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The 6 gmat essay tips that will help you ace the awa.

If you’re preparing for the GMAT, you’ve probably spent countless hours reviewing math concepts and mastering grammar skills. You’ve likely also spent time studying for the newer integrated reasoning section, too. But have you thought about the analytical writing assessment part of the GMAT?

If your answer is no, don’t worry! You’re not alone. Many test-takers go into test day without spending a lot of time preparing for the essay section of the GMAT, especially since it’s unclear how much (or even if) the GMAT essay even matters for getting into business school.

In this article, I’ll shed some light on the oft-forgotten GMAT AWA section. First, I’ll give you an overview of what’s actually on the AWA section. Next, I’ll discuss whether or not that score really matters for your admission to business school. Finally, I’ll tell share  the top GMAT essay tips that are guaranteed to boost your GMAT essay score.

GMAT Analytical Writing Assessment Overview

The GMAT Analytical Writing Assessment is designed to measure your ability to think critically about a topic and then communicate your ideas about that topic. During the AWA section, you’ll be asked to analyze and critique an argument and judged on your ability to do so clearly, thoroughly, and thoughtfully.

The GMAT AWA section consists of one writing task: a 30-minute essay. You’ll complete the AWA portion of the GMAT first, before every other test section.

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For your GMAT essay, you’ll be asked to think critically about an argument that’s presented to you. You’re not supposed to give your opinion on the subject itself.

GMAT AWA scores range from 0 to 6, in half-point intervals. Every GMAT AWA response receives two independent scores. According to MBA.com, one of your scores may be performed by an essay-scoring engine. At least one of your GMAT AWA scores will be determined by a GMAT essay reader.

Your AWA score doesn’t affect your GMAT total score and is generally considered the least important of your GMAT scores.

The 6 Best GMAT Essay Tips

If you’re looking to achieve a GMAT essay score that’ll help you get into business school, these six GMAT Analytical Writing tips will help you achieve success.

#1: Follow the Directions

One of the most important GMAT essay tips is to understand the directions of the AWA section.

The AWA section specifically asks you to critique an argument on its strengths and weaknesses. AWA graders aren’t looking for a well-written, thoughtful opinion piece about the topic discussed in the prompt. They’re looking for you to analyze whether or not the argument itself was sound, and to back up that analysis with evidence from the text, and they’ll judge you on how well you accomplished that specific task. If you don’t follow the directions, you won’t achieve a high score.

#2: Develop a Clear Structure

Another one of the important GMAT writing tips is to take the time to set up your essay in a clear way.

You don’t need to write the most interesting or lengthy essay in the world to score well on the AWA section, but you do need to give your essay an easy-to-follow structure. Usually, that consists of an introduction, three to four well-developed body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Your introduction should restate the main argument of the prompt, then highlight the flaws in the argument that you’ll discuss in the body of the essay.

Each of the body paragraphs should focus on a specific flaw in the argument. First, you should highlight the flaw itself. Next, you’ll need to explain why that particular flaw is a flaw. Finally, you should highlight how the argument could’ve been made more clearly or more successfully.

In the conclusion, you’ll want to restate each of the reasons why the argument was flawed and summarize how those flaws affected the validity of the argument.

Following this clear, simple structure for your GMAT essay will help you achieve your goal score.

#3: Know the Common AWA Flaws

Your task for the GMAT AWA is to critique an argument given to you in a prompt. That means that you can assume the argument given is a weak one, since your job is basically to analyze its weaknesses.

GMAT AWA prompts typically have arguments that are weak in predictable ways. Be on the lookout for these common “flaws” that you’ll encounter in AWA prompts:

Causality: GMAT AWA prompts often contain errors in causality, which means that they attribute the wrong effect to the wrong cause . If you see an argument that uses causality, make sure you check to make sure that causality is correctly attributed and that there’s a provable causal relationship.

Vagueness: GMAT AWA prompts often contain vague terms or statistics that are used incorrectly to draw conclusions. For instance, a prompt might suggest that, out of a sample of 500 consumers, more are buying name-brand paper towels than generic paper towels. The use of the word “more,” in this case, isn’t specific enough because it doesn’t tell you exactly how many more people are buying name-brand paper towels. You can’t draw a definitive conclusion off of vague data.

Overconfidence: GMAT AWA prompts often contain overconfident language. You should be looking for the language in arguments to be thoughtful and well-balanced. Keep an eye out for words like “undoubtedly,” “definitely,” and “of course,” which indicate overconfidence.

#4: Practice

One of the best GMAT essay tips is to practice, practice, practice before you actually complete the GMAT AWA section on test day. You can find real, retired GMAT AWA prompts on the GMAT website for free. You can also purchase the GMAT Write tool to receive scores on practice AWA prompts if you’re really concerned about your score.

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Practicing will help you in a number of ways. First, practicing will help you master your timing. You’ll only have 30 minutes to craft a logical and well-reasoned essay on test day. The more you practice, the faster you’ll get at outlining and completing your essay.

As I mentioned in the previous GMAT writing tips, you’ll need to fully answer the correct prompt to achieve a good score on your GMAT essay. Practicing will help you get used to the structure of GMAT AWA prompts and help you get used to the types of questions you’ll see on test day.

Finally, practicing will help you get used the structure you need to employ to succeed on your GMAT essay. The more you practice, the more naturally you’ll be able to craft a complete introduction, body, and conclusion for each of your GMAT essays.

