wishfulone Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 (edited) First of all, I love how Princeton Review offers to grade your essay when you take their practice tests. The notes they gave me were actually very helpful. They also graded my essay within a day, so I highly recommend people to take advantage of the test. I wanted to know how other people scored vs. how they scored in the actual GRE to compare the standards. I thought I wrote a pretty decent essay for Princeton Review's test... It had some examples that was only superficially touched, but I still thought the essay was better than the one I wrote on the actual GRE. I didn't have actual concrete examples or a developed conclusion in the real one (I ran out of time). Both had "elementary" word usage. Princeton Review: 3.5 (post-GRE) GRE: 4 While we're act it, I might as well compare the rest of the scores... Princeton Review: 151V, 155Q (pre-GRE) GRE: 155V, 159Q So how did you do? And if anyone has any tips on scoring at least a 5, please send them my way! I have been studying intensely for this portion. My biggest fear is that, come test day, the prompt they will give me is the only one I haven't prepared for! Edited November 8, 2012 by wishfulone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midnight Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 (edited) My advice for the essay: 1. Make it long. 2. Make it formulaic. 3. Add specific examples whenever possible. 4. Throw in $5 words--especially the kind you'll normally only see on a test like the GRE such as "inchoate" and "abeyance"--anywhere you can as long as they're in context. I scored a 5.0 on my AW, but that was last summer before they revised the essay portion. I'm annoyed that I'm retaking next week and the AW is a bit different now, but I've prepped a little just to calm my nerves. After scanning the pool of issue topics, it seems that most prompts are related to education, technology/invention, science, politics/government, the arts, and law/ethics, so I brainstormed a few examples for each of those subjects and hope to plug them in on test day. Some of the prompts are significantly easier for me than others; I'm praying that I get one about the arts or education! Edited November 8, 2012 by midnight streetlight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iowaguy Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 IMHO, your best advice for scoring a 5 is to write as much as possible. I think length is one of the main criteria (possibly subconscious) for the essay graders. And, of course, follow the basic essay formulas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wishfulone Posted November 8, 2012 Author Share Posted November 8, 2012 Let me start by saying you guys have beautiful scores. Thank you for the advice!! I think 6 paragraphs would be ideal, but I can write at most 5 paragraphs. Do you remember roughly how many paragraphs you probably wrote? I don't know if it's better to have very developed ideas or more (but briefly touched) ideas. For example, 3 very developed ideas vs. 3 developed +1 weaker idea? I am a slow writer... Good luck, midnight! I'm sure you'll do just fine. Does the school you are applying to not take old scores into consideration? I wonder why you are worrying about the writing part if you already scored so well on it? I don't know what exactly the old test's standards were, but make sure you address the questions, too. I'm not sure I really answered it directly the first time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iowaguy Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 I was in the 6 paragraph range - intro, 4 supporting ideas, and conclusion. I am a fast typer and was typing almost the whole time, after taking a couple of minutes at the beginning to lay out my outline on my scratch paper and allowing a couple of minutes at the end for a quick proofread & interjecting a few $100 vocab words. My ideas weren't very developed, I approached it more as a brainstoriming session - i.e. here are as many thoughts on that topic as I can come up with in 30 minutes. Think of it as a rough draft, get as much typed as possible while answering the question & sticking to the basic formula... Best of luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midnight Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 (edited) Let me start by saying you guys have beautiful scores. Thank you for the advice!! I think 6 paragraphs would be ideal, but I can write at most 5 paragraphs. Do you remember roughly how many paragraphs you probably wrote? I don't know if it's better to have very developed ideas or more (but briefly touched) ideas. For example, 3 very developed ideas vs. 3 developed +1 weaker idea? I am a slow writer... Good luck, midnight! I'm sure you'll do just fine. Does the school you are applying to not take old scores into consideration? I wonder why you are worrying about the writing part if you already scored so well on it? Five fleshed-out paragraphs should be fine. Just make sure to include specific examples, transition words, and high-level vocabulary words. Nuance or a tight argument is not needed or appreciated. I'm not worried about the AW per se, but the last version of the test had a few AW advantages--one, you could pick your topic from two choices; two, you had 45 minutes for the argument section (I believe it was that section); three, you weren't expected to be as specific. And yeah, I can send my scores from last time, but I'm retaking because I desperately need to do better in the quant section--I might as well try to do the same or better in the other sections if I'm going to have the opportunity! Edited November 8, 2012 by midnight streetlight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wishfulone Posted November 21, 2012 Author Share Posted November 21, 2012 Thanks again for the advice and encouragement. I wanted to let you know that I scored a 5 on the writing section, which is exactly what I was aiming for. It went really ugly for my issue essay... I didn't feel comfortable with my topic and felt I was just spewing stuff without actually having a very strong, knit argument. My argument essay saved me, I think. I had 6 paragraphs for that one. Anyway, I am beyond relieved. Good luck with your endeavors! