Mastery for the TSIA2 - Essay Prompts Handout

MASTERY for the TSIA2

PRACTICE PROMPTS FOR THE ESSAY SECTION The Texas Success Initiative Assessment 2.0 (TSIA2) is an ACCUPLACER (R) exam, which is a trademark of College Board. MasteryPrep has no affiliation with College Board or the Texas Success Initiative (TSI), and this supplementary resource is not approved or endorsed by College Board or the TSI.

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The Texas Success Initiative Assessment 2.0 (TSIA2) is an ACCUPLACER (R) exam, which is a trademark of College Board. MasteryPrep has no affiliation with College Board or the Texas Success Initiative (TSI), and this supplementary resource is not approved or endorsed by College Board or the TSI. Inquiries concerning this publication should be mailed to: MasteryPrep 7117 Florida Blvd.

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Practice Prompts for the Essay Section

Mastery for the TSIA2

PASSAGE In our daily lives, pessimism—a tendency to see the worst aspect of things—can be useful. Mild pessimism pulls us back from dangerous overconfidence, making us think twice and preventing rash, foolish decisions.

Embracing pessimism helps us stay prepared, consider potential problems, and understand our limits rather than overlooking risks and leaning into unfamiliar tasks without being fully prepared.

Adapted from Martin E. P. Seligman, Learned Optimism

ASSIGNMENT Is it better to be optimistic or pessimistic?

Plan and write a multiparagraph essay (between 300 and 600 words) in which you explain your opinion about the question above. Support your ideas with a clear argument and examples from media, books, current events, or personal experiences.

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Practice Prompts for the Essay Section

Mastery for the TSIA2

PASSAGE Happiness is not based on reason but on imagination and experience. It is the state where everything in one’s life aligns with their wishes and will. The question of what makes someone happy is personal and can only be discovered through individual experience, not predefined principles. Each person must find their own path to happiness. Once found, following that path brings happiness, and knowing that one is on the right path contributes to their overall happiness.

Adapted from Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals

ASSIGNMENT Are people happier if they discover their own version of happiness rather than someone else’s idea of what it means to be happy?

Plan and write a multiparagraph essay (between 300 and 600 words) in which you explain your opinion about the question above. Support your ideas with a clear argument and examples from media, books, current events, or personal experiences.

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Practice Prompts for the Essay Section

Mastery for the TSIA2

PASSAGE Many often repeat the idea that “knowledge is power,” but it is more accurate to say that knowledge brings happiness. This is because possessing broad, deep knowledge allows one to distinguish true goals from false ones, and noble pursuits from trivial ones. Understanding the thoughts and actions that have marked humanity’s progress through the ages allows one to feel the powerful heartbeats of humanity across the centuries. If one does not sense an upward striving in these pulses, then one must be truly deaf to the harmonies of life.

Adapted from Helen Keller, The Story of My Life

ASSIGNMENT Is knowledge a source of power or a source of something else?

Plan and write a multiparagraph essay (between 300 and 600 words) in which you explain your opinion about the question above. Support your ideas with a clear argument and examples from media, books, current events, or personal experiences.

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Practice Prompts for the Essay Section

Mastery for the TSIA2

PASSAGE 1. Success is often the result of being in the right place at the right time, more than it is about effort or talent.

It’s the unpredictable twist of fate that can turn an ordinary moment into a remarkable opportunity.

Alexander Grant, Fortunate Soul: Conquering the Serendipity Factor

2. As Vince Lombardi said, “The dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Work is the key to success, and hard work can help you accomplish anything.”

Adapted from Harry Carver, “Leadership Skills”

ASSIGNMENT Does success happen when someone works hard or because they are lucky?

Plan and write a multiparagraph essay (between 300 and 600 words) in which you explain your opinion about the question above. Support your ideas with a clear argument and examples from media, books, current events, or personal experiences.

