing clear sentences that are not necessarily long but that offer your ideas with strong verbs and nouns, good word choice, and active voice

Mechanical conventions--how well you state your ideas using Standard Written English, which means that your paper is free from major grammar mistakes like those that you were identifying in the multiple-choice part of the TSI Writing Test

Critical Thinking--how well you state your perspective on the topic you choose and connect the ideas you develop to show that your perspective is a sensible one

Preparing your essay:

Read the prompt or topic description slowly and carefully. The paper topic might be provided as a question. Answer the question but do NOT include questions in your essay. When your essay is filled with questions, you are not developing the topic but are asking your reader to develop the topic. Two of the expectations-- development and support and critical thinking focus on strong content.

Plan the paper from your thesis or controlling sentence. You are expected to write a paper that has an introduction, content paragraphs, and a conclusion. Use the question of the prompt as the guide for your position.

Sample Prompt:

An actor, when his cue came, was unable to move onto the stage. He said, "I can't get in, the chair is in the way." And the producer said, "Use the difficulty. If it's a drama, pick up the chair and smash it. If it's comedy, fall over it." From this experience the actor concluded that in any situation in life that is negative, there is something positive you can do with it.

Adapted from Lawrence Eisenberg, "Caine Scrutiny" and taken from College Board (2008) Write Placer Guide with Sample Essays.

Assignment:

Can any obstacle or disadvantage be turned into something good?

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