Decent GRE Quant and Verbal, Low Writing Score?

[inferrinizzard]

I got a 164/161: Q/V which is acceptable

but only a 3 on the Writing section.

Is this something that they would see as a red flag since this does tie into academic writing?

[Artifex_Archer]

It really depends on your field of study. For research in the humanities/social sciences, a poor GRE writing score [and I know of many stellar writers who have received scores below 5] can be offset by a strong writing sample and statement of purpose. For this reason, many disciplines that request a writing sample don't really pay much attention to the GRE writing section at all. The GRE writing section is one of the few components of the exam that I consider to be a fairly poor metric across the board. I don't think you can do a very good job of measuring what it's trying to measure in that format/time frame. But I digress.

For STEM disciplines, I get the sense that the bar is a bit lower for the GRE AWA score anyhow.

TL;DR: 1. You're probably fine, but it depends on your field of study/where you're applying; and 2. I'd take extra care to make sure that your writing sample [if required] and SOP really shine.