I got my AW score...I could cry.

[cookd2]

No, that's not "actually true."

Yes, I've also read that statistic in PrincetonRev. Bear in mind, however, that correlation does not indicate causation. It's Ironic that Princeton Rev encourages test-takers to write as much as they can using the assumption that the correlation between length and score indicates causality as they explicitly tell readers to look out for that particular fallacy. (ProTip: That's the kind of logic flourish that'll get you points. BAM!)

Perhaps writing longer = better AWA score.

Or perhaps people who have better AWA scores are more fluid and have a tendency to go on and on.

If the latter is true, you can't earn extra points by just rambling on and on in an attempt to imitate good writing. It wouldn't work.

And again, if length is the most important determinant of AWA score, then my 5.5 would be quite the anomaly indeed considering I divided my time 50/50 on writing and editing.

I think we can all be certain that the way the GRE computers grade essays is by looking for the following points:

-intro paragraph that has 1-2 general/background sentences, followed by a thesis, followed by a statement giving 3 examples supporting said thesis.

-3 body paragraphs that (in the order that they were listed in the intro) support the thesis using the examples previously mentioned. Should be 4-6 sentences each.

-A conclusion that states something like "It has been shown that ...., ....., and ..... prove that ....[insert thesis here]. and then provides 1-2 wrap up sentinces, but does NOT raise any further questions.

It's a computer - It's not looking for style, grace or anything other than simple (programmable) points to decide how well you can write a structured paper. Arguments where people say how they've gotten writing awards are irrelevant - because chances are, "creative" writing styles will probably not register to the computer as well as a boiler-plate high school style 5 paragraph essay.

Anyway, just my $0.02

[GNC]

For what it is worth I got a 5.5 and no one in any of my interviews gave two shits about the score. Stop stressing about these things and move along and enjoy the beautiful day or something. Or worry about your next project/research.

[was1984]

I also had a strong verbal score (640) and a weak AW score (4.5). The fact that the essay is graded by a computer makes it completely irrelevant, as far as I'm concerned. I've always been told that I'm an exceptional writer, especially for an engineer, so when I first got the score back I was shocked. However, the reason I write well is because I write succinctly, so the low score is not really a big surprise to me anymore.

The ability to write a strong essay for a standardized test is probably only very weakly correlated to the ability to actually write well. Most professors I've spoken to tend to agree with this, and a lot of engineering professors don't even know or care what the analytical writing score means.

[Zahar Berkut]

Many programs completely disregard the GRE writing section, though I suppose you'd want to look into your specific ones. In any case, it seems a writing sample should be able to offset any concerns about your ability to write-- the program will see exactly what you can do through that. Being able to spit out two essays in about an hour-- not hugely indicative of scholarship promise.

But if you want peace of mind and can afford the rescoring, you can give it a shot. Then you can tell the forums whether or not it helped. All you've got to lose on it is waiting time and money.