GRE Analytical Writing Assesment (AWA)
What is AWA and how does it work?
The AWA section of the GRE General test comprises two writing tasks.
- Present Your Perspective on an Issue (45 minutes)
- Analyze an Argument (30 minutes)
In the computer adaptive format, the 2 writing tasks are delivered on the computer, and you must present your responses on the word processor provided in the GRE test software.
The word processor used by ETS is an elementary one so that individuals familiar with a specific commercial word processing software do not have an advantage or disadvantage. The software has very basic functionalities: inserting text, deleting text, cut and paste, undoing the previous action, and scrolling. If you are used to a commercial word processor such as the Microsoft Word or similar office tools, you will find yourself in a prehistoric era while using the word processor provided by ETS. Tools such as a spelling checker and grammar checker are not available in the software.
What does the AWA Measure?
According to the official GRE site, "The analytical writing section tests your critical thinking and analytical writing skills. It assesses your ability to articulate and support complex ideas, analyze an argument, and sustain a focused and coherent discussion. It does not assess specific content knowledge."
Therefore, knowledge about a specific topic or a subject area is not a necessity to score well in this section. The essential skills that you need to do well in this section are good written communication skills and a good knowledge of how a well constructed argument should be.
Though the two written tasks look similar at first sight, what ETS evaluators expect from you in the two sections are pretty different. Here is a snapshot of what is expected of you in the two sections.
Analysis of an Issue Task (45 Minutes)You will be presented with two essay topics in the Issue Task and you will choose one. The instruction to the section will read something like "Present your perspective on the issue below, using relevant reasons and/or examples to support your views."
In this task, the GRE evaluators expect you to present your opinion on a particular topic. You are expected to take a stand about the topic.
Here is a sample Issue Task:
"People who have achieved success in the world have done so by not treading the beaten path."
The topic poses a challenge to you. It expects you to take a stand. You are expected to either accept what is stated i.e., people achieve success by not conforming to conventional wisdom or refute the statement by taking the stand that people who have conformed to established conventions also achieve success.
Evaluators of the GRE Test expect the following from you in this task
- Have you understood the central issue presented in the statement?
- Have you communicated precisely if you agree with all or with any part of the statement? If it is a part of the statement, which part do you agree?
- Have you presented your reasons as to why you agree with the statement or parts of it or why not?
- In some cases, where applicable, have you been able to identify specific instances in which the statement is valid and where it is not?
- Have you been able to support your position on the issue with reasons that include examples — either hypothetical or drawn from readings or direct experiences?
- Have you been able to identify and highlight reasons that someone might use to refute or undermine your position? Have you acknowledged those and do you have a good defense against those views?
Though there is a lot of leeway in how you answer the issue task, keeping in mind what the evaluators look for will help you structure your response effectively.
Analysis of an Argument Task (30 Minutes)As against the Issue Task where you are given a choice of topic, in the argument task you will not be provided any choice.
In this task, you are not supposed to take a stand and argue for or against the topic. Instead, an argument is presented to you and you are expected to analyze the argument carefully and critically evaluate the soundness of the argument.
Here is a sample Argument Task:
The instruction to this task will read as, "Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument." followed by an argument similar to the sample given below.
Here is the gist of the report presented by a manufacturing consultant to one of his clients.
"In order to reduce costs and remain competitive, you should close your existing manual assembly units and build an advanced automated large central plant. Three Gorges would be an ideal location for this new plant. First, Three Gorges has a large unemployed adult population, so that you will be able to staff your plant quickly and easily. Second, since the average wage earned by workers in Three Gorges is less than that in the other parts of the country, you should be able to keep production costs low. Last, the town council offers a tax holiday of three years for greenfield projects being set up in the town."
In this task, you are not supposed to argue for or against setting up the assembly unit at Three Gorges. Instead, you are expected to analyze the argument presented by the consultant critically and question the veracity and validity of unstated assumptions and identify flaws in the argument.
Evaluators of the GRE Test expect the following from you in this task
- What claims, conclusions, and underlying assumptions does the argument make?
- What additional evidence might weaken or strengthen the claims made in the argument?
- What changes in the argument would make the reasoning more sound?
For instance, in the above example, the report assumes that availability of unemployed adults in abundance is sufficient to staff the assembly unit without considering that fact that the unemployed adults at Three Gorges may not have the required skill set to work in the assembly unit. If that were true, then the conclusion that production cost will become lower on account of inexpensive labor may not hold good.
This task attempts to test this ability of yours to reason in this fashion.
How does one prepare for the AWA Tasks of the GRE Test?
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