GRE analytical writing - the more you study, the lower you score?

[Beatrice K. Ross]

Hello,

 

The title is something of a joke, of course; but the fact is, that is what happened to me. I took the GRE in 2011 and, very confident in my writing skills, did not practice writing. Result: a 3.5 score. So last year I did something about it - I practiced and must have written about ten compositions (about the topics from the topic pool on the GRE website). I was being coached by a Professor from the ETH in Zurich, who considered I had really improved and would score well. So you imagine my disappointment when I received a score of 3.0

 

Does anyone have the same problem - thinking he/she understands what the GRE people are asking for in a composition, and then realizing something must be wrong?

 

I thought about asking the ETS for the evaluation of my compositions, so that at least I can be sure about what I am doing wrong. Does anyone know if this can be done?

[Itsalongshot]

You could try doing a practice essay on ETS's "score it now" website. You pay $7 I think and write an essay, either timed or untimed and they give you a score, complete with feedback about why you received said score and then they give you an example of a perfect essay. I used this last year and found it helpful.

[Inyo]

I was a big fan of the essay writing advice in Kaplan's main GRE book. It helped me focus my writing into a style that clearly benefitted me on the GRE.

 

The issue is that a "good" essay may or may not receive a good score for the GRE. In my undergrad classes (including courses far from my specialities), professors frequently complimented me on my writing. I write very well, but I write best in non-traditional formats (eg, I loathe the 5 paragraph essay!). I got a 4.5 on the writing section the first time I tackled the GRE. That's a fine score, but below where I should have been.

 

The second time around, I followed Kaplan's advice. I wrote for the ENTIRE time, even if I felt like I'd already made the best points (a longer essay is almost always scored higher than a shorter one). I used uncessesarily large vocabularly words and highly complex sentence structure (which I frown upon as a scientist. If you can say something simply, say it simply!). For both essays I used the template structure suggested by Kaplan. I got a 5.5 writing what I thought were rather crap essays, but I had followed "The Kaplan Method ."

 

Tl;dr: Follow the methods from prep companies.

[arglooblaha]

I think that if you are going to spend ANY money on preparing for the GRE it should be spent shoveling out the measly $7 bucks to use ETS's "Score it Now" program.  You will be very surprised by the insight into their essay scoring method.  The program VERY LITERALLY looks for paragraph transition sentences and leads into examples and x number of points being made by the phrasing that is used to make a point in an essay for each possible prompt.  It very transparently tells you what is good and what is not good about your essay.

[PsychGirl1]

When I prepared, I used a lot of the ETS/Princeton Review/etc. books and they were very good at making it clear that writing skills aren't necessarily what is being graded. One of the biggest indicators of the writing score is the length of your essay, for example. So, I'd make sure you improve your typing speed if you are a slow typer. Then like arglooblaha said, there are elements they consider "important". I kept mine incredibly basic, followed a formula in one of the test prep books (literally like, intro paragraph, example 1 para, example 2 para, example 3 para, concluding sentence- with each example para following the same format) with moderately long sentences/vocab and I scored a 5.5.

 

So in summary.... "better writing" does not necessarily mean "better score", which I think is where you misunderstood. It's really about understanding what they are looking for.

[Beatrice K. Ross]

Thanks a lot to all four of you for your suggestions!

[Daisy Spiegelman]

I used the Princeton Review and found it very helpful in preparing for the exam, overall. Having said that, I received a 4.5, which means some 24 year-old making $15 an hour read my essays and determined that my skills are mediocre at crafting a persuasive argument. I've been a licensed attorney for over 15 years. The GRE is a test of how well one performs on the GRE -- nothing more.

[PaperTowels]

I got a 5.0 twice, in both cases I followed standard standardized test essay advice (don't make spelling or grammar mistakes, don't misuse words, have an introduction and conclusion, make sure it makes sense, make sure it's about the prompt, throw in a few big words). Luckily my field doesn't care about writing.

