The Analytical Writing Assessment
INTRODUCTION
You don’t have to be a great writer to be good at business. You do, however, have to be able to make a good argument and to communicate it effectively. These are the skills that the GMAT Analytical Writing Assessment aims to test.
The Analytical Writing Assessment is composed of two parts: “Analysis of an Issue” and
“Analysis of an Argument.” In each part, you will have 30 minutes to write a persuasive essay arguing a position on the topics the computer provides for you. You will type these essays using a simple word-processing program on the same computer on which you will take the computer-adaptive GMAT.
HOW THE ANALYTICAL WRITING ASSESSMENT IS USED
You will receive a score from 0 to 6 on the Analytical Writing Assessment (hereafter AWA).
Business schools that receive your GMAT results will see this score, as well as copies of your essays. Conventional wisdom is that business school admissions personnel tend to place less importance on the AWA score than on your total GMAT score or on your admissions essays.
What this means is that you do not need to be too stressed about this part of the test; stress wouldn’t do you any good, anyway. What this does notmean is that you can blow it off.
On the one hand, a good score on the AWA could potentially help your application. On the other hand, a poor performance on the AWA could raise some flags among the admissions people that you do not want raised. One of the major reasons that ACT sends the AWA essays to business schools is to give them a way to check whether applicants wrote their own admissions essays. If your admissions essays are much better than your AWA, then you could make some people suspicious and wind up with your application tossed into the “not-so-promising” file.
If both your admissions essays and your AWA essays are poor, then you need to work harder on your writing skills.
HOW TO APPROACH THE AWA
If you are not already a literary giant, there probably is not time between now and the test to turn yourself into one. Fortunately, that is not a problem. The AWA tests a very specific type of writing and grades it in a very specific way. As long as your writing is basically sound, you can
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prepare yourself to earn a good score on the AWA. The first step is to understand how ACT arrives at that 0 to 6 score.
HOW THE WRITING ASSESSMENT IS SCORED
ACT states that a 6-level essay demonstrates the following characteristics:
$ Explores ideas and develops a position on the issue with insightful reasons and/or examples.
$ Is clearly well written.
$ Demonstrates superior control of language, including diction and syntactic variety.
$ Demonstrates superior facility with the conventions (grammar, usage, and mechanics) of stan- dard written English but may have minor flaws.
In other words, ACT wants a good essay. So who determines how well you have done in accom- plishing this goal?
ACT makes sure that every essay is read at least twice. The graduate students that ACT employs to read through the essays the first time will be reading several hundred essays on exactly the same topic, devoting two minutes at most to each essay. And yes, you can safely assume that they will be heavily buzzed on caffeine to get through it all. The second reader will take even less time, and may literally be buzzing, because the second reader is a computer. ACT employs a specially designed computer program to scan your essay and give it a score based on predetermined criteria. If the computer and the initial human reader disagree, another human reader will be called in to arbitrate.
So what does all this mean? First of all, it means that your literary genius will not be discovered here, so you can cross that off your list of goals. Second, it means that you can substantially improve your chances of getting the score you want by writing for your audience. A dazed human reading very fast and a computer reading very, very fast are going to look for similar things: organization, logical points, and good syntax.
Organization
The first thing your readers will notice is the structure of your essay. Do you have a clear thesis state- ment? Is the essay one long, rambling paragraph, or is it a clearly organized set of paragraphs with distinct roles in your argument? Does the essay’s structure make your argument easier or harder to follow?
There is no secret to composing a well-organized essay. Follow this simple pattern, and your essay will, at the very least, have the appearance of organization:
$ Paragraph 1: Introduction
x State your argument in a clear thesis statement.
x Acknowledge that the opposite position has merits, but that for the following reasons (summarize your reasons), your position is the correct one.
$ Paragraph 2: Reason 1, with supporting evidence
$ Paragraph 3: Reason 2, with supporting evidence
$ Paragraph 5: Conclusion
x For the reasons previously stated, your argument is the correct one.
x The issue statement/argument would have been more persuasive if it __________.
