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7 Tips for a Perfect GRE Issue Essay

If you get a perfect score on the GRE’s Issue Essay (a 6), it can really boost your graduate school admissions chances! The best schools want good Verbal and Quantitative scores, but also students who are clear, competent writers. Lots of students have excellent transcripts and are good at taking tests – but not everyone can demonstrate impressive writing skills! Here are 7 tips to take your Issue essay to that perfect 6.

[ RELATED: What is a good GRE score?   ]

Write at least three practice essays.

Practice makes perfect! You can study for the GRE online by looking up the AWA prompts and practicing writing several of them within the 30-minute guideline. The only way to get comfortable with the time constraints is to practice them, so set up test-like conditions and get to work. If you’re a good writer, you might be tempted to take the GRE essay portion without practicing. That’s not a great idea–the issue essay is a different kind of essay than you’ve probably had to write in school, and you might miss the mark if you don’t practice. On the issue essay you’re not writing literary criticism or rhetorical analysis, but rather something more akin to a very direct, concise email to a very busy boss or professor. Get used to the idea that the issue essay isn’t about how well you make things flow or how pretty it sounds; it’s about how clearly you can get information across.

Don’t waffle.

You don’t have time to argue both sides of an issue on the GRE issue essay . Even if you don’t believe in the side you choose, you’ll only have time to argue one side effectively. If you take a middle-of-the-road approach you won’t sound as confident or clear. Remember, according to ETS, the “readers are evaluating the skill with which you address the specific instructions and articulate and develop an argument to support your evaluation of the issue.” Which side you choose to defend is less important than how you defend it!

Choose very specific real-world examples.

Don’t be general! Hypothetical arguments are easily refuted. The easy counter to any “what-if” argument is to challenge that the hypothetical scenario would ever actually happen. Instead, use specific examples: Mitt Romney, the War of 1812, Keynesian economic theory, an anecdote about your Uncle Ralph the compulsive gambler, etc. are all concrete examples you can use to drive home a point. 

BUT, make sure your examples are relevant to the topic.

You can choose examples from a wide range of subjects, including personal experience, pop culture, history, sports, literature, current events, politics, etc. But, don’t let your examples take over the essay. For instance, if you’re using a historical example, be careful that you don’t let the bulk of your essay become a summary of that event or a history paper equivalent. Your whole goal on the issue essay is to prove a point, so only use an example if it’s going to back up your argument.

Avoid first-person and self-reference.

In general, you should avoid writing in first person on the issue essay. Saying things like “I believe” or “in my opinion” adds unnecessary words since the reader already knows that the issue essay is written from your perspective. First-person pronouns should ONLY appear in a body paragraph if you are using personal experience as an example. Never use “I” in your introductory or concluding paragraphs.

Make strong, declarative statements.

Being direct doesn’t leave any room for miscommunication or misinterpretation. Part of the reason this is so important is because while one of your graders is human, the other is a computer. If you’ve ever talked to your GPS or Siri, you’ve probably experienced some miscommunication from time to time. Avoid this on the GRE issue essay by making strong, declarative statements.

Refute the opposing view in your conclusion.

Many GRE students wonder what to do in their conclusion. Try introducing the opposing viewpoint, showing that you recognize that in fact some people do not support your position. Then refute their argument in 1-2 sentences, and reinforce the validity of  your own thesis.

BONUS: Know how the GRE Analytical Writing Essays are scored

The GRE testmaker, Educational Testing Service (ETS) reports a single score rounded up to the nearest half-point. This score makes up the essay portion of your overall GRE score .

You can read more from ETS on  specific  score level breakdowns  here .

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GRE Issue Essay Tips (5 Expert Writing Strategies)

Most students struggle with the GRE essay. That’s why we made this guide that you can implement on your exam day.

We’ve spent countless hours researching how to make an issue essay more convincing, engaging, and simply — better.

Here are five writing strategies that will help you do so.

Summary of the Key Findings

• GRE essays rate your ability to defend your position. 
• Read the task carefully and create an outline before you start writing.
• Defend one side of an argument and support your position with examples.
• Vary your sentences to make your writing more engaging and demonstrate your linguistic knowledge.

How to Prepare for the GRE Essay?

To get a good score on the GRE issue essay, you need to prepare for it properly. Here’s what you can do to increase the chances of writing a perfect GRE issue essay:

• Take practice essays to understand what to expect in advance — You’ll find many sample essays online and in most GRE prep books. Make sure you check out at least one sample GRE issue essay before the exam day.
• Learn how the essays are scored — They’re scored on a 0 - 6 scale, in half-point increments. Learn more about the requirements for each score so that you know how to score higher.

5 Strategies for the Issue Essay:

Below, you’ll find five strategies that will help you write a good issue essay on your test day.

1. Ensure You Understand the Task

From our experience, most students gloss over the instructions and jump to writing. That’s a wrong approach. Your essay score might take a hit if you don’t understand what you need to do.

Every issue task has several subtasks. So, tackling just one won’t get you the perfect score.

To ensure you don’t forget to solve any subtasks, write them down in bullet points before you start writing.

Add a checkmark next to the bullet points as you address them in the essay. That way, you’ll know whether you’ve answered all the questions.

2. Choose One Side

A persuasive essay argues only one side of a topic. And that’s precisely what the GRE-makers will ask you to do.

If you’ve gone through sample essay tasks, you know that you’ll either have to agree or disagree with a given statement.

It doesn’t matter if you believe in the side you’re arguing. What matters is you can support it with strong examples and proper logical reasoning.

Make your argument essay more persuasive by asking yourself these two questions:

• Which arguments could someone use to refute my position?
• How can I defend my position from these arguments? [ 1 ]

Use your answers as guides while writing your issue essay.

Coming up with counterarguments may be tricky, but taking practice tests at home can help you hone this skill.

3. Start With an Outline

An outline will help you write faster and stay on topic. So, make sure you create one before you write a single letter. Divide the outline into three parts, based on the GRE essay structure.

Here’s what to tackle in each part:

• The introduction — State your thesis in the first sentence of your introduction.
• The first paragraph — Back up your most persuasive reason with concrete examples.
• The second paragraph — Add a second reason and supporting examples.
• The third paragraph — State a counterargument to your thesis and explain why it’s incorrect.
• The conclusion — Summarize your introduction and remind the reader of your main points. State your ultimate verdict on the topic in the final sentence.

Once you have your outline, it’s time to get to writing.

4. Add Relevant Examples from the Real World

Backing up your claims with examples can add more clarity to your essay and help readers — the evaluators — better understand what you meant.

Choose examples that are based on:

• Current or past events
• Your personal experience
• Relevant facts and statistics

5. Vary Your Sentences

Many students forget that sentence variety also influences their final score.