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midnight Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 Awesome, wishful! I am waiting on my AW, and I have to say that my issue essay was rough. I wrote as much as I could, but I felt like my examples were weak and not quite specific enough. I essentially went into manic mode and didn't plan anything out before I began typing. Oh well. I'm not retaking the GRE solely for the AW! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickytran344 Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 (edited) You might check out Peak Performance's GMAT or GRE writing course for help on the essay section. They offer personalized feedback for 4 practice tests and helped me raise my score from a 3.5 to a 6! The course is live and online and is offered monthly, I believe. Edited December 13, 2012 by rickytran344 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rawan Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Hi everybody, My name is Rawan. I need your help in rating my essay. And how can i use the livegrader. The question is : Question: The perceived greatness of any political leader has more to do with the challenges faced by that leader than with any of his or her inherent skills and abilities. Write a response in which you examine your own position on the statement. Explore the extent to which you either agree or disagree with it, and support your reasoning with evidence and/or examples. Be sure to reflect on ways in which the statement might or might not be true, and how this informs your thinking on the subject My response: Being a leader basically means you are able to lead. Nobody reaches leadership unless he/she has what it takes to be there. However, not every leader is a great one, specially, in politics field-. What makes us stand as a special individuals is what we face to acquire our peculiarity. Challenges faced by the political leader enhance the abilities and skills he/ she already have in order to be a great, remarkable one. Skills and abilities are essential to create a leader, but challenges are what make him/her a great one. Edifying by parents is basic to determine how well a person will develop. For instance, two twin brothers raised by different parents, undoubtedly, won’t react the same way for situations they face. As parental discipline is part of the experience we face in life, then it is considered a part of life’s challenges. People acquire a major part of their personalities, in my opinion; it is not just inherited abilities and characteristics. It is noticeable that the strongest people are those who face more obstacles on their life than people with smoother life experience. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. For example, new graduate starts her/his job. She/he starts Weaker and intuitive, but situations and obstacles they face makes them act wiser. Effective leadership is a course offered on a lot of university and that alone speaks for the subject. It is believed that it helps students to enhance the basic skills of leadership. However, if we took a group of students from the same class, we will notice that they may react the same in similar situations initially. But, the more experience they have, the more distinct their reactions will be. Making mistake once teaches them how to avoid them the next time. So with time every one will run a different gamut of obstacles, creating different plans to face them. Tenacity, Strength and shrewd thinking are essentials abilities to create a leader. However, they can’t guarantee a great one. Skills and abilities are the starting point of a long run to make a seminal politician. Both inherited skills and acquired ones play great rule in creating a leader, but challenges fortified a great experience and wiser choices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dicapino Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 First of all, I love how Princeton Review offers to grade your essay when you take their practice tests. The notes they gave me were actually very helpful. They also graded my essay within a day, so I highly recommend people to take advantage of the test. I wanted to know how other people scored vs. how they scored in the actual GRE to compare the standards. I thought I wrote a pretty decent essay for Princeton Review's test... It had some examples that was only superficially touched, but I still thought the essay was better than the one I wrote on the actual GRE. I didn't have actual concrete examples or a developed conclusion in the real one (I ran out of time). Both had "elementary" word usage. Princeton Review: 3.5 (post-GRE) GRE: 4 While we're act it, I might as well compare the rest of the scores... Princeton Review: 151V, 155Q (pre-GRE) GRE: 155V, 159Q So how did you do? And if anyone has any tips on scoring at least a 5, please send them my way! I have been studying intensely for this portion. My biggest fear is that, come test day, the prompt they will give me is the only one I haven't prepared for! Do they give grades for AWA section of their practice test? i have a copy of cracking the GRE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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