This structure is basically what ACT is looking for, so give it what it wants. You can have as few as one supporting paragraph, as long as it makes a couple of well-argued points, or as many as five or six supporting paragraphs, as long as they maintain a consistent argument. Anything more than eight paragraphs in total will probably detract from the organization of your essay. You should aim for four to six paragraphs in total. Also, remember to put your strongest arguments in your first supporting paragraphs so that these arguments will not get shortchanged if you are pressed for time at the end.
Another important way to improve the organization of your essay is touse structural words and phrases that let your readers know where in the argument they are. These words and phrases could include “On the one hand …”; “While some people believe {blank}, I argue instead …”; “In the first place…”; “For example …”; “An illustration of this principle is …”; “Finally …”; “In conclusion …”; and so on. The information on structural words in the Reading Comprehension chapter is very relevant here. Using these words will give your essay a sense of flow that will give both your readers the impres- sion that the argument holds together.
Note: Originality in argument structure, or any attempt to approach the question in “an entirely new way,” is probably not a good idea. Conforming to the standards that the human and computer readers are expecting is the best way to get a good score, so don’t try to be too creative. Don’t write the essay in poetry form. Don’t engage in metaphysical speculation about the nature of arguments. Give the readers what they are looking for, and they will reward you for it.
Logical Points
The main benefit of a well-crafted organizational structure is that it will showcase the points of your argument. The points you state will make or break your argument, so make them count. Before you type a word, decide what your argument is going to be. Choose between two and six main points that you are going to use to support your argument. For each point, develop an example/scenario/piece of evidence that supports the point, and present this supporting information along with your point.
Your readers will see that you’ve made some logical points, they will observe that you have provided supporting evidence, and your score will go up.
Good Syntax
Good syntax means that your sentences are grammatically correct and easy to read. The rules that apply to Sentence Correction questions all apply here, so you have an extra incentive to brush up on your grammar. Your primary goal is to make your argument clear. If you have any doubt that a reader skimming over your sentence will follow your point, then rephrase the sentence in a clearer way.
You will improve your score by using varied vocabulary and sentence structure. For example, you should not use the same verb in two consecutive sentences if you can avoid it; if you use seein one sentence, then use a synonym such as observeornoticein the following sentence. Also, mix up the length and structure of your sentences. If all of your sentences follow the same pattern of subject–verb–object,
your essay will appear dull. Note: Do not take this too far and use complicated words that you don’t normally use, or compose long and unwieldy sentences.The whole point is to make your essay more readable. If you have any doubt about a word or sentence, then stay on the safe side and keep it simple.
FACTORS THAT CAN HELP OR HURT YOUR SCORE
Your success in meeting the criteria just discussed will largely determine your score. There are, however, a few other issues that can push your score up or down.
Bonus Points
One way to kick your score up a notch is to impress your reader (the human one; the computer is inca- pable of being impressed). The way to do this is to put something in your essay that the reader has not seen in the 200 other essays he or she has read that day. The place to do this is in your supporting evidence. You can back up your logical points with
$ Facts and statistics relevant to the topic at hand (e.g., “Saudi Arabia possesses 24 percent of proven world petroleum reserves”)
$ Well-known literary references (e.g., “Employees at the MegaTek Corporation can probably relate to the Dickens line, ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’”)
$ Relevant similes and metaphors (e.g. “The governor may soon look up to see the Sword of Damocles dangling over his head”)
$ Relevant historical examples (e.g., “people do not always recognize a major business develop- ment when they see it; when the modern computer was invented in the 1950s, its developers thought that there might be fewer than ten buyers worldwide”)
When you spice up your essay with outside knowledge, that outside knowledge has to be relevant, so you can’t really plan the facts or quotes that you are going to use on your essay. That being said, you almost certainly know dozens of facts, references, and examples that will be relevant to the topics ACT gives you. The challenge for you is to incorporate this knowledge into your essay in a way that will make the essay stand out.