 

Honestly, I think especially the second time my answers were very good, because I happened to feel inspired to write very thorough, clear, logical critiques on the topics given. They also happened to ask me about stuff I was used to debating. I think my essay went over the scorer's head.

 

As I understand it (there's a point by point breakdown somewhere), you can get to 4.0 by just making sure the grammar is correct, the words are not misused, there's no misspellings, the sentences and paragraphs are coherent and relate to each other. You know, basic stuff. 4 to 5 is "thinking" - ie can you apply logic to see where someone is wrong ("a cat bit me when I was a kid, cats are aggressive animals") and to prove you are right. 5 to 6 is some mysterious "talent" and "outstanding, excellent, exceptional" essay factor. To me, the notion that some ETS employee can judge an exceptional essay in a few minutes is offensive. I think the difference between 5 and 6 is mostly luck, or if you can figure out what silly rule of thumb ETS thinks can be used to define great writing and catering to it.

 

This isn't great news if your field does care about writing, since now it's not clear what you have to do to get a perfect score - but the good news is if your field is writing-focused, they'll probably ask for a writing sample anyway and disregard the GRE writing score in its favor. If they don't, you could offer to submit one anyway. I'm sure a professor would be more interested in seeing your actual writing than the second hand opinion of a pair of college grads.

[Emdave]

This thread makes me feel so much better about my life. I didn't practice for the writing section because I was freaking out too much about the math. I was in high-level writing classes in high school, I got As consistently on papers throughout college, and I didn't think there would be a problem because I scored really well on the ACT writing section.....

 

and then I got a 4.5 on the GRE. My math score was actually better than I thought it would be, but I just couldn't understand the writing score.

[ShiningInShadows]

5 to 6 is some mysterious "talent" and "outstanding, excellent, exceptional" essay factor. To me, the notion that some ETS employee can judge an exceptional essay in a few minutes is offensive. I think the difference between 5 and 6 is mostly luck, or if you can figure out what silly rule of thumb ETS thinks can be used to define great writing and catering to it.

 

My theory on the difference between 5 and 6 is knowledge. Not knowledge about the test but personal or experiential knowledge. That and it's more about the "analytical" than the "writing" at this point.

 

I ended up with a 5.5 on the AW. I know I had every rule about writing the ETS study guide throws at you in my head and everything I picked up from my boss over the course of getting papers published. At the end of the day though, I figured there's only so much I could prepare for since I wouldn't know the topics would be, and when I got there I found ways to connect the topics to things I know about (i.e. my current specialization). Once I did that, crap just flowed out of me like a sewer pipe.

 

The other half of it is the analytical part. Think the old quote about all the monkeys with typewriters remaking Shakespeare. Are you really generating anything relevant on the fly, or are you saying very little in a very elaborate way? AND, can you frame it in a coherant manner?

 

In short, there's a program out there called "Habits of Mind," stop me if you've heard it before. Our department integrates it into our curriculum and it's supposed to be 16 habits of effective leaders, or something to that extent. One of these habits is "responding with awe and wonderment," or something to that extent (I don't do this part of the program so I'm really winging it here). I figure that making the ETS people "respond with awe and wonderment" is the goal here (read: blow their $&*#ing minds out).

[juilletmercredi]

The GRE's analytical writing is a joke compared to actual writing in graduate school.  It's basically a grown-up version of the 5-paragraph essay - they want an introduction (tell us what you're going to say), three examples (although it can be 4 or 5 or two paragraphs on one - but basically, 3 examples supporting your argument) and then a conclusion (summarize).  The first sentence of every middle part paragraph should be a very obvious transition sentence with a very obvious transition word.  If you follow this formula, write a lot, and write very plainly/clearly, you will get a 6.0.  I got one and I actually had to dumb down my writing from my normal style - I consider myself a strong writer.  They don't actually want thoughtful academic writing; they want basic, easy-to-read, easy-to-grade writing.  A lot of strong writers don't do well on AW because they write like academics and not like 10th graders.