#5: Take Time to Outline

While outlining may seem like one of the more basic GMAT essay tips, taking five minutes at the beginning of the AWA section to sketch out a basic outline of your essay will really help you as you start to write.

Everyone outlines differently, but in general, I’d suggest having one to two bullet points for each paragraph that highlight the main ideas the paragraph will cover. Outlining will help you make sure you’ve covered all the main points you need to fully answer the question.

#6: Don’t Sweat the AWA Too Much

The final of my GMAT analytical writing tips is to not worry about the AWA section too much. As I mentioned in a previous section, the AWA section isn’t that important in the overall scheme of your GMAT score. It’d be a mistake to spend a lot of time and energy stressing over and preparing for the AWA section before you take the GMAT.

Spend between three to six hours preparing for the AWA, depending on how comfortable you are writing to the AWA’s structure. More often than not, that’s all the time test-takers need to achieve a solid AWA score.

Your GMAT AWA score won’t make or break your chance of admission to the business school of your dreams. An AWA score between 4-6 will sufficiently demonstrate your writing abilities to most admissions committees, and there’s not a huge advantage to scoring a perfect 6 on the AWA section.

An AWA score of below 4, however, will raise red flags for admissions committees who may question your communication abilities. So, it’s important to study for the AWA section to make sure your score is sufficient.

What’s Next?

Feeling set on GMAT analytical writing tips, but looking for more advice on other sections of the GMAT? We’ve got tons of in-depth, high-quality guides to help you master the content you’ll see on GMAT test day. Check out our guide to the GMAT verbal section to learn how to master the three GMAT question types or read our guide to the GMAT quant section  to understand exactly what math you need to know to achieve your goal GMAT score.

Looking to make an in-depth, comprehensive GMAT study plan? Our guide to GMAT study plans provides four sample study plans that you can adapt to your needs. Pick and choose between one-month, three-month, and six-month study plans that are each designed to boost your GMAT score.

Setting a realistic goal score is a hugely important part of your GMAT prep. By setting a realistic goal score, you give yourself a target to work towards and a benchmark by which to measure your progress as you prep for the GMAT. In our guide to GMAT score requirements, you’ll learn about how to set a goal that makes sense for your abilities and needs as a test-taker.

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Author: Hayley Milliman

Hayley Milliman is a former teacher turned writer who blogs about education, history, and technology. When she was a teacher, Hayley's students regularly scored in the 99th percentile thanks to her passion for making topics digestible and accessible. In addition to her work for PrepScholar, Hayley is the author of Museum Hack's Guide to History's Fiercest Females. View all posts by Hayley Milliman

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GMAT Analytical Writing: All About the GMAT Essay and How to Prepare For It

Yup, the rumors are true: you’ll encounter a 30-minute GMAT analytical writing section on test day. But while analytical writing can seem tough at first, finding out exactly what’s expected and how to attack it for a maximum score will do a lot to make the GMAT essay feel manageable! In this post, we’ll take a look at what you need to know to master the GMAT AWA.

Table of Contents

Introduction to gmat analytical writing, what to expect for gmat analytical writing.

• How to Approach the GMAT AWA (Strategy and Tips)

Breakdown by Section

Example gmat essays, scoring for gmat analytical writing, gmat awa and business school.

You may be thinking: why on earth would the GMAT even want to test my writing skills? In the modern global business world, you will always have contacts whom you know primarily through writing (email, reports, publications, etc.). Similarly, many people important for your advancement will meet you the first time through your writing. You need to be able to make a strong first impression in your writing, through the arguments you present.

On your GMAT writing assignment, the test will present an argument, often in the context of a newspaper editorial or the statement of a company. The nature of this argument will generally allow you to argue for either side, and the side you choose does not affect your score. You will have 30 minutes to read the prompt and construct your essay. Later, your essay will be graded by both a computer and a person on a scale of 0 to 6; your AWA score will be an average of these two scores.

Don’t forget the main purpose of this task: to measure your GMAT analytical writing skills. This means that whether you argue for or against the argument, your job is to analyze the argument. You’ll need to consider questions such as:

• What are the assumptions of the argument, and how strong are they?
• What sort of facts would strengthen or weaken the argument?
• Are there alternative explanations or perspectives that would explain the facts in question better?

Both the computer and the human reviewer are looking for particular elements in a good GMAT AWA essay. In short: a successful Analysis of an Argument essay will be clear and cogently argued; it will present the individual critiques in a logically consistent order; it will identify all the points in need of consideration, and it will use word choice and variety of syntax to effectively communicate.

A lot of students wonder: Are spelling, grammar, and punctuation important on the GMAT analytical writing? Will they make or break your score? They are pretty important—luckily, your GMAT SC correction practice will serve you well in this regard. But you can’t leave these elements up to chance: practice correcting your essays (more on this below), and always, always leave a few minutes at the end of the section to proofread your essay.

Remember, you’ll only have 30 minutes for the entire essay. This means that, while you’ll spend the bulk of your time actually writing, you should still set aside around 3-5 minutes at the beginning of the task for planning, then leave another 3-5 minutes at the end to read over and make minor corrections to what you’ve written. These seemingly small actions can have a big impact on your score! But practicing—and following the instructions—is key to mastering the pacing here.

