TSI writing practice test: essay revision and sentence editing

About half of the 30 questions on the TSIA2 English Language Arts and Reading test are writing questions, in two kinds: Essay Revision and Editing (improving a short student draft) and Sentence Revision, Editing and Completion (fixing or finishing one sentence). The essay you write is scored separately. The free drill below is 12 original TSI-style writing questions with every answer explained.

30
ELAR questions on the real CRC: 2
kinds of writing question: 5+
essay score for college ready: 12
questions in the free drill

Last checked 22 October 2026 · Test facts from the Texas Education Agency and Texas college testing centers

Free Writing drill: 12 original TSI-style questions at an 18-minute practice pace, then every answer explained. No sign-up.

12
questions
18 min
time limit
Free
every answer explained

By the LifeScore Editorial Team · Updated 22 October 2026 · How we check facts · How this is scored

What is on the TSI writing test?

Writing is part of the ELAR test: questions on a short student draft (what to add, cut, combine or move, and which transition fits) and questions on single sentences (punctuation, agreement, pronouns, verb tense and word choice).

The two kinds of writing question

Essay Revision and Editing
A draft of a few paragraphs with numbered sentences. Questions ask how to combine two sentences, which sentence best supports a point, where a sentence belongs, which transition fits, and how to fix an error in context.
Think like an editor: what is this paragraph for?
Sentence Revision, Editing and Completion
One sentence with an error to fix or a blank to fill: comma splices and fragments, subject-verb agreement, pronoun case, verb tense, modifiers, parallel lists and the right word.
Find the subject and verb first.

The essay itself is a separate task with its own 1 to 8 score, and you need 5 or more for the ELAR benchmark. It has its own page: the TSI essay. Reading, the other half of the multiple-choice ELAR test, is on the TSI reading practice test.

What grammar rules are on the TSI writing test?

A short list, used again and again: sentence boundaries, agreement, pronouns, verb tense, modifiers, parallel structure, apostrophes and commas, and the transition that matches the logic.

Our study list, with the check that catches each error
Rule	The check
Comma splice	Two complete sentences need a period, a semicolon, or a comma plus and, but, or, so, yet.
Fragment	Every sentence needs a subject and a verb and must make sense alone.
Subject-verb agreement	Cross out the phrase between the subject and verb, then match them.
Pronoun case	Drop the other person: "my brother and I left" because "I left".
Pronoun agreement	A pronoun matches the noun it replaces: the team and its coach.
Verb tense	Keep the tense of the paragraph unless the time actually changes.
Modifiers	An opening phrase describes the noun right after the comma.
Parallel structure	Items in a list take the same form: running, swimming and cycling.
Apostrophes	Its means belonging to it; it's means it is.
Transitions	However for contrast, therefore for result, for example for an example.

How do I answer TSI essay revision questions?

Read the whole draft once to learn what each paragraph is for, then judge every change by whether it serves that purpose in the fewest clear words.

Revision questions are less about rules and more about purpose. "Which sentence best supports the claim in sentence 3?" wants evidence for that claim, not a related fact. "Should the writer add this sentence?" is answered by asking whether the sentence fits the paragraph's job. A sentence about the library's opening hours does not belong in a paragraph about what people borrow.

For combining questions, the best answer keeps every idea, removes repetition and makes one correct sentence. It is usually the shortest correct option. If an option repeats a noun the original repeated, or joins two sentences with only a comma, rule it out.

What do TSI writing questions look like?

One essay revision question about combining sentences and one sentence-completion question about agreement; both are worked step by step.

TSI-style question 1 · Essay revision: combining
Which is the best way to combine sentences 1 and 2?
1. ALast spring, the city library started lending tools, including drills, ladders and pressure washers.
2. BThe city library started lending tools last spring, the tools include drills, ladders and pressure washers.
3. CThe city library, which started lending tools, last spring includes drills, ladders and pressure washers.
4. DLending tools last spring, drills, ladders and pressure washers were started by the city library.
Worked answer
A: Last spring, the city library started lending tools, including drills, ladders and pressure washers.. The first option keeps both ideas, puts "including" next to the word it explains, and is one correct sentence. The second is a comma splice and the others garble who did what.
1. Sentence 2 only lists examples of the tools in sentence 1.
2. An "including" phrase can carry that list inside one sentence.
3. Check the result: one subject (library), one verb (started), the list attached to "tools".
The trap: Option 2 looks closest to the original, but it joins two sentences with a comma alone. Combining means fewer words and one clean sentence.
TSI-style question 2 · Sentence completion: agreement
The results of the survey, which took the students three months to collect, ______ surprising to the whole class. Which choice completes the sentence correctly?
1. Awere
2. Bwas
3. Cis
4. Dhas been
Worked answer
A: were. The subject is "results", which is plural, so the verb is "were". The phrases in between do not change the subject.
1. Cross out "of the survey" and the "which" clause.
2. What is left: "The results ___ surprising."
3. Plural subject, past tense to match "took": were.
The trap: "Was" agrees with "survey", the nearest noun. The verb agrees with the subject, however far away it sits.

More writing practice like this

Four writing drills and eight full ELAR and math mocks, every answer explained like the ones above.

The TSI Pass Pack gives you 8 full mocks on the real clock, 24 drills of 12 questions for the sections that cost you points, and a predictor that turns your mocks into the odds of reaching your target. One payment, no subscription, and your free score stays free.

Prep courses for these tests usually cost $19 to $129. The TSI Pass Pack is US$39 (£29), once.

See the TSI Pass Pack How our questions are built and checked

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What is the fastest way to check a TSI writing answer?

Find the subject and the verb, check the punctuation between complete thoughts, then read your chosen option back into the sentence or paragraph before you commit.

Find the subject and verb of every clause the question touches.
Check the joins: a period, a semicolon, or a comma plus a joining word between complete sentences.
Check agreement and pronouns against the subject, not the nearest noun.
For a draft question, name the paragraph's purpose before choosing.
Read your answer back in place. If it sounds wordy or changes the meaning, look again.

"Leave it as it is" or "No change" is sometimes right. Choose it when you have checked the sentence and found nothing wrong, not when you are unsure.

How should I practise TSI writing?

Take the free drill, learn the rules behind every miss, practise those rules for three days, write one practice essay, and take the full practice test at the end of the week.

Writing points come back fastest of anything on the ELAR test, because the list of rules is short. Learn one rule a day from the table above, then find it in a drill. By the end of the week, comma splices and agreement errors start to jump out.

Then take the full TSI practice test and plan the essay with the TSI essay guide. The full plan is in how to pass the TSI, and the ACCUPLACER writing practice test is a useful second source of practice on the same skills.

Frequently asked questions

How many writing questions are on the TSI?

The ELAR College Readiness Classification test has 30 questions, roughly half reading and half writing, plus the essay.

Is the essay part of the writing questions?

No. The essay is written separately and scored 1 to 8. You need 5 or more for the ELAR benchmark. See the TSI essay page.

What is the most common TSI writing error?

Comma splices and subject-verb agreement across a long phrase are two of the errors the test returns to most, and both have a quick check in the table above.

Do I need to know grammar terms?

No. The questions ask you to fix sentences, not name the rules. Knowing the checks in the table above is enough.

Write your way to college ready

Four drills for every TSI category, eight full mocks and every answer explained, in one payment.