How to get best GRE writing score possible

[tkdman]

I recently got my GRE scores back and did fine on the verbal and math, but my writing score was horrible. I thought I killed it when I was actually taking the test, but apparently I didn't know what they were looking for.

What are they looking for to give someone a 6? I've read the grading procedure, but I'd like to hear what other people have done to receive high scores.

[Zencarrot]

I received a 5 the first time, and a 6 the second time I wrote. The first time I followed the Kaplan structure for writing GRE essays (based on the textbook). I remember feeling confident about the essays I had written using this technique. I managed to get them done very quickly this way.

The second time I drew elements from what I had remembered from the Kaplan structure but did not stick to it religiously. For example, for the argument essay I included a point for the opposing view in my essay and debunked it with my own argument. To be honest, my second time around I directed 80% of my studying efforts on the verbal section to try and increase my score there (I only received a score at the 65th percentile my first time writing). What may have made the biggest difference in my analytical writing score the second time around was my improved vocabulary. I was able to put many GRE vocabulary word in my essay but they didn't feel forced because I felt like I had a very good understanding of them. I'm not saying the key to getting a 6 on analytical writing is to use as many vocabulary words as possible, but I think that the graders can tell, even through a cursory look through your essay, when "advanced vocab words" are placed haphazardly into a sentence.

A second thing that contributed to my higher score the second time around was that I had a greater interest in the essay topics that I chose. They tell you that the topic doesn't matter and that there is not prerequisite knowledge in order to write a great essay, but if you are familiar and passionate about the topic you are writing about, it definitely shows and it makes writing the essays a hell of a lot easier.

I realize that I've provided you with some advice that isn't particularly actionable (i.e., I did better because of the topic), but having a good vocabulary will certainly help you with the analytical writing portion. Also, if you come in with a g. ame plan for essay structure that you like, and you feel comfortable applying, use it. The Kaplan method works fine, but it's not the only way to get a high score. Having excess time after you finish your first "draft" is important. The chance to proofread your writing is invaluable. Any opportunity you have to assess the logical flow of your writing or strength of your arguments will help you.

HTH and good luck

[balderdash]

They want a clear thesis, strong topic sentences, concise conclusions, and good transitions. A varied vocabulary helps, too.

Think of it this way: the average time spent on each essay is somewhere in the range of a minute and a half. There's no way the human grader can read the essay that quickly, so they're essentially going to read the introduction and the conclusion, scanning the rest. It's entirely acceptable, then, to have 5 sentences in the introduction ("interesting" lead, situate the question in a larger problem, give the thesis, list your body paragraphs, then transition to the body) and pretty much the same thing in the conclusion (though in reverse), with three quick examples to support your argument in the middle.

(I only took the GRE once; I got a 6.)

[juilletmercredi]

I also only took the GRE once and received a 6.

Really, you are not going to write anything like what you would actually write in graduate school or even a good undergraduate paper. It's a variation on the simple 5-paragraph essay you learned to write in high school. It's a bit ridiculous, but basically you'll have an introduction paragraph, 3-5 good body paragraphs each with an example supporting your argument (even in the issue one), and then a conclusion paragraph that sums everything up.

I agree with the first poster that the one variation on the simple 5-paragraph essay is that you definitely should present a counterargument to your argument, and then dismantle it. That makes your argument stronger. I also would like to add that you can certainly make up facts. Passion and interest does matter - my essay topic was on science education or science research or something of that nature, and I am a scientist. It didn't require foreknowledge, but the fact that I HAD some foreknowledge definitely helped in crafting my essay. However, when I couldn't remember exact quotes, dates, or people, I fudged it. They don't check for accuracy; they check for argumentation and clarity.

[emmm]

I guess the 5-paragraph essay format can work, but I did not stick to it, and I also got a 6. I thought one of my essays was fine, but the other one seemed to have gone off topic, so I had to try to pull things back together in my conclusion (since there wasn't time to do anything over). It was certainly not the essay I would have submitted if there'd been more time, but I guess I managed to salvage it. I did not make up any facts, but I have also heard that that is fine.