AWA Directions

Throughout the GMAT, knowing the directions ahead of time gives you an edge because you don’t have to spend time reading them on test day. This advantage is compounded on the AWA section because the instructions are substantial: it’s a lot to read, so it’s that much less to read on test day. Moreover, the “post-argument” paragraph enumerates skills that will be important to practice and master, so you walk into test day armed and ready with your “analysis toolbox” prepared.

With that in mind, here are the directions that precede every AWA argument task:

The first bullet point tells us: a good AWA essay is well-organized, has a natural flow from point to point, and is clear and unambiguous about what it is saying. Those are all important points to keep in mind.

The second bullet point reminds us: what they present will be, in all likelihood, a flawed argument, but what you must create is a cogent and clear argument, and that will necessarily involve providing clear and relevant support. It’s not enough simply to assert something badly: you must provide justification for what you are saying.

The final bullet points may appear enigmatic: “control the elements of standard written English.” What does that mean?

Well, first of all, it means no grammar or syntax mistakes . It also means varying the sentence structure —some simple sentences (noun + verb), some with two independent clauses (noun + verb + and/but/or + noun + verb), some with dependent clauses, some with infinitive phrases, some with participial phrases, etc. Finally, it means choosing the right words and the right tone : the tone should be skeptical toward the prompt argument and persuasive toward the points you are making, but not arrogant or dogmatic in any way.

The following paragraph always appears after the argument prompt. This is the real meat-and-potatoes of the AWA directions:

How to Approach the GMAT AWA

Once you know what to expect from GMAT analytical writing, it’s time to start implementing strategies that will help you maximize your score on this section. Keep coming back to these throughout your GMAT prep to ensure that you’re staying on track and pushing your GMAT writing to the next level!

Strategies for the AWA

Here are the tips that will support your success on the GMAT’s AWA:

• Recognize Unstated Assumptions : Recognizing assumptions is essential for the Critical Reasoning questions, and it will also serve you well on attacking the prompt argument in your AWA.
• Know the Directions : This a matter not only of knowing what they say but also, more importantly, understanding the various options you have for analyzing the argument. This list of analytical strategies is always given in the paragraph that follows the prompt argument. It’s important to get familiar with this “analytical toolbox”, so it is yours to employ on test day.
• Recognize the Common Flaw Patterns : GMAT AWA prompt arguments often contain one of six types of flaws . Learn to spot these patterns, so you are ready on test day.
• Plan Before You Write : This is obvious to some test-takers. Your first task is to find objections to and flaws in the prompt argument. Create a list of flaws. Then, select the 2-4 of those that are most relevant, that would be the most persuasive talking points. Once you have your list of insightful flaws, then you are ready to write.
• Paragraph #1: State that the prompt argument is flawed. Briefly enumerate the flaws you will examine, in the order that you will discuss them.
• Paragraph #2 (or #2 & #3): Sticking to that same order, analyze each flaw in detail, explaining your reasoning why each is a serious weakness of the argument.
• Last Paragraph: Suggest improvements, which are the reverse of the flaws (i.e. “This argument would be considerably stronger if it did such-and-such to remove flaw #2.”). Close by restating that is it a weak argument.
• Simple sentence, one independent clause: Jack went to town .
• Sentence with two independent clauses: Jill went to town and Jack stayed home . (Two independent clauses can be joined by “and”, “or”, “but”, “yet”, “so”, etc.)
• Sentence with an independent clause and one (or more) dependent clauses: Jack went to the town where Jill lives .
• Sentence with an infinitive phrase: Jack went to that town to see Jill .
• Sentence with a participial phrase: Hoping to see Jack, Jill went to town .

A good essay should not have two sentences in a row with the same structure.

• Vague Language: The words “few”, “many”, “more”, “less”, and “some”, by themselves without numerical qualification, can be vague. Always consider the range of possibilities contained in vague words comparing quantity or size.
• Inappropriate Comparisons: This form presents a premise and conclusion for Thing #1, which is often quite clear and undisputable. Then, it argues, Thing #2 is very similar, so the premise and conclusion should apply to Thing #2 as well. Depending on the situation, the comparison may not be apt, and pointing out Thing #2 differs from Thing #1 in ways relevant to the argument can expose an essential flaw.
• Cause/Effect Errors: Many arguments want to make the case that “A causes B.” Whenever the argument “A causes B” is presented, some alternative interpretations to consider are (1) the reverse, “B causes A”; or (2) “A and B are both caused by new thing C”, or (3) “A and B, for a variety of reasons, often appear together, but one does not cause the other.” (This last interpretation is summed up succinctly in the sentence: “Correlation does not imply causality.”) Learn to spot arguments that draw conclusions of causality, and questions whether that’s the correct relationship.
• Overconfident Conclusions: Confidence = good. Overconfidence = bad. If you read the NY Times or the Wall Street Journal or the Economist magazine, you will notice the kind of tone the GMAT favors: thoughtful, balanced, and measured. Extreme conclusions are seldom correct on the GMAT. Any AWA prompt that presents a conclusion with God-given certainty is too strong, and this is a flaw that needs to be addressed.
• Proofread! Proofread! Proofread! : When you proofread, you have to consider several levels simultaneous: Is every word spelled correctly? Is every structure grammatically correct? Does the argument logically flow? Unfortunately (or fortunately!) you are not allowed to read your essay aloud in the testing center. What I do recommend, though: silently mouth the words, as if you are carefully pronouncing each word, even though you are not making any sounds. When you move your mouth & tongue, you are engaging more of your brain than when you are simply reading silently with your eyes, and you are more likely to catch subtle mistakes.