 

There's a professor who can predict SAT writing scores just by looking at the length of the paper with near-perfect accuracy.  I didn't even finish my conclusion on one of my essays and I still got a 6.0.  I think I made up some stuff on the second essay because I couldn't think of a legitimate third example.  The essay readers literally have 2 minutes to look at each of your essays (I used to score SAT ones for Kaplan when I tutored for them).   They don't have time to fact-check and they don't care if your facts are wrong or even if you straight up make up stuff.  When I used to tutor for the SAT writing section (which is essentially the same thing), I always told my students that if they couldn't come up with a legitimate example to just make something up: they could say their dad was the first man on the moon and the essay graders don't care.  They aren't actually reading your essay; they are scanning for key things: transition words, examples, an intro, a conclusion, a simple argument.  If you make it easy for them they reward you with a 5-6.  If you make it difficult, they don't want to take the time to look for it, they're going to award you a 3 or 4 and say that your essay was too complicated/not clear.  

 

I hate hate hate both GRE and SAT writing sections because they reinforce BAD WRITING.  There are very few times in which someone will be asked to come up with a cogent essay in 25 minutes.  I have to keep drilling into my students' heads "Now use these techniques ONLY for the SAT.  PLEASE do not write like this at school."

 

But to be fair, there aren't any 24-year-olds grading the essays.  The graders are typically English/writing professors or the equivalent.

Edited April 2, 2013 by juilletmercredi

[Kundho]

In conclusion, we can say that one can bring 5.0-6.0 on AWA section of the GRE, if He/She includes and demonstrates the fundamental grammatical skills. I want to retake GRE and expect 4.5-5.0 this time. i think the Engineering schools bother less about writing section. They do care about Quants section. Moreover, AWA section is given weight for fellowship consideration. 

 

I've practiced enough and followed the Kaplan template of Issue and Argument Writing...What I want is GRE score of 310+. I hope I shall get the desired score. 

[VulpesZerda]

I just searched through the forums and found this thread to be helpful -- thanks to above posters. I think I will buy the ScoreItNow even though they raised the price by almost 50%. Thanks ETS...

[victorydance]

I just recently got a 6.0 on my writing section. Although I agree somewhat with julliet, I don't agree fully. This section isn't about writing, not sure why people would assume that just because it has essays. It's a measure of one's ability to quickly deconstruct a position or argument, make their own position, and back that position up logically. I don't really see how this exercise in any way goes against academic writing; it's just insanely simplified. 

 

Yes, it is a standard 5 paragraph essay, but the simple fact is the more you write = the better your score. It's been proven to be highly correlated with length and your score. So I would actually aim for approximately 7 paragraphs, depending on the question asked. You should be able to do at least 4 strong positive points. Then you can throw in a few counter points but mention how they don't really change the argument, in one paragraph + an intro and conclusion.

 

A few techniques that make a big difference:

 

1) As mentioned before, length matters.

 

2) Try to throw in at least a couple GRE words that you have been studying. But of course only if they make sense to the context used.

 

3) Do a simple and quick edit for grammar and spelling at the end. No spelling or grammar mistakes = higher score.

 

4) Write analytically, not beautifully. The graders don't care if you are an English bravado or not; they only care about your main argument, and how your arguments tie to that argument. This is especially true for the analyze the argument section. Make sure everything you are writing ties back to your main thesis.

 

5) Make a clear, but not too strongly sided thesis in the introduction.

 

6) Use a couple real world examples, even if they don't fit perfectly. 

 

7) At the beginning, read the question carefully, and make a list of pros and cons quickly. I think it's better just to drive straight into a couple of the middle paragraphs, then write the intro but to each their own.

 

Follow those basic steps and you should get at least a 5 if English is your first language.

Edited October 8, 2014 by victorydance

[VulpesZerda]

Follow those basic steps and you should get at least a 5 if English is your first language.

Thanks for all the tips!

