GRE Analytical Writing Scores

The Analytical Writing section of the GRE requires test-takers to write an essay in response to a prompt within a 30-minute timeframe. This is always the first section completed on the GRE, followed by Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning sections presented in random order.

The recommended approach to Analytical Writing involves both pre-test preparation and test-day strategy. Unlike other sections of the GRE where you will not know the exact questions you will be asked until test day, the creator of the GRE, Educational Testing Service (ETS), makes essay writing prompts freely and easily available to students. Simply select your preferred search engine, enter, “ETS Analytical Writing topics pool,” and you will be directed to a PDF that contains all possible Analytical Writing prompts. Because the content of your essay is selected from this fixed pool of essay prompts, it is possible to prepare thoroughly for the Analytical Writing section.

On the Analytical Writing task, you will be presented with a prompt and instructed to write an essay by evaluating the issue at hand and developing a reasoned argument with examples to support your view. Before writing, be sure to read the instructions carefully, as your task is to present a compelling position on the issue in accordance with the instructions before your 30 minutes runs out.

Scoring the Analytical Writing Task

Analytical Writing task essays are scored on a scale of 0-6 in half-point increments. They are scored by a combination of human and computer grading. Each essay is reviewed by at least one trained human reader, who analyzes the essay and assigns a score based on its overall holistic quality. The essay is also reviewed by an ETS-created computer program referred to as an “e-rater.” Use of this e-rater helps contribute to the standardization of grades across varied writing styles and knowledge levels. If the human and computer scores disagree by more than a very small amount, a second human will review the essay, and the final score will be an average of the two human ratings.

The following score descriptions are from the ETS website, which provides detailed information on essay scoring, as well as samples of essays that earned different scores to help students gain a sense of how the scoring process works:

Analytical Writing Task ScoreDescription
5.5-6Essay sustains insightful, in-depth analysis of complex ideas; develops and supports main points with logically compelling reasons and/or highly persuasive examples; essay is well focused and well organized; skillfully uses sentence variety and precise vocabulary to effectively convey meaning; demonstrates superior facility with sentence structure and usage; may contain minor errors that do not interfere with meaning.
4.5-5Essay provides generally thoughtful analysis of complex ideas; develops and supports main points with logically sound reasons and/or well-chosen examples; essay is generally focused and well organized; uses sentence variety and varied vocabulary to clearly convey meaning; demonstrates good control of sentence structure and usage; may contain minor errors that do not interfere with meaning.
3.5-4Essay provides competent analysis of ideas in addressing specific task directions; develops and supports main points with relevant reasons and/or examples; is adequately organized; essay conveys meaning with acceptable clarity; demonstrates satisfactory control of sentence structure and usage; may contain some errors that affect clarity.
2.5-3Essay displays some competence in analytical writing and addressing specific task directions, although the writing is flawed in at least one of the following ways: limited analysis or development, weak organization, weak control of sentence structure or usage; essay contains errors that often result in vagueness or a lack of clarity.
1.5-2Essay displays serious weaknesses in analytical writing. The writing is seriously flawed in at least one of the following ways: serious lack of analysis or development, unclear in addressing specific task directions, lack of organization, frequent problems in sentence structure or usage; essay contains errors that obscure meaning.
0.5-1Essay displays fundamental deficiencies in analytical writing. The writing is fundamentally flawed in at least one of the following ways: content that is extremely confusing or mostly irrelevant to the assigned tasks, little to no development, severe and pervasive errors that result in incoherence.
0The test-taker’s analytical writing skills cannot be evaluated because the responses do not address any part of the assigned tasks, are merely attempts to copy the assignments, are in a foreign language or display only indecipherable text.