Those AWA tips are all important to keep in mind for your GMAT writing. But when you actually sit down at the computer on test day, what should you do? Here’s the process to use to get the most out of your 30 minutes with the GMAT AWA!

By the time you sit down on test day, you should have read the directions to the AWA (they’re posted above—take another look!), so you won’t need to waste time reading them again. Instead, dive straight into AWA brainstorming . As you brainstorm, list the argument’s flaws; then evaluate those flaws to find which objections are the strongest.

Write an Introduction

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel with each GMAT AWA introduction . Start by stating where the passage is from. Then, focus on two main tasks: summarizing the argument and stating why it’s flawed. Keep it short and sweet; three sentences are enough to get your main points set up!

Construct Your Body Paragraphs

These will make up the lion’s share of your essay, so you’ll spend most of your time writing body paragraphs. Here’s how to go about doing that:  

• Identification: Focus on a Premise: The first thing you will need to do in your paragraph is to identify what part of the argument you intend to analyze. The best way to do this is by simply summarizing the premise in the argument. You can state that it is flawed at this point, but it is not necessary. You’ll have plenty of time to do that, and the reader already knows what will happen from what you told them in the introduction. Paraphrase, summarize, and use synonyms to present the premise—don’t copy word for word—and this is a great way to lay the groundwork for your analysis.
• State the Obvious: Flaws Hurt Arguments : This is a common step skipped in student essays. We must return to the larger picture. Students assume that everything will make sense once the flaw is exposed, but this is far too brash. We can’t just expect our reader to “get it.” We need to speak plainly and directly about how the flaw weakens the argument, and more specifically, the recommendation, plan, or conclusion of the argument. Not all flaws weaken arguments in the same way so be specific about what aspect of the conclusion is questionable.
• Do Good: Improve and Strengthen the Argument : Now that you’ve taken the time to analyze the argument, break down a flaw, and explain the result of that flaw to the conclusion, time to build it back up. Approach the essay as a concerned and interested party, responding to the argument with sympathy. Don’t just be destructive. Give suggestions for improvement. And if you don’t like the conclusion, peer into the heart of what it is trying to accomplish and recommend a way to get there.

Conclude the Essay

First of all, keep in mind that you should not dwell in the conclusion. The heart of your essay, what really matters toward your score, is in the body paragraphs. These should be bulky and in-depth, but the conclusion should be short and to the point. Wrap things up in a timely manner so that you can get to the business of editing and revising your essay.

To keep things manageable and short, don’t go into the details. You only need to recap the major problems in the argument. Sometimes it is enough to say that there are major problems in the argument. Ignore the desire to repeat all the main points that you covered in the body paragraphs. This will only take extra space and waste precious time.

Finally, recommend a way to achieve the goal stated in the article. It is important to approach the analysis of the argument as an interested party. You don’t want to be wholly negative. For one, you will write a better analysis if you imagine yourself tied to the argument in some way, and two, the prompt asks you to strengthen the argument. Find some general evidence that will make the argument more convincing or make it irrefutable. Suggest a change so that the logic stands on firmer ground.

A GMAT analytical writing sample essay, whether well done or flawed in itself, can help you polish your own GMAT writing and bring your essays to the next level. The important part of reviewing example GMAT essays is in analyzing them (and expert analysis is even more helpful, particularly at the beginning).

Where can you find sample GMAT analytical writing prompts? Easy! The GMAC (the GMAT test-maker) actually provides all possible AWA essay topics on their website. So if you need examples of analytical questions for the GMAT , look no further!

If you’ve only taken standardized tests like the ACT or the SAT before, you may find AWA scoring slightly strange. GMAT Analytical Writing affects your overall score differently than essays on other exams do. With that in mind, let’s take a look at what a good GMAT analytical writing score on the GMAT is, as well as how important AWA scores are to your overall GMAT score.

The GMAT Analytical Writing Scoring System

First, let’s get an important point out of the way: The AWA score does not affect your overall GMAT score . Instead, it’s included as a separate category on your score report.

Although you won’t have an exact breakdown of your scores for each element, the GMAT analytical writing assessment is looking at your abilities in roughly four categories: Quality of Ideas, Organization, Writing Style, and Grammar and Usage. Based on your overall work, you’ll receive a score from 0 to 6, in half-point increments.

So just who decides where your essay falls within each of these four categories? First of all, a computer does. This is a bit surprising to most students when they first learn about it—after all, how can a computer evaluate something as subjective as writing? Well, remember that you’re not being scored on poetry here. Instead, the computer looks at the organization, syntax, and analytical aspects—things the GMAT algorithm is pretty good at doing.

Then, a trained evaluator will score the essay based on the general development of your ideas and written expression. The GMAT then averages these scores into your overall AWA score. Don’t worry about huge discrepancies in scores between the human and the computer graders, though: if the scores have more than a one-point difference, another human grader comes in to help set the final score.

How to Score Your Practice GMAT Essays

Scoring your own GMAT writing can be a little bit like trying to scratch your own back: it’s hard to see exactly where you are. But it can be done! By breaking down each component of your sample AWA essay, grading it, and averaging those grades, you can get some idea of your strengths and weaknesses. Magoosh even has a GMAT AWA scoring rubric you can use for this purpose.