I ended up taking my ScoreItNow yesterday and I got a 5. And I think I could definitely improve because I saw all my mistakes at the end. So my question is, do you think a 5-6 on the AWA can lessen the effects that unimpressive Verbal and Quant scores have? I can't break 160 in practice so far on either section. But if I do well on writing... maybe GREs won't be such a big blow?

[bsharpe269]

My writing score also went down since I last took the GRE. I ended up with a 4.0 this time. My other scores were decent (162V, 168Q) but I was annoyed at the writing. I consider myself a great writer in general. I have always made A+s in English classes and after reading my papers, one of my college professors even suggested that I consider changing my major to English. The online example essays that scored 4.0s are absolutely terrible. I wrote your standard 5 paragraph essay and included 3 solid points with a detailed example for each. I really don't understand their grading methods. Thankfully, my field doesn't care about the writing score at all. I'm not going to take the GRE again but I definitely suggest that others focus on learning exactly what the graders want to see in the essays.

Edited October 8, 2014 by bsharpe269

[victorydance]

Thanks for all the tips!

I ended up taking my ScoreItNow yesterday and I got a 5. And I think I could definitely improve because I saw all my mistakes at the end. So my question is, do you think a 5-6 on the AWA can lessen the effects that unimpressive Verbal and Quant scores have? I can't break 160 in practice so far on either section. But if I do well on writing... maybe GREs won't be such a big blow?

 

Maybe marginally, but I don't think that much. Depends on your discipline; mine doesn't really care about the AW, many don't. Although that being said, my quant wasn't superb and I am happy that I got the 6.0; I have strong verbal + writing scores so it sure doesn't hurt anyways.

 

Honestly though, if you aren't breaking 160 on either quant or verbal, I would focus on those. There is severe diminishing returns to practising the AW; you just need to know what they want and the general structure/type of questions they ask. It's not something you can really improve much by practising it a lot and it is time consuming to do so. 

[Crucial BBQ]

 

 

3) Do a simple and quick edit for grammar and spelling at the end. No spelling or grammar mistakes = higher score.

 

ETS allows for a few misspellings and grammatical errors.  What constitutes a few, I dunno, but they do state in their official guides that some amount is okay.  

 

 I consider myself a great writer in general. I have always made A+s in English classes and after reading my papers, one of my college professors even suggested that I consider changing my major to English. 

I know of a few people, all excellent writers, who scored 3s and 3.5s.  Some people say Stephen King is a great writer.  I happen to find most of his works tedious and boring.  It is my opinion that you are scored by how well you can frame your response and not by how well you can write. 

 

Maybe marginally, but I don't think that much. Depends on your discipline; mine doesn't really care about the AW, many don't. Although that being said, my quant wasn't superb and I am happy that I got the 6.0; I have strong verbal + writing scores so it sure doesn't hurt anyways.

 

Honestly though, if you aren't breaking 160 on either quant or verbal, I would focus on those. There is severe diminishing returns to practising the AW; you just need to know what they want and the general structure/type of questions they ask. It's not something you can really improve much by practising it a lot and it is time consuming to do so. 

The AW section is still timed.  It is also first.  From my experiences as an undergrad I think it is safe to say that most students loathe essay questions on tests, or writing assignments in general.   As a standardized test the GRE is meant to be the same test to every major, but it is not.  Those in the hard sciences are more likely to do well in QR.  The History and Creative Writing majors will more likely do well in VR.  That is why ETS cautions against "total scores" and suggests adcoms consider each score individually.  ETS also spends a lot of money and time researching questions.  They need to keep the GRE hard in order to keep it relevant.  

 

Most college students would probably write awesome Response and Argument papers if given enough time.  However, this comes after first creating an outline, rough draft, and subsequent drafts, until a final draft is completed.  Even a skilled writer would want more than a half hour to draft a one-page response.  That is perhaps why the AW comes first, to help instill anxiety in all test takers.  

 

So it seems pertinent that some practice is done with AW.  If for anything else just to see how well you can formulate a response within the given time frames. 

