PeakPerformance

I studied literature in grad school with plenty of students who didn't major in English as undergraduates. Since you're applying to a Master's program it really isn't a big deal that you didn't major in English. What matters is that you have a good writing sample and, ideally, that you are doing something more in your paper than simply providing a close reading -- e.g., that you are able to situate your analysis in relation to other criticism on the work or have an awareness of how to incorporate literary theory into your discussion of a work. I wouldn't bother taking the subject test unless the school requires it. Your time is much better spent producing a solid writing sample.

Where your counterargument goes depends on the prompt and your position. For instance, on prompts where you support a recommendation — e.g., there should be a national curriculum, teachers' salaries should be based on students' performance — it wouldn't make sense to explain why some people oppose the recommendation before you first explain the rationale behind by the call for a national curriculum or basing teachers' salaries on students' performance. In such situations, the counterargument would need to go later in the essay. Also, where the counterargument goes depends on whether you are going to concede the counterargument and then show how your position and the counterargument aren't necessarily conflicting (e.g., perhaps by introducing a critical distinction). In such cases it is best to introduce the counterargument earlier, if possible. On the other hand, if you are taking a qualified position that agrees with a part of a prompt and disagrees with the rest, it may be best to introduce the counterargument in the second body paragraph, as a transitional device between your point of agreement and disagreement with the prompt. You shouldn't make a hard and fast rule about where your counterargument should go and then stick it in in a perfunctory manner. The decision should be strategic and will vary based on the above factors.

I tend to agree with Geographyrocks. I think your GRE score is less important coming from a Master's program. What's important is that you've used that time well — e.g., presented at conferences, impressed some professors, refined your area of interest such that you can articulate a strong project, etc.

While you identify the significant flaws with the argument, you are not developing each point fully enough. The 3 points worth addressing are given a single sentence in your third body paragraph, where each point must be a well-developed paragraph of its own. A good body paragraph will be a minimum of 5 sentences on a point. The scoring criteria calls for well-developed points with compelling support. Your first two body paragraphs are irrelevant and not worth addressing. Your thesis should be specific and set up the focus of the 3 points your body paragraphs will address. For example: In order to evaluate the argument, further evidence is needed to show that travel between Palea and Lithos was only possible by boat during prehistoric times and that neither the Paleans, the Lithosians, nor nor any other village in the region had boats.

While you do a good job identifying the reasons in the argument, you are not identifying the main claim the different reasons are working to support (until the final sentence), and thus not really addressing the argument at all. You need to begin your essay by identifying the main claim: the author is arguing that the city prohibit skateboarding at Central Mall Plaza and believes that as a result business will return to previous high levels. While you correctly question the assumptions that the skateboarders are responsible for both the decline in business and vandalism, you will not get a 4 if you can't accurately identify the main claim up front and show how each point you make calls into question the main claim. Your first and second paragraphs should be combined because they are addressing the same point and you need a paragraph that addresses the assumption within the main claim. That is, even if the skateboarders were responsible for the decline in business and vandalism and even if the city did prohibit skateboarding, it is still problematic to assume that business would return to previous levels. Some businesses may lose money without the skateboarders (e.g., food businesses), some customers may not return, etc.

You should set up in a condensed manner in your intro the two problems with only praising positive actions and include a sentence about how both positive and negative feedback is critical for learners' growth/success. Note, the criteria for a 6 essay states the essay: "articulates a clear and insightful position on the issue in accordance with the assigned task." You are not articulating an insightful position on the issue if all you are doing is dismissing the prompt position as problematic. In the process of showing that the prompt position is problematic you should be supporting a position of your own on the general issue. I disagree with the above suggestion that you must have 6 paragraphs with 2 pro and 2 con paragraphs. First, while length is important, you can do very well with just 3 body paragraphs and don't need 4. Second, instead of thinking pro and con positions, you should think about points you can make that show why the prompt position is problematic (negative points about the other side), as well as points you can make to support your position on the issue (positive points). It is not enough to show why another position is wrong; you must also show why your position is valid. To divide your essay into two pro and con statements on the prompt will not lead to a strong argument and is likely to leave your reader confused as to which position you are supporting. You should not devote 50% of your essay to presenting a position you oppose.