So just how important are the AWA scores for business school admissions? We certainly could argue that the GMAT Analytical Writing score is not so important. It’s undeniable that the Quantitative sections and Verbal sections, which contribute to the overall GMAT score, are considerably more important than the separate GMAT writing score . Arguably, the fact that the AWA section was “cut in half” when IR was added in 2012 is a further indication of the relative importance of the GMAT essay and its score.

It’s true that Business school adcoms rely on the Quant, Verbal and Composite scores significantly more than the GMAT writing score. In fact, recent evidence suggest that adcoms also rely on the IR score significantly more than the GMAT essay score.

But while it’s true that, in your GMAT preparation , Quant and Verbal and even IR deserve more attention than the AWA, it’s also true you can’t completely neglect AWA. The difference between a 5 or 6 as your GMAT Analytic Writing score will not make or break a business school admission decision, but having an essay score below a 4 could hurt you.

The purpose of the AWA is to see how well you write, how effectively you express yourself in written form. This is vital in the modern business world, where you may conduct extensive deals with folks you only know via email and online chatting. Some of your important contacts in your business career will know you primarily through your writing, and for some, your writing might be their first experience of you. You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and when this first impression is in written form, the professional importance of producing high-quality writing is clear.

While you don’t need to write like Herman Melville, you need to be competent. A GMAT Analytic Writing score below 4 may cause business schools to question your competence. That’s why it’s important to have at least a decent showing in AWA.

For Non-Native English Speakers

In particular, if English is not your native language, I realize that this makes the AWA essay all the more challenging, but of course, a solid performance on the AWA by a non-native speaker would be a powerful testament to how well that student has learned English . Toward this end, non-native speakers should practice writing the AWA essay and try to get high-quality feedback on their essays.

Devoting 30% or more of your available study time to AWA is likely unwise, but devoting 0% to AWA might also hurt you. Between those, erring on the low side would be appropriate. If, in a three-month span, you write half a dozen practice essays , and get generally positive feedback on them with respect to the GMAT standards , that should be plenty of preparation.

The GMAT analytical writing can feel like a slog when you first encounter it: it requires deep focus and analysis, and it’s not what most students have spent their prep time working on. But with a bit of preparation, your GMAT essays can take your admissions file to the next level by boosting your AWA score significantly!

By including GMAT writing in your overall GMAT prep schedule, you’ll ensure that this section of the test doesn’t become a drag on your application—and helps, rather than hurts, your shot at your dream school. Good luck!

The post GMAT Analytical Writing: All About the GMAT Essay and How to Prepare For It appeared first on Magoosh GMAT Blog .

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7 Essay Tips for GMAT Analytical Writing

The GMAT Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) provides clear instructions on how you should plan and write your essay. Kaplan students learn these instructions long before Test Day and do not waste precious testing time reading them while the clock ticks.

Analytical writing demands objectivity

The AWA instructions are divided into segments, and the segment many test-takers overlook is that of the “directions”—which on the official GMAT read as follows: “I n this section, you will be asked to write a critique of the argument presented. You are NOT being asked to present your own views on the subject.”

A critique is an  objective  criticism of the argument in the prompt. Including your opinion would be providing a  subjective  analysis, which is not the point of analytical writing.

So how should your objective critique be constructed? Because one of the hallmarks of a standardized test is the repetition of patterns across test administrations, you can rest assured that your  Test Day  AWA prompt will follow the pattern described here. The instructions will be the same, the argument presented in the prompt will contain familiar flaws, and as a result, you will be able to plan how you will fit the necessary pieces together in your essay.

Analyze the argument’s assumptions & supporting evidence

Every GMAT AWA argument comprises a conclusion and pieces of evidence, just like  GMAT Critical Reasoning  (CR) questions. For both AWA and CR, the gaps between those pieces of evidence and the conclusion must be bridged by an assumption; in CR you look for the central assumption upon which the argument relies, and in AWA you will identify multiple assumptions.

Your critique of the argument will discuss the flaws you identify in its reasoning. A common mistake is to equate assumptions with flaws. However, it is fine for an argument to rest on an assumption, provided that assumption is logical and/or supported by evidence. For GMAT AWA arguments, the flaw is always the same:  the conclusion rests on assumptions that the provided evidence does not support .

That consistent pattern provides you with your thesis statement; “The author’s argument is flawed because it is based on assumptions for which she does not provide sufficient supporting evidence.” Boom—done.

Draw a conclusion from your thesis statement

But the fun doesn’t stop there. This thesis statement also serves as an appropriate conclusion. By definition, a thesis statement provides a  summary of the main point of the essay.  Remember that the conclusion of any passage, argument, claim, or essay can be found by asking, “What’s the point?” So once you’ve crafted that thesis statement, shuffle the language a bit and you have a conclusion.

Here’s an example intro paragraph from a sample analytical writing essay: “The author concludes that the current problem of poorly trained teachers will soon be remedied. As evidence he describes a state proposal that will require teachers to take courses in education and psychology prior to being certified. However, this argument is flawed because its conclusion relies on assumptions for which the author does not supply supporting evidence.”

Notice that thesis statement at the end of the first paragraph. Now, take a look at the concluding statement of the same sample essay: “In its current state, the argument relies too heavily on unsupported assumptions to be convincing.”

