GMAT Prep – Writing Your Essay for the GMAT

The Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) section consists of two 30 minute essay questions. One essay will have you express your opinion on a controversial issue, while the other essay will have you analyze an argument and find its logical flaws.

Your essay will be evaluated by a human GMAT essay grader and an computer E-rater on a 0-6 scale. If the GMAT essay grader and E-rater agree on a score, that is your grade for the essay. If they disagree on a score, a second human GMAT grader will grade your essay to resolve the differences. The computerized scoring system pressures the human GMAT graders to adhere to the strict scoring standards of the E-rater.

Focus your time on committing the templates below to memory and practice, practice, practice. Read newspapers pick out controversial issues to comment on, analyze opinion pieces for their logical flaws. Then have a friend grade the essay and provide feedback.

Issue Essay

Intro:
Many/some people think that….Others…..(restate)
The issue is a controversial one but a closer examination reveals that….(take a position)…for several reasons.

1st Para:
One reason is that/for…
For example,…
Furthermore,…
Clearly,…

2nd Para:
Another reason is that/for…
To illustrate,…
As a result,…

3rd Para:
Perhaps the best reason is (that)….
Specifically,…
Moreover/In addition….
In fact,….
Therefore,….

Conclusion:
In summary, while there are arguments to be made for both sides, it is clear that there are greater advantages to….(repeat the reasons).
Certainly,…..outweigh…….
Hence,….(re-affirm your position)

Argument Essay

Intro:
The argument claims that ….(restate)
Stated in this way the argument:
a) manipulates facts and conveys a distorted view of the situation
b) reveals examples of leap of faith, poor reasoning and ill-defined terminology
c) fails to mention several key factors, on the basis of which it could be evaluated
The conclusion of the argument relies on assumptions for which there is no clear evidence. Hence, the argument is weak/unconvincing and has several flaws.

1st Para:
First, the argument readily assumes that……
This statement is a stretch….
For example,…
Clearly,…
The argument could have been much clearer if it explicitly stated that…

2nd Para:
Second, the argument claims that….
This is again a very weak and unsupported claim as the argument does not demonstrate any correlation between….and…
To illustrate,…
While,…
However,….indeed….
In fact, it is not at all clear…rather….
If the argument had provided evidence that…..then the argument would have been a lot more convincing.

3rd Para:
Finally,…
(pose some questions for the argument)…..Without convincing answers to these questions, one is left with the impression that the claim is more of a wishful thinking rather than substantive evidence.

Conclusion:
In conclusion, the argument is flawed for the above-mentioned reasons and is therefore unconvincing. It could be considerably strengthened if the author clearly mentioned all the relevant facts….
In order to assess the merits of a certain situation/decision, it is essential to have full knowledge of all contributing factors. In this particular case….
Without this information, the argument remains unsubstantiated and open to debate.

These templates were provided by GMAT Club, visit GMAT Club to find more GMAT AWS templates and sample questions.