AWA Score on the GMAT

AWA Scoring Guide

Before writing a practice essay, it is beneficial to look at the guide the scoring readers will be using when they score the essay you write on the day of the exam. This will help you have in mind a more concrete idea of the difference between "Outstanding" and "Limited" essay so that you can avoid costly mistakes.

Score	Rating	Characteristics of a Typical Paper with this Score
6	Outstanding—a cogent, well- articulated critique of the argument, demonstrating mastery of the elements of effective writing.	clearly identifies and insightfully analyzes important features of the argument develops ideas cogently, organizes them logically, and connects them smoothly with clear transitions effectively supports the main points of the critique demonstrates superior control of language, including diction and syntactic variety and the conventions of standard written English. There may be minor flaws
5	Strong—a well-developed critique of the argument, demonstrating good control of the elements of effective writing.	clearly identifies important features of the argument and analyzes them in a generally thoughtful way develops ideas clearly, organizes them logically, and connects them with appropriate transitions sensibly supports the main points of the critique demonstrates clear control of language, including diction and syntactic variety demonstrates facility with the conventions of standard written English, but may have minor flaws
4	Adequate—a competent critique of the argument, demonstrating adequate control of the elements of effective writing.	identifies and capably analyzes important features of the argument develops and organizes ideas satisfactorily, but may not always connect them with transitions supports the main points of the critique demonstrates adequate control of language, including diction and syntactic variety, but may lack syntactic variety displays control of the conventions of standard written English, but may have some flaws
3	Limited—a competent but clearly flawed critique of the argument, demonstrating some control of the elements of effective writing.	does not identify or analyze most of the important features of the argument, although some analysis is present is limited in the logical development and organization of ideas offers support of little relevance and value for points of the critique uses language imprecisely and/or lacks sentence variety contains occasional major errors or frequent minor errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics
2	Seriously flawed—a paper demonstrating serious weakness in analytical writing skills.	fails to show an understanding of and does not identify or analyze the main features of the argument does not develop ideas or is disorganized provides few, if any, relevant or reasonable support has serious, frequent problems in the use of language and sentence structure contains numerous errors in grammar, usage, or mechanics that interfere with meaning
1	Fundamentally Deficient—a paper demonstrating fundamental deficiencies in analytical writing skills.	provides little evidence of the ability to understand and analyze the argument or to develop an organized response to it has severe and persistent errors in language and sentence structure contains a pervasive pattern of errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics, thus resulting in incoherence
0	Unscorable	a paper that is totally illegible or obviously not written on the assigned topic

Breaking Down the Scoring Guide

Reading over the scoring guide is an important way to ensure that you understand the expectations the reader and computer will have for you on the exam. Now that you have all of this information, how should you use it? Here are some important takeaways as you prepare to sit for the AWA:

Clarity is key – notice in the scoring guide that for scores in the 4-6 range, all start by describing the corresponding essay as "clearly" identifying features of the argument. Clarity can be conveyed through your organization, vocabulary choices, and grammar. Your ideas should be easy to understand and follow a clear logic.
Organization is emphasized – your essay should be organized in such a way that it is easy to understand. Paragraphs should include your argument and have the evidence you are using connected to your argument. You will also want to be sure to have transition words between paragraphs (First of all, In addition, In conclusion, etc.). Note that one way you begin to drop from a 5 to a 4 is by not consistently including transitions.
Grammar is important – while you likely will not lose many points for the occasional misplaced comma, the basics should be on point. Basic spelling, capitalization, and word confusion (there/they're/their, your/you're, to/too/two) can be red flags that draw attention to an essay with weak grammar, so be sure to brush up on the basics. Grammar also contributes to clarity and organization, so making basic grammatical errors can hurt your score in multiple subcategories.

AWA Preparation Tips

Practice, Practice, Practice! Sitting down for a 30-minute writing assignment is not a simple task, but if you have practiced with sample AWA questions, you will be ready to respond to the type of questions you will see on exam day. Having practiced several times, you will likely have a basic outline prepared, including transitions and a logical progression from identifying the weak arguments and using evidence to address these weak arguments.
Take time in the beginning of the AWA to carefully read the prompt and create a small outline before you start writing so that you fully address the weak arguments and to ensure that you have organized your ideas in advance instead of as you go. While taking this time in the beginning may feel like precious minutes you should be using to write the essay, it will actually save you time avoiding writer's block and boost your score by helping you achieve a well-organized argument.
Be sure to save time (we suggest about 3 minutes) to edit your writing. This will help you boost your score by ensuring basic grammatical issues are addressed, your ideas are clear, and that you remembered transitions.