If you prefer to have a two-sentence conclusion, you can add, “Without additional supporting evidence, the conclusion cannot be accepted.” And there you have one solid point—your thesis—that serves two purposes.

So remember your analytical writing directions: objective critique, no opinion. The “point” of your essay must be objective, critical, and correct, and once you’ve identified this thesis statement, you also have a conclusion ready to go.

The AWA is about confidence—avoid hesitation

Your AWA essay should have a formal, confident tone. You have dissected the argument and are now presenting your objective findings.

So,  say what you mean using strong language . Consider the following sentences:

I believe this argument is flawed because it is overly dependent on spurious assumptions that lack evidence. This argument is overly dependent on unsupported assumptions and is therefore flawed.

Third-person pronouns ( he ,  she ,  one ) are appropriate in a GMAT essay. First- ( I ,  we ,  us ) and second-person ( you ) are inappropriate; in fact, unnecessary self-reference ( I believe ) is part of what makes the first example above less effective than the second. This is a form of qualification  that diminishes the strength of your point.

Qualifying language includes descriptors (adjectives and adverbs) and verbs that “soften” the edge of a statement.

The phrases “ somewhat vague ” and “ rather wordy ” have a softer impact than simply saying “ vague ” or “ wordy .” Avoid these qualifiers in your GMAT essay:

• pretty (as in  pretty much )  
• might be (as opposed to  is/are )
• may be (as opposed to  is/are )

This is not an absolute list, and these words are not totally off-limits. But be sure to use purposeful words and avoid unnecessary qualification.

Be concise, not wordy

Using active verbs and avoiding qualifiers automatically makes your writing concise.  Say what you mean in as few words as possible . Consider the following sentences:

The manager seems to be assuming that the fact that there is a hamburger restaurant next to his particular video store is somehow causing that store to have higher sales volume and revenue than other outlets in the video store chain.

The manager assumes the proximity of a hamburger restaurant to his video store positively impacts that store’s sales.

Remember that graders read hundreds and hundreds of essays, and they spend just a minute or so reading each one. You want the grader to see your points right away, so  don’t crowd your essay with unnecessary descriptors . Remember how the correct Sentence Correction answer is usually the shortest one (and the one that avoids  -ing  verbs)? Concision is underrated in daily life, but it is prized in writing a GMAT essay.

Be polished, not perfect

Graders can tell whether you had a plan before you started typing, so  spend time planning before you write . If you break down the argument, decide on your points, and arrange your ideas into paragraphs when the clock starts, then you will have written a polished AWA essay before 30 minutes elapse.

Remember that formal writing is much more structured than texts and speech. We use sentence fragments for emphasis when speaking, but they are not OK on the GMAT (ikr?)—so,  be sure to use complete sentences with proper punctuation and no abbreviations .

Consider the following sentence:

The auther assumes that teachers math skills are not up to par when the the problem might be with their teaching style. Or their training.

Save at least 2 minutes to proofread your essay. Had I actually typed the above sentence in an essay, I’d have spotted and corrected the errors upon proofreading: The  author  assumes that  teachers’  math skills are not up to par ;  she does not consider whether the [ deleted extra  the ] problem is with their teaching style  or training .

The essay should read like a solid first draft; it does not need to be absolutely perfect. Remember that  an imperfect essay can earn a perfect score . Perfection is not required here.

Be yourself, use language you’re comfortable with

Now that I’ve given you a checklist of style tips to use on the Analytical Writing Assessment, my final point is that you must remember to be yourself. Use  language you are comfortable with  and  trust your own voice . Do not try to write as if you were someone else. You know what you’re doing, so just do it—say what you mean with strong, correct, concise language and move on to the more important parts of the GMAT.

Jennifer Mathews Land has taught for Kaplan since 2009. She prepares students to take the GMAT, GRE, ACT, and SAT and was named Kaplan’s Alabama-Mississippi Teacher of the Year in 2010. Prior to joining Kaplan, she worked as a grad assistant in a university archives, a copy editor for medical web sites, and a dancing dinosaur at children’s parties. Jennifer holds a PhD and a master’s in library and information studies (MLIS) from the University of Alabama, and an AB in English from Wellesley College. When she isn’t teaching, she enjoys watching Alabama football and herding cats.

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How to Structure your GMAT AWA Essay for Maximum Impact

The Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) section of the GMAT is one that many students find the most intimidating. The fact that it asks candidates to write a free-form essay – in contrast to the multiple-choice natures of the Quant and Verbal sections – can seem overwhelming, particularly to the many non-native-speaking candidates of the GMAT.

But the fact is that the AWA is, deceptively, almost as structured as its multiple-choice counterparts. Sure – you can theoretically write anything on that paper. But the fact is that, due to the constraints of long-form-essay structures, and the general format followed by AWA questions and answers, your answer will generally follow a very specific structure.

Mastering that structure will give you a strong chance of getting the score that you want on the AWA. This means that with the right preparation, the right GMAT essay length and the right kind of formatting, you can tackle pretty much any question you’re likely to face.

Table of Contents

What is the GMAT AWA?

The Analytical Writing Assessment (often simply called the “GMAT essay”) comprises one single question. You’ll be presented with a single argument and a supporting paragraph that will detail how you should approach analyzing and critiquing that argument. You’ll then have 30 minutes in which to craft your response.

