Analytical Writing and E-Readers...

[Seanish]

So... definitely still upset about my abysmal analytical writing score. I called ETS to see if I could get some explanation for my score, something concrete that explained why my writing was found to be so lacking or if there was some issue with my test itself (if either the issue or argument part of my test wasn't submitted or something). The person I spoke to had no clear answer. I had to hold back from calling out her grammar (I know she has basically nothing to do with the test or my score but still). Great Verbal score, terrible writing score. She at least acknowledged that it wouldn't be wrong to guess there would normally be somewhat of a correlation between them. The only thing I could get out of her is that the entire GRE is computer graded. I asked specifically about the writing and she said it is graded by e-readers and if I wanted to pursue my inquiry about my score I would have to mail "them". She didn't know who "they" were, however. She explained her job is to handle general questions and it would be another department that I should contact but didn't know which. Hmmmmmm......

[Sigaba]

The person I spoke to had no clear answer. I had to hold back from calling out her grammar (I know she has basically nothing to do with the test or my score but still). . . Hmmmmmm......

Seanish--

I understand that you're concerned about your score and you want feedback. Given the fact that you need ETS's help to answer your questions, I suggest you treat everyone there with courtesy and respect. You never know when the first line of support is going to take kindly to a friendly person and escalate the call up the food chain or, by contrast, to bury a rude person's query at the bottom of a 'to do' list.

HTH.

[Seanish]

I know, and I appreciate the consideration Sigaba. I wouldn't quite say I was cordial but I was very professional. My tone wasn't hostile at all towards her. It's just that something twisted inside my brain when she used the phrase "more better" after defending the test and it's vague grading. She really did not have any answers though and could only suggest sending a letter to ETS in general. I think I'm more concerned about writing being graded electronically than the interaction with ETS's customer service.

Edited November 8, 2011 by Seanish

[Vanilla Tea]

even I have a shockingly low writing grade and a decent verbal score. All my deadlines are December 1, so I guess i'll just have to live with it, but it's weird, and I was definitely thinking about what I could do besides asking them for a review and paying 75 dollars for it.

[Sigaba]

Ha! File my post above under "Do as I say, not as I do." Last night my tone was definitely chilly while talking to Sprint customer service.

[habanero]

I don't think AWA is useful at all and should be abolished. Their criteria for determining what makes a 'good' AWA score has never made sense to me because I am a very concise writer who judges essays by their content and logic (NOT just length and flowery words/sentences). I got a 5.0 and I was pretty proud of my performance. You would think that my 98th percentile V (ugh, still mad that I didn't get 99) would mean that I'd get a higher A, but whatever. I wish ETS would explain the grading system!!

From what I've heard, their review is just a piece of paper that says 'DEAL WITH IT'. It's probably for the best that you didn't get one.

[Rachel B]

That's New Jersey for you!

Okay, kidding. But I too have spoken with ETS on the phone about the GRE and they really aren't that knowledgable and give incredibly vague answers.

[dntw8up]

I too have a shockingly low AW score and an extremely high verbal score. After reading this post I did some research on e-reader technology.

When signing up for the exam I read the generic information ETS supplies about its scoring of the exam: "For the Analytical Writing section, each essay receives a score from two trained readers...trained to assign scores on the basis of the overall quality of an essay in response to the assigned task. If the two assigned scores differ by more than one point on the scale, the discrepancy is adjudicated by a third GRE reader." http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/scores/how/

Note that e-rater technology isn't mentioned.

After seeing this post I poked around the ETS site using the buzz word "e-rater", a made-up word you have to know to locate the information, and found this: "...Currently, the e-rater technology will flag essays that demonstrate a wide range of anomalous conditions, including excessive brevity, excessive length, significant repetition of material and responses determined to be off-topic...The e-rater engine is currently used...in conjunction with human raters to score the essay portions of the TOEFL and GRE tests." http://www.ets.org/erater/about/faq/

Note that how e-reader technology is used relative to human readers isn't mentioned

I'm a cs/math person writing an undergraduate thesis that has been praised for the quality of its writing. I was confident that I'd scored well on the AW portion of the exam, but I can easily imagine an e-reader perceiving my conciseness as excessive brevity. Since ETS seems to be hiding the role of automated essay grading from its customers I have requested a human review of my AW score.

[Rachel B]

I'm a cs/math person writing an undergraduate thesis that has been praised for the quality of its writing. I was confident that I'd scored well on the AW portion of the exam, but I can easily imagine an e-reader perceiving my conciseness as excessive brevity. Since ETS seems to be hiding the role of automated essay grading from its customers I have requested a human review of my AW score.

How do you go about requesting a review of your AW score? Is there more information about taking this step on the ETS site by any chance?

[dntw8up]

The information is here: http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/scores/services/ You make the request in writing and include a check for $55.

[lastoftheromans]

I think what many people forget about the AW is that it isn't a place to show off your vast vocabulary or how beautiful you write. Rather, the AW tests you on your critical thinking skills and your ability to argue persuasively. This means deconstructing arguments, identifying and explaining logical fallacies, and arguing effectively by backing your position up with detailed evidence. Anything else is superfluous and won't help you all that much.

So even if I am only in the 86 percentile in the Verbal section of the GRE, my AW score of 5.5 puts me in the 96 percentile. Which is not to shabby considering I bombed the quantitative portion of the test

Edited November 9, 2011 by lastoftheromans

[Rachel B]

The information is here: http://www.ets.org/g...cores/services/ You make the request in writing and include a check for $55.

My score wasn't awful, and while it's tempting to have them re-grade it, I'd be worried I'd get a lower score. Not to mention that your scores are put on hold until it's graded.

*BTW, anyone who is trying to use the free GRE diagnostic service to get more information about how many questions they answered right, I just called ETS and you won't be able to access this service until two weeks after you receive your revised GRE scores. I am looking forward to seeing how many questions I got right and I hope other people share this information since it could help out a lot of other people.

[Lox26]

*BTW, anyone who is trying to use the free GRE diagnostic service to get more information about how many questions they answered right, I just called ETS and you won't be able to access this service until two weeks after you receive your revised GRE scores. I am looking forward to seeing how many questions I got right and I hope other people share this information since it could help out a lot of other people.

Rachel, would you please explain more about this.

[Lox26]

https://grediagnostic.ets.org/GREDWeb/gred/signIn.jsp

This is a comprehensive score report that breaks down question type, time to answer, question difficulty, and other characteristics. I'm am so psyched that this exists!

[Rachel B]

https://grediagnosti...gred/signIn.jsp

This is a comprehensive score report that breaks down question type, time to answer, question difficulty, and other characteristics. I'm am so psyched that this exists!

Yep! This will be good information to have. From what ETS told me this is completely new to the revised test and if you took the old version you won't be able to access this information.

[habanero]

Mine isn't working for some reason. Has anybody else had an issue?

[Rachel B]

Mine isn't working for some reason. Has anybody else had an issue?

What isn't working?

[poeteer]

I don't know the extent to which the e-reader determines the score, but I know for a fact that the AWA is scored by people (two people per essay). My guess is that the e-rater notices anomalies and serves as a kind of alert system (for example, cheating, or if the score the human raters give is vastly different from the computer's grade). I think "flag" means it sends a particular essay into a folder for "review" by another rater. I'm pretty sure it doesn't actually score the essay, or there would be little incentive for ETS to hire and train so many human scorers.

Edited December 6, 2011 by poeteer