Based on this rubric, it is obvious that a few things are especially important to obtaining a good score on your essay:

  1. Organize your essay. In an organized essay, ideas are presented in logical order. Stick to one idea per paragraph and start a new paragraph whenever you change topics.
  2. Use varied sentence structure. This means changing up the structure of your sentences.
    • You can do this using words. Be sure to include some of the following:
      1. coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)
      2. correlative conjunctions (either/or, neither/nor, not only/but also, both/and, whether/or)
      3. subordinating conjunctions (because, although, since, if, unless, while, before, after, though, as, whereas, when, until, that)
      4. conjunctive adverbs (however, therefore, moreover, consequently, furthermore, nevertheless, meanwhile, thus)
    • You can also change your sentence structure using punctuation.
      1. Consider asking a question in your essay and ending the sentence with a question mark. Be sure to make good use of commas, semicolons, and other forms of punctuation to change up the structure and rhythym of your sentences.
  3. Provide reasons to support your point. It is not enough to say that you agree or disagree with the opinion presented in the writing prompt. You must include specific reasons for why you believe the way you do. Reasons may come from your personal life experience, books or articles you have read, films you have seen, classes you have taken, projects you have worked on, places you have traveled, or a particular religion you adhere to.

The best essays are those that are well organized, use varied sentence structure, and contain compelling reasons to support the point you are making. The more you practice, either on your own or with a test prep professional, the easier writing high-scoring essays will become.

What is a “Good” Score on the Analytical Writing Measure?

Obviously, higher essay scores are always better, but a “good” score on the Analytical Writing task is generally considered to be a 4.5 or higher. That being said, a good score also depends on the programs to which you apply. The most elite or competitive programs expect higher scores, particularly if you are applying to law school or a graduate program focused on arts, humanities, or social sciences.

Effective Analytical Writing Task Preparation Techniques

The best way to become proficient at writing analytical essays is to practice writing them. Randomly select a topic from ETS’s pool of topics, then start writing. In the beginning, you may wish to avoid timing yourself, at least until you develop a consistent writing style. For some students, this may mean always writing a five-paragraph essay; for other students, it may mean starting with a particular question or performing a certain analysis. What matters is that you develop a systematic way of approaching the essay so that you can write easily and confidently on the day of your exam.

Once you are become more comfortable, set a timer and give yourself 30 minutes, the same amount of time you will have on the day of your exam. Randomly select an ETS-provided prompt, start your timer, and begin writing. Be sure to read the instructions carefully and save time at the end to read back through what you have written to correct any errors.

It is very important to read back over your work because there is no spellchecker or grammar checker available when completing the Analytical Writing task. You will use a computer program developed by ETS to write your essay, and this word processor contains very limited functions, including insert text, delete text, cut-and-paste, and undo the last action. There is also no AI writing assistance provided on the GRE, which means you will need to brainstorm and organize your essay entirely by yourself. It is incredibly important when you practice writing essays that you practice without any AI assistance, since you will not have such assistance on test day.

You may also wish to prepare for the Analytical Writing task as part of overall GRE preparation with an established test prep provider. At Manhattan Review, we offer a free GRE practice test that includes an Analytical Writing section. The Writing section is computer-graded using an algorithm similar to that used by ETS to grade official GRE Analytical Writing submissions. Additional computer-graded writing sections are available to students who enroll in one of our preparation programs.

ETS also provides a computer-scoring service called “Scoreitnow!” that can be very useful in helping you gauge and analyze your writing. For $20, you can select two ETS prompts, write and submit two essays, and receive scores and diagnostic feedback for your essays. For students who desire additional essay-grading opportunities, after you complete your two essays, you will be given the option to submit up to six more essays free of charge and receive computer-graded scores.

Conclusion

While many test-takers find the GRE Analytical Writing task to be challenging, this is a task that can be mastered through focused and consistent practice. It is imperative to practice writing essays, and there are multiple resources available to help you learn the art of crafting high-scoring essays. The more you practice writing under timed conditions, the more prepared you will be on the day of your exam, earning an impressively high score certain to improve your chances of being admitted to the graduate, law, or business school of your choice.

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