Here’s how you can vary your sentences and leave an impression of a good writer:

• Length variety — Combine long and short sentences to add rhythm to your writing.
• First-word variety — Start some sentences with the subject and others with objects or transitional expressions.
• Sentence structure variety — Avoid using the same structure for all your sentences, such as following the subject with a verb.

Don’t forget that you’re expected to write the essay in standard written English.

Can I Skip Analytical Writing on the GRE?

Yes, you can skip GRE analytical writing.

Will You Use These Strategies on the GRE?

Implementing these strategies on your exam day can bump up your GRE score even if you’re not a stellar writer.

Remember that the GRE essay doesn’t rate your creativity or artistic flair. It only rates your ability to defend your argument. And the strategies above are designed to help you do so.

If you need more help preparing for the GRE, check out our review of the 8 best GRE prep courses .

References:

• https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/issue/prepare_task

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12 Tips to Ace GRE Writing

Worrying about the GRE essays? A lot of test-takers find it intimidating to sit down at their computer on test day and write an essay in 30 minutes…and then write another one directly after that! GRE analytical writing can seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. A handful of key GRE analytical writing tips will help you sit down at those word processors and proceed—with confidence—to get the GRE score you want.

In this article, we’ll take a look at the GRE writing tips you can use to boost your essay score on the Argument essay and Issue task. Here are all the GRE essay tips you’ll need to send you on your way to that perfect score.

General GRE Analytical Writing Assessment Tips

While the GRE general test writing section can seem unpredictable, there are still ways to prepare for the essay! Later on, we’ll look at each type of task (Issue and Argument) separately. Before we do that, though, there are some important GRE writing tips to know for Issue and Argument essays in the GRE analytical writing section.

1. Know the topic types

If you’ve been practicing for the AWA, you may be thinking, “ What types? They’re totally random! ” But there’s definitely a pattern to GRE prompts! We’ve identified seven types of analytical writing prompts on the GRE , including:

• Government and Power
• Intellectual Endeavors

Before you take the official exam, review sample topics in these areas so you know how you’ll address different types of subjects as they come up. You can see all possible Issue tasks and Argument tasks on the ETS website before test day.

But as you look at the GRE ETS AWA prompts , make sure you don’t waste time outlining a possible essay for each and every one. The time it takes—plus the memorization it would involve—is not worth the effort! Instead, focus on perfecting your approach to different topic types.

Remember, you don’t need to be an expert in these areas, or even have outside knowledge—instead, work on coming up with examples to address different types of prompts and how to write about topics you’re unfamiliar with in a short period of time.

2. Read the directions thoroughly

Read the directions? Of course I read the directions! Almost all test-takers think this—but in our experience, not enough are reading the directions thoroughly .

Each Issue prompt and each Argument prompt comes with specific directions, which follow the prompt and are written in non-italicized letters. Make sure to read the directions; do not gloss over them. In your essay, if you do not directly address what the question is asking, your score will take a hit. Let’s take a look at two different directions that follow an Issue prompt.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to address the most compelling reasons and/or examples that could be used to challenge your position.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the recommendation and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, describe specific circumstances in which adopting the recommendation would or would not be advantageous and explain how these examples shape your position.

You’ll notice that the directions begin very similarly but then veer away from each other. Nonetheless, both ask you to what extent you agree or disagree with the argument. The first set of instructions asks you to consider possible objections to your point of view (which implies you want to show how those objections are somewhat lacking). The second set of instructions asks you to offer up specific instances in which the recommendation either holds true or doesn’t.

Here’s some good news: the instructions don’t create entirely different essays. Oftentimes, being true to the instructions entails nothing more than a few well-deployed sentences in the conclusion or at the end of a body paragraph.

3. Manage time well

For each and every section on the GRE, you have a time limit —and the AWA is no exception! If you’re like most test-takers, you’ll definitely feel those 30 minutes start to shrink once you sit down at the screen.

To make the most of your time on GRE tests , we suggest dividing up the writing section like this:

• 2 minutes to read through the prompt and directions
• 3 minutes brainstorming, outlining, and writing a thesis statement
• 20 minutes writing the body paragraphs and examples of your essay
• 2 minutes to edit for small mistakes, such as grammatical errors
• 3 minutes (if available) to write an intro

Nope, that’s not a mistake—save the intro for last. Why? A few reasons. First of all, if you’ve already stated your thesis at the beginning, it’s not that important. And yet, second of all, test takers get so caught up writing the “perfect intro” that time speeds by and they haven’t focused on their body paragraphs—the meat of the essay—at all. This way, you’ll have a much better chance of getting a high score on the GRE AWA.

4. Write as much as you can

Open up the Official Guide to the essay section and you will see several sample essays. If you turn to the lowest scoring essay—the one awarded a ‘1’—what is most notable about it isn’t necessarily the egregious syntax: the essay is only one sentence long.

Now I highly doubt you will receive a ‘1’. Even if you hammer out a paragraph of barely discernible prose, you are likely to get higher than a ‘1’. The key point here is length matters. And it doesn’t just make the difference between a ‘1’ and a ‘2’; the ‘6’ essay is notably longer than the ‘5’ essay. Sure, the ‘6’ essay is of a general higher quality, but had the ‘6’ essay been the length of the ‘5’ essay it might have received a ‘5.5.’

So don’t think you can just fast and furiously scribble your way to a ‘6’. But as you work to improve the quality of your essays, keep in mind that the more high quality stuff you write, the better. While we’re on the topic, explore these GRE vocabulary words that deal directly with writing:

Issue Essay: GRE Writing Tips

The first essay you’ll see on all GRE tests is the Issue essay . In this task, you’ll be asked to analyze an issue described in the prompt, then create an essay agreeing or disagreeing with it. Read on for our best GRE essay tricks and tips for this task!

5. Come up with pro/con statements

One of the most important things about the Issue essay is that it requires you to take a side.

To do this, make a list of statements that either support or refute the prompt (pros and cons). Then, choose whichever side you think has the best statements. Take a look as Magoosh’s experts walk you through a pro/con evaluation of a topic here !

We recommend you work in shorthand. It doesn’t have to be pretty! It just has to be understandable as you go back through your notes. This shouldn’t take a lot of time—remember, you don’t have a ton of time for brainstorming! Practice pro/con lists until you can make one in under a minute.

6. Choose a side

Based on what you’ve written in your pro/con statement, it’s time to pick a side. You’ll find that the directions for the Issue essay always ask you to agree or disagree. That’s how important this is to creating a high-scoring essay—they actually put the fact that you need to state your opinion in the prompt.

It doesn’t matter what you actually think about this in real life—or even if you have no opinion on it whatsoever! All that matters is that you pick the side you can most easily support.

