GRE Analytical Writing

The Analytical Writing section, or the AWA, measures writing skills and the ability to intelligently support ideas and statements with reliable facts and evidence. It does not focus on content-specific knowledge and relies on organizational skills.

Similar to other writing sections of standardized tests, the AWA section requires demonstrating writing skills that one has gained until one's current stage in life. The ability to respond within the given timeframe, to analyze the statements given along with the claims and assumptions that have been made, and to write a well-structured essay based on information they have gathered will be the basic markers according to which candidates will be graded in this section.

AWA Test Structure

The AWA consists of one task- Analyze an Issue Task. Previously, the Analytical Writing Section consisted of the Issue task and the Argument task, each allocated 30 minutes. However, following the September 22, 2023 changes, the Argument Task has been removed. Candidates are allotted 30 minutes to compose a structured essay that clearly states reasons and examples to support the candidate's viewpoints. The task given to the candidate will include an opinion on an issue. The responses should convey a clear sense of purpose and direction.

• The task includes an issue of global or national importance, which will be expressed as an opinion.
• The statement will be accompanied by instructions on how the candidate is supposed to respond.
• The candidate has to express their views on the opinion with examples and reasoning.
• Candidates will be judged for evaluating the issue, developing arguments, and providing reasons for their views.
• Although the test is marked in 0.5-point increments, excessive grammatical and punctuation errors can affect the score.

The computer-based examination is conducted on a basic word processor with no spelling and grammar check available. All other basic functions will be present in the word processor. The word processor offers several features, including text insertion, deletion, cut-and-paste capabilities, and the ability to undo the last action.

Differences and Similarities Between New and Old GRE Analytical Section

Basis	Old GRE AWA	New GRE AWA
Number of tasks	2 tasks	1 task
Name of the tasks	Issue Essay Argument Essay	Issue Essay
Total time allotted	1 hour	30 minutes
Time per sub-section	30 minutes each 1 hour in total	30 minutes in total
Scores	0-6, half point increment	0-6, half point increment
Content	Doesn't assess specific subject matter expertise	Doesn't assess specific subject matter expertise

Why is Essay Important?

The whole idea of having this section in the test is to judge the candidate better. Essays give a good insight into one's thinking, understanding, reasoning, analyzing & presenting their opinions. This is a section for which learning things by heart won't help, as one has to have a deeper insight to write coherently. The essay section in the GRE is also a language test for the candidate appearing in this test. Essays are long passages that are written to express one's views/ideas, so one has to write them in a specific format. The candidate's command of English has to be good, implying that it should be grammatically correct and in an impressive language.

The issue essay in the GRE needs sufficient prep before the real test. When preparing for this issue essay, one needs to understand and know what can be asked in an issue essay. The candidate also ought to know the essay's total word limit, the time allotted, and the maximum score they can get in this section.

Scoring and Evaluation of the GRE Essays

Once candidates complete the test, their GRE essays are transmitted electronically to a centralized processing center, where they are promptly reviewed and assessed. Each essay receives both a human score and a computer-generated score, with the final score being the average of the two. The Analytical Writing section is evaluated holistically by a trained rater who employs a scoring scale from 0 to 6 in half-point increments. This approach focuses on the overall quality of the essay rather than its components.

The same task is then scored by an e-rater, a program designed to evaluate essays on the GRE and other proficiency tests. The e-rater would look at the presence of general features relating to an essay and provide an average grade accordingly. The candidate will be given an average of these two grades if the grades coincide. However, if the grades do not coincide, a second evaluator is brought in, who grades the essay again to get a final score. A score of '4' out of '6' is considered 'competent.'

Test-Taking Strategies

One of the most important rules of the AWA section is to follow directions carefully. Unlike most writing tests, the tasks given on the AWA will come with specific instructions directed to the topic of the task in question; they relate directly to the prompt given and should be heeded when writing the essay. Many candidates only skim over directions and miss critical information needed to write the essay. The other pointers are:

• Candidates should take a few minutes to outline their main points before writing. A clear structure typically includes an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
• Review the possible strategies and sample questions for each task to understand what is required for the test.
• Allocate time appropriately for the task, as there is a limited window of 30 minutes available.
• Avoid persisting grammatical inaccuracies.
• Aim for clarity in the writing. Avoid overly complex sentences and jargon. Use straightforward language to express ideas effectively.
• Candidates are required to support their arguments with specific examples.