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Practice Prompts for the Essay Section

Mastery for the TSIA2

PASSAGE There are two sides to selfishness. There’s a bad side, such as when a person puts themselves above all others. But there’s a good side, as well, where selfishness becomes a kind of self-care. For example, when you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the things you need to do, a good place to start, surprisingly, is doing things that rest your mind and refuel your body. That way, you’re ready to take on everything else.

Adapted from a book by John Stuart Mill

ASSIGNMENT Can selfishness—concentrating on your own well-being or advantages—sometimes be a good thing?

Plan and write a multiparagraph essay (between 300 and 600 words) in which you explain your opinion about the question above. Support your ideas with a clear argument and examples from media, books, current events, or personal experiences.

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Practice Prompts for the Essay Section

Mastery for the TSIA2

PASSAGE I sometimes wonder if we would still have the chance for a full life if the world were stripped of the seemingly useless things that give it spiritual meaning. In other words, if our idea of what is useful has become too narrow to encompass the diverse and unpredictable possibilities of the human spirit. Too often we place high value on things that solve problems rather than on anything for which the sole purpose is enjoyment.

Adapted from Abraham Flexner, “The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge”

ASSIGNMENT Do people place too much value on things that are distinctly useful?

Plan and write a multiparagraph essay (between 300 and 600 words) in which you explain your opinion about the question above. Support your ideas with a clear argument and examples from media, books, current events, or personal experiences.

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Practice Prompts for the Essay Section

Mastery for the TSIA2

PASSAGE 1. The man of talent is like a marksman who hits a mark others cannot hit; the man of genius is like a marksman who hits a mark they cannot even see to.

Arthur Schopenhauer, The World as Will and Representation 2. As Wilma Rudolph says, “Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit.

We are all the same in this notion. The potential for greatness lives within each of us.”

Adapted from Marie Billings, “Achieving Greatness”

ASSIGNMENT Are the best athletes the hardest working or do they succeed because they are naturally talented?

Plan and write a multiparagraph essay (between 300 and 600 words) in which you explain your opinion about the question above. Support your ideas with a clear argument and examples from media, books, current events, or personal experiences.

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Practice Prompts for the Essay Section

Mastery for the TSIA2

PASSAGE In a lot of situations, risk—an action that would expose someone to danger—is ideal. It is far better to dare great things and achieve glorious successes, even if marked by failure, than to live among those who neither experience great joys nor great sorrows, because they exist in a dull twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.

Adapted from Theodore Roosevelt, “The Strenuous Life”

ASSIGNMENT Is it better to take risks or use caution?

Plan and write a multiparagraph essay (between 300 and 600 words) in which you explain your opinion about the question above. Support your ideas with a clear argument and examples from media, books, current events, or personal experiences.

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Practice Prompts for the Essay Section

Mastery for the TSIA2

PASSAGE People are often asked to find solutions to problems by throwing out the old strategies and focusing on new fixes that are clever or unorthodox. They are challenged to use their imagination and to believe that the new method will be even better than what was done before. But innovation isn’t always practical or even necessary. The best solutions are the inside-the-box methods we already know and use.

ASSIGNMENT Is it important to continue looking for alternative ways to solve problems?

Plan and write a multiparagraph essay (between 300 and 600 words) in which you explain your opinion about the question above. Support your ideas with a clear argument and examples from media, books, current events, or personal experiences.

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Practice Prompts for the Essay Section

Mastery for the TSIA2

PASSAGE There are two types of skepticism. There is an ugly side, such as when someone distrusts everyone and everything they encounter. And there is also the more helpful side, where a certain amount of questioning helps you avoid potential problems. For instance, when you encounter a new individual, an interesting way to approach things, a lot of times, is to proceed with caution. Soon after, they may reveal true intentions that could have harmed you in the long run.

Adapted from a book by J. D. Salinger

ASSIGNMENT Can skepticism—the inclination to question situations and people—sometimes lead to positive outcomes?

Plan and write a multiparagraph essay (between 300 and 600 words) in which you explain your opinion about the question above. Support your ideas with a clear argument and examples from media, books, current events, or personal experiences.

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