So how should your opinion show up in the essay? Make sure you state it immediately, as part of your thesis statement. Just as importantly, select examples that support this point of view really well, then explicitly tie them back to your opinion with reasoning throughout the rest of the essay.

7. Relate all examples and reasoning back to your thesis

As you make your pro/con list (described in Tip #5), you’ll be jotting down statements that help support different sides of the argument. Once you’ve chosen what side you’ll be arguing, as in Tip #6, you’ll need to elaborate on those with real-world examples or reasoning.

What’s the difference? Reasoning explains why something’s true (“From the statements X and Y, we can see Z”), while examples show a particular case in which that is true (“The ubiquity of Mickey Mouse proves Z”). Depending on how you brainstorm, you’re likely to have come up with a pro/con list featuring mostly reasons or examples.

Balance it out by making sure you explain why each example is important, relating it to your thesis, and providing a specific instance of each reason you give—again, one that’s relevant to your thesis. Want to see this in action? Take a look at a Magoosh expert brainstorming potential Issue task examples !

8. Make a concession point

Back in Tip #6, we encouraged you to make the position you’re taking in the Issue task really, really clear, and then support your position. But when you look closer at the Issue prompt, you’ll see that you’re also asked to look at both sides of the argument. How is this possible?

The GRE AWA requires pretty nuanced thinking, and this is no exception! You will need to bring up an argument from the side your essay disagrees with, that is true in some cases. This is called a concession point . The instructions don’t tell you to do this exactly—but it’s the best way to discuss both sides of the argument while making sure that you stick to your main argument.

How do you find a concession point? If you’ve followed Tip #5, it’s easy. You’ll need to whip out that old pro/con statement again!

In the end, while you will need to make a concession point, it’s important that the entire essay—including any concession points—all drive the reader back to one opinion: yours.

Argument Essay: GRE Writing Tips

The second task you’ll face on GRE writing sections is the Argument essay. For this essay, you’ll look at an argument and analyze it logically. How to write the GRE Argument essay? You’ll need to know the types of arguments in writing samples, as well as how to present a good argument yourself. If this type of argument test still sounds overwhelming, never fear—we have plenty of GRE analytical writing tips (and a step-by-step GRE writing video guide) for this part of the exam, as well!

9. Identify the assumptions

The first of our tips for the GRE Argument essay? To analyze an argument on the GRE , you’ll need to find out what assumptions the author is making and show why they are unwarranted. Focus on one of these tasks at a time, starting by just finding where the assumptions are in the passage.

Spend some time here: getting these assumptions correct is super important to writing a high-scoring Argument essay. You’re not looking to see how many you can find—there will often be more than one or two! Instead, you want to make sure you’ve found the most important ones the author’s used.

Identifying assumptions takes some practice, so we suggest you take another look at the pool of ETS Argument tasks to practice. As you go through these, ask yourself: what claims is the author making? Where does the author support these claims? What information is missing that would make this claim valid?

10. Find the logical fallacies

After you’ve found all the assumptions in the argument, you’ll need to take it a step further and analyze the argument. To do that, you’ll need to be familiar with the types of logical fallacies you’ll encounter in GRE Argument prompts. Luckily, Magoosh has a video describing logical fallacies in a sample essay for your review!

Just as there are lots of types of arguments in essay prompts on the GRE, so too are there lots of types of logical fallacies in them. For the Argument task GRE essay, you’ll need to identify the most important assumptions, then describe the types of logical fallacies the author is making. You won’t need to describe every single one in your essay (see Tip #12), but you will need to describe and explain the biggest ones.

11. Never agree with the argument

Don’t ever agree with the argument that the Argument task presents on the GRE! Your thesis statement should be a refutation of the logic in the prompt .

In other words, the kind of thesis you’ll need for the Argument task is NOT the same kind of thesis you’ll need for the Issue task. Remember, the Issue task asks you to agree or disagree with the presented argument. On the other hand, the Argument analysis GRE essay asks you to write an essay about an essay. Your thesis should have to do with why the argument is weak due to logical fallacies.

Think about it: if this was a great argument, why would the GRE have provided it for an Argument essay? The whole point of the Argument essay is for you to find the flaws in an argument. Therefore, your thesis should never be that this argument is great and has no flaws! Not only is that (extremely) unlikely to be true, but it also fails to show critical thinking and analysis on your part—which is what the test maker is looking for here.

Long story short? Challenge the argument in your thesis statement !

12. Choose your examples carefully

You’ve identified assumptions. You’ve found their logical fallacies. You’ve written a thesis statement. Now, it’s time to choose examples!

At this point, you may have a huge list of six, seven, or even eight assumptions. That’s great! You’re going to end up throwing a lot of them out. You can write a top-scoring essay using only three or four examples from the prompt. With this in mind, choose the ones that most undermine the writer’s point—in other words, the ones that have the biggest negative effect on the essay as a whole. Once you’ve chosen those examples, organize your body paragraphs around them, as Magoosh’s expert does with the GRE Argument here .

As you write, remember that your examples should always be points about the prompt that support your overall argument in the GRE AWA essay. ALSO remember that your argument in this task is about the construction of the essay, rather than the what they author’s saying (form, not content!). Because of that, it’s not important at all to include positive points about the argument. Unlike the Issue task, the Argument task only needs you to show flaws—not pros and cons.

A Final Word on GRE Writing Tips

While the AWA can seem overwhelming when you first encounter it, practicing with these GRE analytical writing tips can cut that frustration way, way down. Use them to work through some of the prompts on the ETS website, and you’ll see exactly what we mean. They take a little while to get used to, because these aren’t simple tasks—yet at the end of the day, they’ll help boost your score where you want it to be. Good luck as you start putting these GRE essay tips to use!

Rachel has helped students around the world prepare for various standardized tests, including the SAT, ACT, TOEFL, GRE, and GMAT, and she is one of the authors of our Magoosh ACT Prep Book . Rachel has a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature from Brown University, an MA in Cinematography from the Université de Paris VII, and a Ph.D. in Film Studies from University College London.

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The Advanced Guide to GRE Analytical Writing

By Jitta Raghavender Rao • GRE Writing

The Analytical Writing section has been the most ignored section on the GRE for a long time now. Do you know why?

No, it is not because it is not very important, nor is it because it is just too easy to score high on the AWA. It is because, there is nobody to tell you how important the AWA is, and more importantly, how easy it is to crack it, if you know exactly what to do. Yes, there are a few tips that tell you what to do and what not to do, but nowhere on the internet will you find an advanced guide for the AWA.

It is not just the students who ignore the analytical writing section. Most test prep companies just give out a few tips on how to write the AWA and expect you to get a decent score. But at CrunchPrep, we strive for perfection. We don’t want you to settle for anything less than a perfect score on what is the most neglected section on the GRE.