You are not giving nearly enough attention to explaining why you are applying to a particular school. This section must be different for each school and should demonstrate that you aware of what this school has to offer/what makes it unique and why you would be a good fit for the particular school. You might consider having your SOP professionally edited by a native English speaker when you are finished.

Your math score won't be a significant factor in terms of admission decisions, but it can affect your likelihood of being offered any of the special fellowships (e.g., those offering extra money or less teaching responsibilities) usually awarded to a few students in each entering class. I've been in programs where GRE scores from all sections were a primary factor in determining who would be considered for these elite fellowships.

Taking a course is not really going to make that much of a difference if you don't have/take the time outside of the class to practice applying some of the concepts/strategies from the class. You will need to take the initiative when it comes to finding the patterns in your errors and pinpointing and working through your weaknesses. Often, the real value of prep courses like Kaplan and PR is not the actual class instruction but the resources they make available -- practice tests, answer explanations and other online materials. Ultimately, the degree to which your score will increase depends entirely on how much time you spend outside of class making use of these resources and the extent to which you take ownership of the process.

If you look at the second entry on the page, you'll see the GRE passages are attached as a file to download. You will need to register with the site I believe to download.

Hi, If you need to develop your reading comprehension skills, you might checkout this compilation of 400 passages for the GRE/GMAT/LSAT. Use the link that follows; the GRE passages are in the second entry on the page, while the GMAT and LSAT passages are in the first. http://gmatclub.com/forum/best-compilation-of-more-than-400-passages-frm-gmat-gre-lsat-106729.html

Keep in mind that the prompts for the issue essay differ and ask for you to either address a counterargument or the conditions/circumstances under which your position would vary. Your essay does not respond to this aspect of the prompt instructions. Moreover, your second body paragraph really does not present a very strong point in support of your thesis. Your essay would demonstrate stronger critical thinking skills/insight if you were to qualify your thesis and acknowledge that what are considered "the most important characteristics" of a society is relative and varies. Major cities can't convey the traditions and folk customs of a society, or even necessarily the diversity of American society. For some individuals these might be the most important characteristics.

Hi, Don't forget about the 2 mock tests put out by ETS on their PowerPrep software and the 4 practice tests you get with ETS's "The Official Guide to the GRE," which also features hundreds of practice problems. You want to take as many practice tests created by the testmaker as you can. The Manhattan practice tests are much better than Kaplan's or Barrons' practice tests. You should be able to get access to the 6 tests if you buy one of the Manhattan Prep books.

Hi, I strongly recommend that you only practice with the official topics for the argument and issue essays released on the ETS website. You will be writing on one of these official topics come the day of your test and the more familiar you are with the actual topics the better. There are 3 logical errors in particular that appear (either separately or in combination with another) in most of the argument essay prompts and you should become familiar with the patterns. The argument prompt you wrote on in the above essay is not an accurate reflection of the official argument prompts.

Sam, Just because you managed to write 4 paragraphs doesn't mean your essay is worthy of more than a 3. On the argument essay what matters is the content of your paragraphs: whether you identified the fallacies in the argument and were focusing on the most relevant points. In order to advise whether you should retake the exam, you need to let us know what type of program you are applying to (Masters or PhD) and what field. Also, are you an international student? If so, have you studied in the US before? I ask because a score under 4 can raise doubts about an international student's command of English.

Hi Everyone, If you are looking for help on the GRE AWA, Peak Performance will be offering a free workshop on the GRE Argument Essay on June 26th, June 28th and July 3. To sign up, go to: peaktestprep.com/gre/events. In addition, a new 12-hour live online course focusing exclusively on the GRE Analytical Writing section will be starting on July 10th. The course includes 12 hours of live instruction and personalized feedback on 8 practice essays. If you enroll by July 1st, you will receive $40 off the enrollment fee. I have taught writing at the college level for more than 13 years and have helped many students who previously received a 3 or 3.5 on the GRE AWA raise their scores to 4.5 and higher. If you're looking to improve your writing and critical thinking skills, I can help you! For more information, just click on the link in the signature.