 

I scored a 4.5 the first time I took the GRE.  Both responses ended mid-paragraph, they had no conclusions.  And that was with zero preparation.  The second time, and I swear I got the same two prompts, a 3.5.  Even though I tidied up the second AW responses with conclusions, the only difference between the two (er, four) responses were length. The first two were long and most likely no where near conclusion.  That is why I ran out of time.  The second two were shorter as I placed an emphasis on the tidying things up with conclusions.  

 

I have seen a few schools that specifically mention a minimum AW score of 3.5, 4, and 4.5.  The majority of programs that I have looked at, however, do not mention AW.    I would suspect that an AW score of 3.0 or less would raise some flags, though. 

Edited October 9, 2014 by Crucial BBQ

[L13]

I have a much more favorable view of the AW section than most of you. I think it does a good job of evaluating your ability to communicate ideas clearly, and I think that ability is instrumental to being a good writer.

 

Which is not to say that the writing you are asked to produce on the GRE is necessarily 'good' in the same way the short stories in The Paris Review are good. Merely that a good writer should be able to look at the sample essays on the ETS website and replicate the quality of those in the 5-6 score range. Those essays may be quite prosaic, but they build a logical argument and lay it out clearly. If you consider yourself a good writer, that kind of writing may be different from your preferred writing style, but you should still be able to demonstrate mastery of it.

 

For the record, I read some of those sample essays in preparation for the test, and scored 5.5 on the AW. I didn't follow any prescripts like "make your transition sentences obvious and use transition words," or "use three examples and write as much as possible." I wrote two short, unflashy pieces that made sense. I'm not particularly proud of them, but I do think they were well-written. (One more so than the other; I actually expected to get a 6 on the analysis and a 5 on the argument because those were the scores I would have given them myself.)

Edited October 9, 2014 by L13

[rfer]

I'm set to write my GRE on November 22nd, I'm freaking out. The program I'm applying to prefers high AW scores more than anything else, but I'm not feeling good about any of it. Does anyone have suggestions of what topics to study for AW? or know sample questions?

[VulpesZerda]

I'm set to write my GRE on November 22nd, I'm freaking out. The program I'm applying to prefers high AW scores more than anything else, but I'm not feeling good about any of it. Does anyone have suggestions of what topics to study for AW? or know sample questions?

Every single possible topic that you might see on the test is on the ETS website. But, honestly, don't waste time trying to read them all. Just practice a few and read the examples of a 6 in any GRE book. What helped me the most was practicing with friends- making pro/con lists together, coming up with all the assumptions, and basically sharing ideas.

[kimchijajonshim]

I have a much more favorable view of the AW section than most of you. I think it does a good job of evaluating your ability to communicate ideas clearly, and I think that ability is instrumental to being a good writer.

 

Which is not to say that the writing you are asked to produce on the GRE is necessarily 'good' in the same way the short stories in The Paris Review are good. Merely that a good writer should be able to look at the sample essays on the ETS website and replicate the quality of those in the 5-6 score range. Those essays may be quite prosaic, but they build a logical argument and lay it out clearly. If you consider yourself a good writer, that kind of writing may be different from your preferred writing style, but you should still be able to demonstrate mastery of it.

 

For the record, I read some of those sample essays in preparation for the test, and scored 5.5 on the AW. I didn't follow any prescripts like "make your transition sentences obvious and use transition words," or "use three examples and write as much as possible." I wrote two short, unflashy pieces that made sense. I'm not particularly proud of them, but I do think they were well-written. (One more so than the other; I actually expected to get a 6 on the analysis and a 5 on the argument because those were the scores I would have given them myself.)

 

I agree with this. I think it's a useful exercise of your ability to form cogent positions and support them in a short period of time. If anything it's perhaps one of the useful, more well-thought portions of the test. The ability to write clearly, concisely, and persuasively matters in a lot of contexts; when would you ever need to know what "obsequious" or "quiescent" means? Whether or not the grading is careful or thoughtful, I don't know. But I consider myself a strong and concise writer, and came away in the range I expected and consider the score a fair approximation of my ability.

[Nickolas]

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