And that is why, we at CrunchPrep, have created a complete, and advanced guide that breaks down the steps you need to take to score a perfect 6.0 on the Analytical Writing Section.

Here’s what you will learn in The Advanced Guide to GRE Analytical Writing :

Chapter 1: Introduction to GRE Analytical Writing – Getting to know everything about the writing section on the GRE will not only fetch you a perfect score, but also help you become a better writer. In this chapter, we have detailed everything you need to know about the Analytical Writing Section, and have answered all the questions about the AWA section that you may have in mind.

Chapter 2: Issue Essay vs Argument Essay: 11 Key Differences – Avoid getting confused between the two types of AWA Essays by understanding these 11 key differences. These 11 key differences between the Issue essay and the Argument essay will help you learn in depth about both the essay types and how to tackle them easily.

Chapter 3: 7 Major Factors That Boost Your AWA Score – Learning the various factors that affect your AWA score positively will help you write better, and score higher on the AWA. These 7 factors have a profound impact on how much you can score on the AWA section. Make sure you have them all in place, and a perfect score isn’t too far away.

Chapter 4: The 6 Step Process to Conquer AWA – These 6 steps when followed in the given order, will help you conquer the AWA section on the GRE. Tackle even the toughest of AWA Essay questions with these simple steps. We have included a step by step process for both the Issue and Argument essay questions.

Chapter 5: Examples and Analyses of Perfect 6.0 AWA Essays – Knowing how a perfect AWA Essay should look like will help you write perfect sounding, high scoring essays. We have included appropriate sample essays as examples, and have also added our analyses in the form of expert commentary on why the essays deserve perfect 6.0 scores.

Chapter 6: 6 Types of False Reasoning You Should Avoid on the Argument Essay – Be wary of these 6 types of false reasoning traps on the Argument Essay, and getting a 6.0 score will be a cakewalk. We have also included a checklist for the argument essay task, in order to make things easier for you.

Chapter 7: How to Finish an Essay in 20 Minutes: 9 Effective Strategies to Save Time on the AWA Section – Sit back, relax and watch as others end up with unfinished essays. Learn these effective time management strategies and finish off your essay in 20 minutes, while everyone else is still busy writing the second paragraph.

Chapter 8: Top 101 Transitional Words and Phrases You Should Use to Score a 6.0 on the AWA Section – Turn your average essay into a phenomenal piece of literature with these top transitional words. Use these words and phrases and your essay will read like a great story.

Chapter 9: 27 Mistakes You Should Avoid When Writing Your AWA Essays – Better safe than sorry. Learning where you can falter will help you be aware. Avoiding these 27 mistakes will help you get a higher score on the AWA section.

Bonus Chapter: Mind-Blowing Templates to Score a 6.0 on the AWA Section – The most advanced AWA Essay templates you will ever find on the internet. These AWA templates are designed to give you an unfair advantage on test day. Go check them out!

Click here to read The Advanced Guide to GRE Analytical Writing right now! With over 71 tips, techniques, and strategies, this will probably be the most useful, the most resourceful, and the most important guide you will ever read in the course of your AWA prep.

I hope you enjoy the advanced guide to GRE Analytical Writing. If you follow the steps Sachin and I laid out, you’ll notice an increase in your AWA score very quickly and also finish writing your essays much faster.

We put in huge amount of time and a wealth of knowledge and experience into creating the most comprehensive GRE Analytical Writing guide in the world, to help you ace the AWA section. If you think this is very helpful, or if you really loved it, share it with your friends right now! Our goal is to help as many students as we can. So what are you waiting for? Go share or tweet the living daylights out of this guide!

And yeah, if you happen to have any other tips that we didn’t mention here, or if you would like to share your experiences and strategies with us and our students, let us know in the comments section! We will be happy to add them to the list.

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3 Comments to “The Advanced Guide to GRE Analytical Writing”

Hello Jitta,

The write-up on the AWA section was engrossing and cogent. However, I could not download the templates from chapter – 10. I confirmed my email id and got back but it still asks for reconfirmation. Can you please look into this?

Shan, thanks for the kind words 🙂

I am sorry to hear that you couldn’t download the templates. I just did a fix so it should work now. Could you click the download button at the bottom of the AWA guide and click the confirmation link? When you do that, you should be able to download the templates. Happy studying!

Your site is amazing. It was full of tips for me. I really appreciate your effort. Wish you best.

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How to Study for the Writing Section of the GRE

Writing sections of standardized tests are perhaps the most difficult to prepare for, only because you never know exactly what you are going to be asked. Granted, you don’t know specifically what math problems or English questions you’ll have to answer either, but at least you can study the basic concepts. When it comes to writing an essay, you can only prepare so much – but there are ways to prepare, and it all begins with getting an understanding of what type of writing test you are facing.

On the GRE, the writing section is formally referred to as the Analytical Writing section. As you could easily assume, this is because your writing tasks will be based solely on analysis . Exercise your mind to take on the reasoning behind issues, rather than simply describing or giving examples of them. You will not be writing any personal essays, making up any stories, or explaining historical events. This section is not about your knowledge of a subject; it’s about your ability to dissect a subject.

After you’ve digested those key points, the next step is to understand what form your prompts will take. Again, you will not know word for word what the prompts are, but here is what you will know: they will be arguments . You will face two prompts and have to write an essay for each one, but you will only see one at a time. Although they will both be arguments, you will be asked to do something slightly different with each one.

For one of the arguments, you will need to write an essay that demonstrates your stance on the issue. Don’t spend time worrying over which side you take in the argument, because that’s irrelevant. Your opinion cannot be graded as right or wrong – it’s the way you back up that opinion that determines your score. You must develop a well-organized essay that demonstrates your understanding of the points and factors of the argument that were given to you in a logical way. If you are referring to points that do no exist in the prompt, you will not do well on this essay. Similarly, if your reasoning simply does not make sense, you will lose points as well.

For the other argument, you will be asked to explain how well it is or is not supported. So, for this essay, you will not need to develop your own opinion on the argument. There will be one stance on the argument given and you will have to demonstrate what points in the statement do a good job supporting it, if any. Going along with that, you should also take this time to point out what reasoning was missing and how it could have helped the argument. Moreover, you can explain what questions are being left unanswered in this statement regarding the argument and why they need to be answered in order for the statement to be better supported.

Finally, you must be ready for the time limit. You will have only thirty minutes to complete each essay, so be prepared to begin writing within the first couple of minutes. You will not have sufficient time to create a detailed outline, so don’t waste time on it. Going through a few practice essays beforehand can be a good way to warm up your brain for this task – but make sure you are following the time limit, or else that preparation is pointless. If you overcome the pressures of the time constraint and master the recognition of reasoning behind issues, you will be armed and ready to tackle this section of the GRE.