The MCAT passages will be helpful for practice passages while developing your skills. However, it is still important to get your hands on whatever official GRE practice tests that you can and to rely on GRE materials when you take timed practice tests closer to the actual test date. The skills assessed on the MCAT and GRE reading comprehension sections may be the same (e.g., inference questions, main idea questions, relationship between ideas questions, etc.), but the language/style/phrasing of questions differs. You need to be familiar and comfortable with the way GRE questions/answer choices are phrased and to recognize the common patterns that characterize incorrect answer choices on the GRE.

I agree with Kleene that it is much more efficient to study roots, prefixes and word groupings than individual words. The links below contain some lists of common roots/prefixes helpful for the GRE. http://www.thegreonline.com/2013/12/gre-verbal-prefixes-and-suffixes.html http://www.thegreonline.com/2014_01_01_archive.html

Hi everyone, I am offering a $25 discount to Grad Cafe members who would be interested in enrolling in my live, online GRE Analytical Writing Prep Course starting Thursday, April 4th at 4:00 pm PDT. The course is 12 hours (4 3-hour live sessions) and includes personalized feedback on 8 essays (4 argument essays, 4 issue essays). The course is recorded, in case you can't attend during the scheduled hours. I have taught writing at the college level for more than 13 years and have helped many students who previously received a 3 or 3.5 on the GRE AWA raise their scores to 4.5 and higher. For more info and to check out the testimonials, just click on the link in the signature. To receive the $25 discount, use the coupon code GRE-04-14 during the final stage of the checkout process.

A 3.5 on the AWA is a little low for a Ph.D. program. Are the schools you are applying to requesting a writing sample?

I would say a one sentence conclusion is not as problematic as a one sentence introduction. You really only need 3 sentences in your introduction to set up your argument effectively. These two extra sentences should not compromise the quality of your argument. If you take the time to segue into your thesis and then briefly touch upon the reasons you will introduce to support your thesis, then both you and your reader will have a clearer sense of the structure of your essay and the sequence of your ideas is likely to flow better.

Hi everyone, I am offering a $50 discount to any Grad Cafe member who would be interested in enrolling in my live, online GRE Analytical Writing Prep Course starting today, March 6th at 4:00 pm PST. The course is 12 hours (4 3-hour live sessions) and includes personalized feedback on 8 essays (4 argument essays, 4 issue essays). The course is recorded, in case you can't attend during the scheduled hours. I have taught writing at the college level for more than 13 years and have helped many students who previously received a 3 or 3.5 on the GRE AWA raise their scores to 4.5 and higher. If you're looking to improve your writing and critical thinking skills, I can help you! For more information, just click on the link in the signature. To receive the $50 discount, use the coupon code GRE-03-14 during the final stage of the checkout process.

Hi Everyone, If you're looking for some help on the GRE Writing section, you might check out some of the resources posted on my website. I have written blogs offering tips on both the argument and issue essays and regularly offer free online workshops on the GRE Argument Essay. In addition to offering live online courses focusing exclusively on the GRE Writing section that include feedback on 8 practice essays, I also offer feedback on individual essays for $22 per. I have helped many students who have scored 3 or 3.5 on the AWA raise their score to 4.5 and above and am confident I can help you. If you're interested in signing up for a class, email me first and I'll send you a coupon code for a $25 discount. Good luck!

I received a PhD from Buffalo and don't think you need to worry so long as you are consistent. I believe the school rather recently switched to "University at Buffalo" but since it is part of the SUNY system it is still referred to by many as SUNY Buffalo. The department stationary, however, read University at Buffalo.

Your reasoning for not taking the test again is weak. First, if you score a 3 again you don't need to submit the scores. Second, you need to know if you just had a bad day or if you really need to work on your writing before you get to grad school. A 3 on the AWA is definitely going to raise questions/doubts and give committee members reason to think twice about your candidacy. Why put yourself in this position when you're applying to schools where they will probably have a surplus of highly qualified candidates?