The AWA can either be the first or last section of the overall test, depending on your particular preference. If you find that you’re a confident and strong essay writer, it may be best to tackle the AWA first thing, so you can get it out of the way and go into the multiple-choice sections on a high. Conversely, if you find essay writing difficult or you have trouble organizing your thoughts, it may be a good idea to do the AWA last, after you’ve got the Verbal and Quant sections out of the way and you’ve built your confidence up a little more.

You have 30 minutes to complete the AWA. This includes reading the argument and supporting text, and any time you take to prepare your answer. There is no official word count, but the nature of the 30-minute time limit will inevitably limit how much you write.

The GMAT AWA Prompt  

The AWA always features a prompt, which is an argument of some kind related to marketing, education, social issues, politics, the environment, economics, and other areas of general social interest. You’re not required to have specialist knowledge of esoteric fields of study, but you are expected to have reasonably strong general knowledge.

The prompt is always flawed in some way, and it will be your task to identify and analyze these flaws. We’ll get into the exact nature of these flaws a little later.

Following the prompt itself are the directions you’ll need to follow. These directions are always the same, and can be found in the verbatim below:

“Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. In your discussion be sure to analyze the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion.

You can also discuss what sort of evidence would strengthen or refute the argument, what changes in the argument would make it more logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusion.”

The fact that these directions are always the same is a massive boost when it comes to preparing for the AWA and thinking about how to structure your response. It means that the underlying structure of your essay will always be the same: analyze the argument, identify any flaws in its reasoning, and expose them. You may also offer examples that counter the argument, and make suggestions as to how the argument might be made stronger.

How is the GMAT AWA Section Scored?

The AWA is scored from 0-6 , in half-point increments. Thus you may get a score of 2.0 or 2.5, but never 2.6, 2.7 etc.

The test is marked both by a human examiner and a computer. The human examiner is usually a university professor with extensive experience of marking essays. The computer, on the other hand, uses a sophisticated algorithm to analyze and mark any given essay. This algorithm enables the machine assessor to recognize and assess typical features of any given essay (such as having introductory, body and conclusion paragraphs) and assesses the suitability of your choice of grammar and vocabulary, as well as your syntax, sentence structure and use of keywords.

If there is more than a point of discrepancy between the human and machine examiner, a second human examiner will be brought in to re-mark the essay. In this way, the scoring is as rigorous and fair as possible.

What is a Good Score on the GMAT?

The GMAC defines their scores as follows:

• 6: outstanding
• 4: adequate
• 2: seriously flawed
• 1: fundamentally deficient

Thus, a 4.5 or higher is generally considered to be a ‘good’ score on the test.

How do you get an Outstanding Score on the GMAT AWA?

If you’re shooting for a perfect 6.0, it’s a good idea to look at how the AWA rubric defines such a score.

The GMAC describes a 6.0-scoring essay as being “cogent” and “well-articulated”. It will display a mastery of the various elements of strong writing, and will take steps to do the following:

• Clearly identify the key features of the argument, and write about these features with insight and intelligence.
• Present ideas and critiques clearly and in a logically organized manner. These should be seamlessly connected with fluid and clear transitions.
• Demonstrate a near-flawless command of the English language, with excellent use of syntax, grammar and punctuation. There may be a few minor flaws.
• Effectively supports their ideas and critiques with corroborating evidence.

All told, then, a good essay will feature strong analysis, well-developed ideas that are backed up with strong supporting evidence, and a masterful command of written English. Check out our article on how you can prepare to get a full 6.0 score for the AWA section of the GMAT .

Establishing an AWA Template

As previously mentioned, the structure of your GMAT AWA essay will always take the same basic format. It’s therefore a good idea to establish an essay template and stick to that template throughout all of your practice runs at the AWA. That way, by the time you step into that test room, writing your response should almost be a case of muscle memory.

While your AWA template can’t help out with effective use of grammar and vocabulary, it can really streamline the process of crafting your essay. A good template will feature the following:

• A paragraph-by-paragraph structural outline of your essay;
• What the general content of each paragraph will be;
• Pre-written sentence stems that can be plugged in as and when needed.

Your essay doesn’t need to be particularly creative or innovative; remember that there is a standardized rubric followed by both the human and machine examiners, so they’re not particularly interested in being wowed by fresh new approaches. In fact, most of the top-scoring essays are very formulaic in their approach, having very similar structures and arguments throughout. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel with yours.

A good template, used effectively, takes a lot of the mental busywork out of writing your AWA essay, allowing you more time to think about the actual content of your response, rather than its structure.

Examples of AWA Essay Templates  

There are a number of approaches you can take when deciding upon the best AWA essay structure for you. Whatever approach you choose, be sure to get plenty of practice by answering lots of sample AWA questions . 

The “Flaw-by-Flaw” Template

This template identifies a number of flaws in the argument, then dedicates a paragraph to fully breaking down each of those flaws. Suggestions for improving each argument are found within each of those body paragraphs, rather than summarized elsewhere.

The basic structure is as follows:

Introduction (2-3 Sentences)

• Restate the argument (e.g. “the argument claims that…”)
• State the ways in which you find the argument flawed, in the order in which you’ll discuss them
• Optional: acknowledge parts of the argument that work in spite of the flaws

Body Paragraphs (2-3 Paragraphs, Each of 4-5 Sentences)

• Restate one of the flaws you introduced in your first paragraph
• Explain the nature of the flaw (e.g. insufficient evidence, correlation does not equal causation, etc.)
• Optional: offer counterexamples that work to undermine the argument
• Suggest improvements that may work to strengthen the argument

Conclusion Paragraph (3-4 Sentences)

• Restate the fact that the argument is flawed (“all in all, we can see from the flaws in this argument that…”)
• Optional: restate any merit the argument has despite its flaws
• Restate your line(s) of reasoning, ensuring not to use the same wording.