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How to apply for a Master in Management at Kellogg

Tell us your story

Our application process is designed to give us a sense of who you are, what drives you and why Kellogg is the right place for you.

We recommend becoming familiar with what is required for each section of the application. You’ll find information and key resources below to help you prepare, navigate and successfully complete your application.

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Preparing to apply

Criteria for admission.

In order to be eligible for the Master in Management, applicants must be either a current undergraduate with plans to graduate prior to August 2024 or a recent graduate who will have less than two years of work experience by summer 2024. Candidates with more than two years of full-time work experience are encouraged to explore our MBA options.

We are looking for well-rounded, high-impact candidates with strong leadership potential who are excited about augmenting their education with core business fundamentals. We look at all parts of the application process to understand applicants as a whole person and encourage you to share with us as much about you as you wish.

Evaluation and assessment

The committee assesses your:

• Undergraduate academic record
• GMAT/GRE score*
• One-page resume
• Two letters of recommendation

Video essays

• Interview by invitation

*GMAT/GRE requirement waived for Northwestern University undergraduates and anyone with a undergraduate GPA of 3.4 or higher.

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Join one of our upcoming events and learn more about why MiM is the right program for you.

Writing your application

The most important thing you can do during this process is to be your authentic self. We can’t stress enough that there are no “right” or “wrong” answers. Rather, we encourage you to tell your story as authentically and honestly as possible, because we truly want to get to know you and the experiences that helped shaped you as a person, student and employee.

• Please submit a one-page resume (PDF) with information about additional professional, academic and/or artistic achievements (optional). These can include student organizations, athletics and work experience. 

Your education is a major part of how you got here today, and we want to make sure we understand all parts of it. We ask that you list all colleges, universities and study abroad programs you have attended or are currently attending.

Transcripts

All records must show your name, name of institution, enrollment dates, courses taken, units of credit, marks or ratings in each subject and rank in the total class or group (if available). Hard copies of official transcripts are only required upon matriculation.

The GMAT/GRE is a required part of your MiM application. If you are a Northwestern University student applying to MiM or you have an undergraduate GPA of 3.4 or above, we will waive the GMAT/GRE requirement. There is no GPA requirement to apply or be admitted to MiM.

If you attended a school where the primary language of instruction is not English, you will be required to take the TOEFL.

We want to get to know you. The written and video essays are your chance to tell us your story and why Kellogg is the right next chapter for you. Take some time to think through the experiences that led you here and how they have shaped where you want to go.

Written essays

The following two essays are required of all applicants:

Question 1 (450 words)

Kellogg Leaders are primed to tackle today’s pressing concerns everywhere, from the boardroom to their neighborhoods. Tell us about a time in your life where you’ve needed a combination of skills to solve a problem or overcome a challenge. Which skills did you use? What did you accomplish?

Question 2 (450 words)

At Kellogg, our values are based on research that concludes organizations comprised of leaders with varied backgrounds and perspectives outperform homogeneous ones. How do you believe your personal and professional experiences will help to enrich the Kellogg community?

We’ve read your essays, we’ve read your resume — now we want you to bring all that to life in a video. Show us the person behind all those carefully crafted words. 

The video will be comprised of three questions, each designed to help you showcase your personality and share some of the experiences that brought you here today.

Some things to keep in mind as you prepare to complete this section:

• Video essays are due 96 hours after the application deadline
• A video essay link will appear on your Application Status page after you submit your application and payment
• You will need an internet-connected computer with a webcam and microphone
• The video should take about 20-25 minutes to complete, which includes time for setup

After submitting your application and payment, you will be able to access the video essay through your Application Status page.

Here are some additional tips:

• There are practice questions that you may complete as many times as you like to get comfortable with the format and technology. We put good practice questions out there so you won’t be nervous. Have fun and do your best
• We encourage you to practice so you are comfortable with the format once it is time to complete the official questions. You will not have an opportunity to re-do the answer to the official video essay questions
• You will have 20 seconds to think about the question and up to one minute to give your response
• You can wear a suit if you want to, but business casual is certainly okay with us too. And really, we will only see your head and shoulders so you can wear a collared shirt and we would never know you were still in your sweatpants

Letters of recommendation provide insight into your experience and accomplishments as a leader through the eyes of someone else.

You’ll need to submit two letters of recommendation for your application to be considered complete. One recommender must be an academic reference, preferably a professor. The second recommender must be a non-family member who knows you well, such as a current or former boss, internship supervisor, student group advisor, research advisor, coach, etc. Peer references and family friends are not recommended.

The application fee is $125. You will need to submit your payment via credit card within the application. Do not send payments directly to Kellogg.

Note: Kellogg’s policy is that application fees are non-refundable.

After you submit

If I don’t get admitted in the round for which I apply, can I reapply in a later round?

  All applicants will receive a decision of either admit, deny or waitlist. Students on the waitlist do not need to reapply, although they are welcome to submit any additional information that may enhance their application at any time by emailing us. If a student is denied admission, they may not reapply.

• To gain additional insight into an applicant's academic and professional accomplishments and goals, selected applicants will be invited to interview. If you are selected for an interview, you will be notified 2-3 days after the application deadline. All interviews will be conducted virtually via Zoom.

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Your test scores are just one piece of your application. We consider your scores within the context of factors such as the resources available to you and the educational systems within your university and country.

The MSx program requires a valid GMAT, GRE, or EA score.

Accepted Standardized Tests

Preparation is key.

We recognize that finding time to prepare for the graduate admission test can be challenging between personal and professional responsibilities.

Give yourself adequate time to study for and take the test. We recommend beginning your test preparation at least two months before the application round deadline by which you want to apply.

Test Score Requirement

A current GMAT, GRE, or EA test score is required for admission to the MSx Program, and we do not offer test waivers. We do not have a preferred standardized test nor do we require a minimum score . The MBA program does not accept the EA, so if you are submitting a joint application for the MBA and MSx programs in Round 1 or Round 2, you will need to have a valid GMAT or GRE score.

We accept test scores for the official online GMAT, GRE, and EA exams, as well as test scores from in-person exams at official GMAT, GRE, and EA test centers. Tests must be taken before the deadline date of the application round in which you plan to apply. Scores from tests taken after the deadline date will not be considered. We strongly encourage you to take the test of your choice at least a few weeks before the application deadline. You must self-report your scores on your application and send us your official scores via the score reporting center. Official scores may arrive after the deadline date. Admissions interviews will not be granted without a valid test score submitted to Stanford.

If you have previously taken either test and wish to use that score for your application, your score must be current as of your application round deadline . (GMAT, GRE, and EA test scores are valid for five years.)

Score Reporting

You must take the test before the application deadline. You will self-report your scores on the application, and we will verify them against your official score report. You must report all section scores from the same test date. We will review your application using the scores you report when submitting your application.

• Although you must arrange to have the testing agency send your official test scores to us as part of the application process, those official scores may arrive after the application deadline. We strongly encourage you to take the test of your choice at least a few weeks before the application deadline. Admissions interviews will not be granted without a valid test score submitted to Stanford.
• Instruct either Pearson VUE (for GMAT) or Educational Testing Service (for GRE) to send an official score report directly to the Stanford MSx Program, using the school codes below. Please do not contact the MSx Admissions Office to confirm if official test scores have been received. If test scores have not been received, the MSx Admissions Office will notify you.
• If your Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) score is not available, leave this field blank. We will retrieve this score directly from Pearson VUE or ETS.
• If you have already submitted your official test scores, it is not necessary to send them again.
• If you have taken the GMAT, GRE, or Executive Assessment multiple times, submit your best single score. We do not superscore results.

School Codes

Use the following school codes to ensure proper delivery of your official test scores.

• GMAT and EA — Instruct Pearson VUE to send scores directly to “Stanford MSx Program” ( school code L9R-KW-46 ).
• GRE — Instruct Educational Testing Service to send your scores directly to “Stanford University” ( school code 4704 ). Specifying a department will delay the processing of your test scores.
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Gre prep online guides and tips, gre argument essay: how to get a perfect 6 score.

Of all the various types of questions on the GRE, Analytical Writing questions can seem like the trickiest ones to answer perfectly. Not only do you have to write hundreds of words to answer the Argument essay GRE question, but there’s also no one set correct answer that you can give and automatically get it right.

So how do you reliably score well on the GRE Argument essay? In this article, we’ll focus in on what goes into a high-scoring response and offer some GRE Argument essay tips to help you consistently write essays that meet those standards.

Do You Need a Perfect GRE Argument Essay Score?

Practically speaking, no, you don’t need a perfect 6.0 on the Argument essay. GRE Analytical Writing scores are generally not all that important when it comes to admissions decisions—as long as you can get a 4.5, you’ll be set for most schools.

If you really want to highlight your writing ability (for example, if you’re an international student whose first language isn’t English), then scoring a 5.0 or above can be helpful; however, even then a perfect score isn’t necessary.

Some writing intensive programs do have GRE Writing score cutoffs, but none of these cutoffs are going to be above a 4.5 . You can get a better idea of what GRE Writing score cutoffs for different programs are with our article about what makes a good GRE Writing score .

There are a few doctoral programs (e.g. UChicago’s PoliSci Ph.D. ) that have higher average GRE scores, but that’s more of a side-effect of the applicant pool than because that’s something the admissions committees look for. Students applying to top-notch doctoral programs in the humanities and social sciences will need to have strong analytical writing skills, yes, but this is usually presented through writing portfolios or other materials required by grad schools .

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What Makes a Perfect-Scoring GRE Argument Essay?

To get the most accurate picture of what goes into a perfect GRE Argument essay, we’ll turn to the official scoring rubric . This is the chart that the human GRE essay graders use for scoring the Argument essay on the real test, so it’s the best standard against which to hold your own practice essays.

Below, I’ve done a side-by-side comparison of the different criteria needed to get a 4.0 vs. a 6.0 on the Argument essay GRE question.

I know there is a  lot of information to process in that chart, so I’ve summarized it below by extracting the most important points. A good GRE Argument essay:

• Must limit its discussion to identifying and explaining the parts of the argument that are relevant to the essay task
• Must develop its ideas logically
• Must be organized and connect ideas smoothly
• Must include support for the main points of the author’s analysis
• Must be well-written

To get a perfect score on the Argument essay, you must display mastery with each one of these items .

Official GRE Argument Essay, Analyzed

Now that we’ve gone over the rubric in the abstract, it’s time to apply it to a high-scoring essay. By taking the rubric criteria and looking at how they are exemplified by a real essay, you’ll be able to get a better feel for what exactly it takes to get a perfect score .

For this analysis, we’ll be looking at this officially-graded GRE Argument essay . Here’s the prompt the essay was written in response to:

In surveys Mason City residents rank water sports (swimming, boating and fishing) among their favorite recreational activities. The Mason River flowing through the city is rarely used for these pursuits, however, and the city park department devotes little of its budget to maintaining riverside recreational facilities. For years there have been complaints from residents about the quality of the river’s water and the river’s smell. In response, the state has recently announced plans to clean up Mason River. Use of the river for water sports is therefore sure to increase. The city government should for that reason devote more money in this year’s budget to riverside recreational facilities.

Write a response in which you examine the stated and/or unstated assumptions of the argument. Be sure to explain how the argument depends on the assumptions and what the implications are if the assumptions prove unwarranted.

The sample Argument essay we’ll be looking at discusses and disputes three different assumptions made by the argument :

• That the survey is a reliable measure of preferences and should be used as a source of information to inform budget planning.
• That there is a link between the river’s odor and pollution and the lack of residents’ recreational use of the river.
• That plans to clean up Mason River will be effective.

To analyze this essay, I’ll highlight places where the essay fulfills each of the criteria for the 6.0 GRE Writing score level. The first of these rubric criteria is a description of what a perfect-scoring Argument essay should look like overall:

Rubric description : In addressing the specific task directions, a 6 response presents a cogent, well-articulated examination of the argument and conveys meaning skillfully.

This description of what a perfect Argument essay should look like is much more general than the rest of the other rubric items and is more meant as a summary of what the other four items indicate than as a specific criterion in and of itself. If an essay meets all of the other four rubric requirements for a 6.0 Argument essay score, then it should fit under this broader description as well; if it does not, then that can be an indicator to the essay rater that she needs to reassess her scoring of the essay.

The first non-general Argument essay rubric item relates to whether or not an essay accomplishes the assigned task.

Rubric description : A 6 essay clearly identifies aspects of the argument relevant to the assigned task and examines them insightfully

The sample essay succeeds in meeting both parts of this criterion. In the essay, the author pinpoints three different assumptions of the argument (survey is reliable, water being dirty is why people don’t use it for recreational sports, and cleaning it will work). Each of these claims is a key assumption upon which the argument depends, since if any one of these three claims proved unfounded, then the argument becomes illogical.

The author also “examines [the assumptions] insightfully” by discussing the implications of each assumption and what it would mean for the argument were the assumptions to prove false . If the author had merely identified the key elements of the argument without this kind of discussion, the essay would have received a lower score. Below is an excerpt from the essay that illustrates an instance of the author fulfilling this criterion:

“If the river’s water quality and smell result from problems which can be cleaned, [that a river clean up will result in increased river usage] may be true… But if the quality and aroma results from the natural mineral deposits in the water or surrounding rock, this may not be true.”