Pros and Cons of the “Flaw-by-Flaw” Template

This template is great for providing a detailed breakdown of the argument in a clear, controlled and well-organized manner. However, it can be easy to get bogged down in the minutiae of each paragraph to the detriment of the overall essay – particularly due to the fact that you’ll be offering suggestions for improvements as you go, rather than summarizing them elsewhere.

It’s therefore a tricky template if you’re already struggling with the strictures of the 30-minute time limit, and requires a considerable amount of practice to use properly and efficiently.

The “Summarized Improvements” Template

With this template, you’ll summarize any improvements that can be made to the argument in a separate paragraph, rather than addressing them on a paragraph-by-paragraph basis.

This essay template takes the following format:

Introductory Paragraph (2-3 Sentences)

• Summarize the argument
• Enumerate the ways in which the argument is flawed, in the order in which you’ll discuss the flaws
• Optional: acknowledge parts of the argument that work despite its flaws

Body Paragraphs (2-3 Paragraphs of 4-5 Sentences)

• Introduce one of the flaws
• Identify the nature of the flaw (e.g. which specific logical fallacy it’s an example of)
• Optional: offer counterexamples that weaken the argument

Concluding Paragraph (5+ Sentences)

• Recapitulate the argument and the flaws thereof
• Restate your analysis of the flaws
• Summarize the ways in which the argument could be improved or strengthened
• Optional: restate that the argument may not be completely without merit

If you cannot find three or more flaws in the argument, you can instead dedicate the third paragraph to potential improvements, moving them up from your concluding paragraph and leaving that dedicated to recapitulating the argument and your critiques thereof.

Pros and Cons of the “Summarized Improvements” Template 

This template is much better for giving your essay a laser focus that the “flaw-by-flaw” template can lose if you’re someone who gets bogged down in the details. It ensures that you have a clear and focused essay finished by the time your thirty minutes are up.

On the other hand, it may lack the specificity and detail of the other essay template. If you’re an accomplished and speedy essay writer with an eye for detail, it may be best to eschew this template in favor of the “flaw-by-flaw” one. 

Creating your own GMAT AWA Essay Template

The abovementioned essay templates are suggestions only, and you may indeed find that they don’t work for you or your needs. If this is the case, then you should take a stab at crafting your own template.

This can be a little difficult if you don’t have much experience with the format of the AWA, however, and so it’s probably best to practice with the given templates to start with. You can then grade your practice tests (whether self-grading or using other methods ) and see what’s working for you and what isn’t.

Once you’ve finished and have graded your essay, analyze the essay on both a macro and micro level. What worked about the essay as a whole? What didn’t, and why? Was your conclusion weak because you spent too much time on each individual paragraph? Did you forget to include suggestions for improvements because you ran out of time?

Once you have an idea of the areas you need to work on, you can work on a template that works for you. Perhaps you’d do better to offer counterexamples and improvements in each paragraph as you go. Perhaps these details are distracting and you’re getting bogged down trying to think of clever ways to end each paragraph; in this case, it might help to have a few more canned sentence stems so you don’t waste too much time on this.

Whatever the case, once you’ve established a template, stick with it for a few practice tests, then reassess the situation. If you find that something still isn’t working, you can alter your template as you see fit. Keep going until you’ve found an approach that works for you and your essay-writing habits.

Altering Your Template on the Fly

While having a template is a massive help in giving you a general outline of how your essay is going to be structured, in rare instances you’ll find that your predetermined template simply doesn’t work.

For instance, some arguments that crop up on the AWA are so weak that they don’t really have flaws as such to examine. They may, for instance, be all conclusion with no assumptions to analyze at all. In this case, rather than analyzing weaknesses in the argument, you may instead need to base the entire essay on what information you might need before you could even begin to assess the effectiveness of the argument.

This could be done by simply expanding your “improvement” paragraph into 3-4 paragraphs, with each paragraph introducing an improvement that could be made to the argument, and why that improvement would help the argument better make its point.

The general point here is that your template should be robust and flexible enough to survive a structural change or two and still work; if it’s too rigid and you’ve geared it towards one particular approach to the exclusion of all others, you could run into trouble on test day.

Using Canned Sentence Stems

Pre-written sentence stems are of use in any essay, and can be massively useful when it comes to the GMAT AWA essay structure. There are a number of phrases that are readily associated with formal essay writing, and they remove the headache of trying to come up with new and inventive ways to introduce, expound upon, and conclude your ideas.

For a great list of useful sentence stems, check out our guide on what to do to get 6.0.

Knowing how to structure your GMAT AWA essay can’t get a 6.0 for you, but it does put you on the right path. It can speed up your response time, increase your GMAT essay length (as you’ll spend less time worrying about the structure) and help to present your ideas in a coherent and clear manner.

Even if you’re a non-native speaker, sticking to a template and using pre-written discourse markers ensure that you are equipped with all the tools necessary to acing the AWA. It’s just a case of making effective use of them. 

The GMAT AWA: Understanding the Format and How to Prepare

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