In this excerpt, the author points out an assumption of the argument (that the quality and smell problems from the river can be dealt with) and presents the implications if the assumption is unwarranted (if the problems are from mineral deposits, quality and smell change might not be possible). The clear way in which the author gets to the point (if A, then B may be true…but if not A, then B may not be true) and the insight she uses in determining why the assumption might not be true and what effect that might have all contribute to this essay achieving a 6-level score.

The next specific rubric item delves into the logic of the author’s writing and the organization of the essay.

Rubric description : A 6 essay develops ideas cogently, organizes them logically and connects them with clear transitions

While the previous rubric item is concerned with the author’s ability to pick apart the logic of the argument in the prompt, this item focuses in on the author’s own writing style and her ability to logically develop and connect ideas in the Argument essay. GRE guidelines for both the Issue and Argument essay place a premium on clear logic and organization, both in terms of how ideas are linked within a paragraph as well as on a larger scale.

For the Argument essay, it makes sense to group your discussion of each assumption into its own separate paragraph. However, if you want to get a perfect essay score, you can’t just throw in information about the assumption and its implications willy-nilly, without a care for its organization. Instead, you must make sure that each of your points about the assumption is directly followed by support for that point. This clarity of development allows the reader to follow your logic more easily, which in turn makes your essay that much more persuasive and effective.

In the Argument essay, organization and logic are also important when it comes to ordering the paragraphs of your essay and transitioning between ideas. Here’s an example of a transition that connects the ideas of two consecutive paragraphs:

“Building upon the implication that residents do not use the river due to the quality of the river’s water and the smell, the author suggests that a river clean up will result in increased river usage.”

This sentence begins the fourth paragraph of the essay and logically transitions to the new assumption about to be discussed (“river clean up will result in increased river usage”) by referencing the idea just discussed in the third paragraph (“residents do not use the river due to the quality of the river’s water and the smell”). The sentence structure “building upon the implication that…the author suggests that” connects the two ideas skillfully, strengthening the link between the two paragraph by framing it as a logical progression.

The clear and logical way in which the author develops her points within each paragraph and the tight organizational connections between paragraphs are how the essay exemplifies this rubric item.

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The third non-general item on the GRE Argument essay rubric is focused entirely on how well the author supports her points.

Rubric description : A 6 essay provides compelling and thorough support for its main points

Essentially, this rubric item is all about determining whether or not an author properly supports her ideas and their development throughout the essay. Correctly identifying assumptions and examining them in a logical and organized way is all very well and good and satisfies the first two rubric criteria, but if you don’t support your analysis with either scenarios from the argument or hypothetical scenarios that could also explain assumptions made in the argument, you’re not going to get a perfect score.

Here’s an excerpt from the essay that demonstrates an instance of “compelling and thorough support”:

“Additionally, the author implies that residents do not use the river for swimming, boating, and fishing, despite their professed interest, because the water is polluted and smelly. While a polluted, smelly river would likely cut down on river sports, a concrete connection between the resident’s lack of river use and the river’s current state is not effectively made. Though there have been complaints, we do not know if there have been numerous complaints from a wide range of people, or perhaps from one or two individuals who made numerous complaints.”

The first sentence of this excerpt lays out the assumption made in the argument: the reason people don’t use the water for sport is because it’s dirty and odiferous. The next two sentences support the author’s claim that this assumption is unfounded in two important ways:

#1: The author singles out a particular way in which the argument is flawed , stating that “a concrete connection…is not effectively made” between two specific claims linked in the argument.

#2: The author explains why the argument is flawed by presenting relevant details, like the fact that the source of the complaints is unknown and could potentially be just a few people.

The reasoning and support used by the author in her essay are effective because the author explains clearly the ways in which they support her points. If the author had just said, “There is no clear connection between the lack of river use and the river’s polluted state because it could just be a few people complaining,” the link between the number of people complaining and why this matters for the validity of the complaints would’ve been unclear and the support would be less compelling.

The final rubric area for the Argument essay has to do with how skillfully an essay is written and how well it adheres to the standards of written English.

Rubric description : A 6 essay conveys ideas fluently and precisely, using effective vocabulary and sentence variety. Demonstrates superior facility with the conventions of standard written English (i.e., grammar, usage and mechanics), but may have minor errors

This last group of items on the Argument essay rubric gets into the mechanics of how well the author writes. The two ways in which this is effected are through the precise use of language and general dearth of errors . Here’s an example of an effective use of language in the sample essay:

“While a polluted, smelly river would likely cut down on river sports, a concrete connection between the resident’s lack of river use and the river’s current state is not effectively made.”

The precise language in this sentence successfully differentiates between the “likely” correlation that is made in the prompt and the “concrete connection” that is not made. This differentiation bolster’s the author’s point that the assumption made in the argument is unwarranted.

The second part of this set of rubric items has to do with the author’s ability to write in standard English without making too many errors. This is demonstrated throughout the mostly error-free sample essay; the errors that do remain, like “afffected” in paragraph four, do not impede the reader’s understanding of what the author is trying to say.

This last point is a good distillation of what all the rubric items for a perfect-scoring essay are trying to capture: a 6.0 GRE Argument essay is one that is clear and precise, whether in ideas, analysis, support, development, organization, or language .

6 Steps to a 6.0: GRE Argument Essay Tips

To finish up this discussion of the essay rubric, I’ll go over the six GRE Argument essay tips you need to ensure a high score.

#1: Focus on the Task

One of the core skills you must master in order to score at all well on the GRE Argument essay is being able to analyze the structure and logic of the arguments , rather than getting caught up in whether you agree or disagree with the points being made.

It may be difficult to do this at first, as it can be hard to be objective when the subject being argued about is one you have firm opinions on or when the logical flaws of the argument are so obvious it drives you crazy. Part of practicing and preparing for the GRE Argument essay task, though, is learning how to channel that irritation and outrage into an unflinching analysis and explanation of how the argument works and where it falls apart.

#2: Hit Major Points Only

Making sure you analyze the argument (rather than agreeing or disagreeing with its position) is only the first step to writing a successful GRE Argument essay, though. You’ll also need to make sure that in your dissection of the argument, your main focus stays on the major features of the argument that add (or detract from) the argument’s effectiveness.

With only 30 minutes to complete the argument task, your job is not to be comprehensive, but to analyze the points that matter. Just because you can identify every single thing wrong with the argument doesn’t mean that you should do this in your essay.

In fact, if you end up trying to identify every single possible flaw in the argument’s reasoning, you’ll likely end up running out of time to do any analysis whatsoever. And while finding the flaws in the argument is an important part of the GRE Argument essay, an equally important part is explaining in a coherent and unified way why the flaws matter.

Let’s consider the Mason City riverfront prompt again as an example.

There’s a lot of information in the prompt to mull over, and it can be tempting to leap into analyzing the first problematic assumption you notice, even if isn’t a major issue. Don’t fall prey to this temptation! It may be true that the prompt assumes that water sports can only be perpetrated on a river (rather than in a pool or the ocean), but the argument depends on this fact far less than it does on the assumption that the river’s bad smell and quality is why Mason City residents rarely use the Mason River for water sports.

The importance of keeping your analysis to major points is supported by the ideas and analysis rubric item: a 4-scoring essay “may also discuss some extraneous points”, while a 6-scoring essay only covers “aspects of the argument relevant to the assigned task.”

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#3: Keep Your Essay Organized

Because the GRE Argument essay involves critiquing someone else’s argument, rather than building your own, it may be difficult to see at first how you can keep your essay organized. In this case, as with many other types of essay, the five-paragraph essay form is your friend.

To start your essay, you will need to introduce the bare bones of what the argument is arguing. For the sample argument we went through above, those bare bones are that the Mason City government should spend more money this year on riverside recreational facilities. You must also include at least a general description of the thrust of your analysis (whether or not the argument is supported, if there are holes in the argument, or if the argument is more true than not). Ideally, these two points will connect to each other in a lean fashion, like in the introduction of this sample essay :

While it may be true that the Mason City government ought to devote more money to riverside recreational facilities, this author’s argument does not make a cogent case for increased resources based on river use. It is easy to understand why city residents would want a cleaner river, but this argument is rife with holes and assumptions, and thus, not strong enough to lead to increased funding.

In each of the three body paragraphs of your essay, you should discuss the three major components of the argument that go to prove your point. Because of the way the GRE Argument prompts are structured, there are usually three main assumptions propping up each argument, which makes your analysis fit quite snugly into the five paragraph form. If you only end up discussing two major questions or assumptions from the argument, it’s perfectly fine to end up with two body paragraphs, but you should keep in mind that if you have time, there might be a third avenue of the argument that’s worth exploring.

Finally, conclude your essay with a reference to your introduction and incorporation of some of the points you made. This conclusion can be short, depending on how you’re doing for time and brainpower by the time you get to it, but including at least some sort of conclusion statement is an important part of keeping your essay organized.

#4: Do Mock Analyses of Real GRE Essay Prompts

There are 176 possible topics you’ll be asked to write about on the GRE Argument essay, and all of them are available for free online . Because of this wealth of real essay topics, it’s unlikely that you’ll run out of prompts you can write practice essays on (unless you’re planning on spending 88 hours doing practice GRE Argument essays). Therefore, it’s safe to do practice outlines , rather than entire practice essays, for a portion of these prompts.

Writing mock Argument essay outlines is good practice if you’re fine with explaining your thoughts but are struggling with speedily analyzing arguments. Even if you have difficulty with both these aspects of the Argument task, creating outlines is still good practice because it will at least help you increase your analytical skills; once you’ve bolstered your ability to analyze an argument under time pressure, you can then proceed to writing full-length practice essays.

For each prompt you choose to outline, come up with at least three points of analysis and a few sentences to explain the importance of each point. These points of analysis could be assumptions made in the argument, the evidence that’s needed to successfully evaluate the argument, alternative explanations or arguments that could be made based on the facts presented in the task, and so on. Make sure, however, to follow step two above and only discuss points that are central to the argument.

#5: Analyze Sample GRE Essays

The rubric is a good way to grade your own essays, but it can sometimes be hard to know how to take the abstract criteria from the scoring guidelines and apply them to a real essay.

Fortunately, in addition to the free and publicly available sample argument essay I analyzed earlier, sample Argument essays at several different score levels are included in chapters 8 and 9 of The Official Guide to the GRE revised General Test (2nd Ed.) . You can maximize the value of these sample essays by not only reading them over but by also taking the GRE Argument essay rubric and applying it to them.

Use the major differences I pointed out in the 4-vs.-6 Writing score level comparison and my analysis of the 6-scoring sample GRE Argument essay to help you identify features that make the example essays so high-scoring. Make sure to note both what the authors do well and why what they do is effective . The official GRE reader commentary that goes along with each sample essay is also a valuable resource you should use to supplement your analysis and ensure you haven’t missed anything.

You should not copy exact words or phrases from the perfect-scoring essays to use in your own work (that’s plagiarism, which is not permitted on the GRE). Instead, observe how other students successfully earned high essay scores and plan out how you can emulate them.

#6: Leave Time to Revise

The word processor you use to write the Issue and Argument essays on the GRE does not have the standard amenities of autocorrect, spell check, or grammar check, which means you’re likely to make typos and not notice it. You’re also going to be typing under time pressure, which may lead you to make more errors than usual. Because of this, it’s imperative you check over your essay before submitting it.

Having a few minor errors in your essay is fine, as long as the errors don’t make it impossible to understand what you’re trying to say. However, if there are too many typos and in mistakes in your essays, the essay graders (both human and computer) will have difficulty understanding what you’re trying to say and following your analysis, and so will not be able to give you a high score.

Example 1: Not revised, major errors (grammar, spelling, and punctuation)

One of ht ecornerstones of the argument is that the fewer. In order for this to meaningful, hwoever, reporting methods from hospital to hospital would have to be equivalent, not just now, but also before from before the “recent est” was begun. wihtout having a reliable baseline it, would be imposisble to know if fhte measured reduction in patient infection gy harmful bacteria was all meaningful.

Example 2: Revised, some minor errors remaining

One of the cornerstones of the argument is that the hospitals reported fewer pateint infections after using UltraClean. In order for this to matter, however, reporting methods from hospital to hospital would have to be equivalent. Furthermore, the methods of reporting patient infection would have to have been equivalent before the “recent test” was begun. Without having a reliable baseline, it would be imposisble to know if fhte measured reduction in patient infection by harmful bacteria was at all meaningful.

What’s Next?

Now you have a better understanding of what it takes to get a perfect score on the Argument essay, but what about on the other half of Analytical Writing? Find out with our exploration of what it takes to get a perfect score on the GRE Issue essay and our analyses of perfect scoring GRE essay samples .

How well your essay matches up with the criteria in this essay rubric is just part of the GRE essay story. Learn more about how exactly GRE Writing is scored here !

I’ve discussed in this article about how a good GRE essay score isn’t necessarily a perfect score, but the same doesn’t necessarily follow for the rest of the GRE. Read more about how to decide on what’s a good GRE score for you here .

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Author: Laura Staffaroni

Laura graduated magna cum laude from Wellesley College with a BA in Music and Psychology, and earned a Master's degree in Composition from the Longy School of Music of Bard College. She scored 99 percentile scores on the SAT and GRE and loves advising students on how to excel and fulfill their college and grad school dreams. View all posts by Laura Staffaroni

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