Recognizing the Arguments of the Other Side
Your conclusion will appear much stronger if it appears that you have considered the arguments on the other side of the argument or issue. You shouldaddress these arguments briefly as a counterpoint to your own argument. You should expose the weaknesses of these opposing arguments as a way to strengthen your own argument. You should nottake both sides, because then you aren’t really making an argument. Show that you know what the other side is thinking, and then show why that view is wrong.
Length
ACT does not officially factor length into an essay’s score, but that does not mean that length is irrelevant.
lower scores, and essays with high scores tend to be longer than average. This does not mean, however, that the people who write the most will always get the best scores. A very long but sloppy essay that someone has thrown together without any clear argument or structure will get a low score, while a relatively short but persuasively argued essay could earn a high score.
Your goal should be to write as much as you can while keeping your argument clear and struc- tured. Another way of looking at it is that it doesn’t matter how many words you write, but it does matter how many good points you make and how well you make them. In general, the more lines of reasoning and evidence that you can bring to your essay, as long as they are consistent, the better your essay will be.
In summary, write the longest good essay that you can.
Spelling
ACT does not factor spelling directly into the score, but the fact is that your human readers will probably be less impressed with your argument as a whole if they notice lots of misspellings. The situation with the computer reader is worse, because a misspelling could prevent it from understanding your argument and giving you credit for valid points.
It is unlikely that spelling will affect your score either way, but to minimize the chances of misspellings hurting your score, you should:
$ Budget your time so that you can type at a comfortable pace.
$ Reserve a minute or two at the end to proofread your essay for obvious typos.
Typing
The AWA provides you with a simple word-processing program with which to write your essay. Your keyboard will have the standard keyboard functions, such as Backspace,Enter, and Delete. In addition, on the screen you will see buttons for three specialized functions: CutandPaste, which allow you to cut a selected block of text from one place and pasteit into another place, and Undo, which will undo your latest typing. The GMAT will give you a short tutorial on the use of these functions. There is no spellchecker.
The unfortunate truth about the format of the AWA is that it favors people who can type well over those who cannot. A lot of typos can negatively affect your score, and if slow typing prevents you from making all the logical points you intended to make, then your score will probably suffer. Perhaps worst of all, if you are uncomfortable at a keyboard, you will waste time worrying about the stupid keys instead of composing a brilliant argument.
If you are a poor typist, and if you have the time, you should make an effort to improve your typing skills. Practice on word-processing programs. It would not be a waste to take a typing class or invest in some instructional software, because you will almost certainly need to type at some point in business school or in your career. If you don’t have a lot of time for this sort of thing, and if you need to choose between studying for the regular GMAT questions or working on your typing, then of course you should spend your time mastering the regular questions. Your score on the 800 scale is the one that business schools really care about. But if you have the time, do what it takes to get comfortable with a keyboard before you walk into the testing center.
MAXIMIZING YOUR SCORE
Now that you know how your score will be assessed, it’s time to incorporate that knowledge into a strategy that will help you maximize your score on the AWA. Good use of time is essential to getting the score you want, so think of your strategy in terms of allocation of time:
1. Read the issue or argument very carefully—1 minute.
2. Consider the issue, choose your argument, outline your essay—4–6 minutes.
3. Write!—22–24 minutes.
4. Proofread the essay for obvious typos—1–2 minutes.
This time allocation strategy will serve you well for both the Analysis of an Issue and Analysis of an Argument essays. The real key here is the time you spend before you type a single word. If you just read the question and dive right in, the odds are that your essays will be muddled and inconsistent.
It is crucial that you know what is being asked and what you are arguing. Give yourself a good five minutes or more to plan out what you are going to say. Having a well-structured outline not only will improve the organization component of your score, but will improve other aspects of your essay as well. The exercise of creating the outline will help you to clarify your thoughts, and it will help you determine which supporting arguments to put where. Finally, if you are writing with a good outline, your writing itself—grammar, sentence structure, and style—will most likely be improved, because you will know where you’re going and be more confident about it.
Pacing is crucial, so it is important that you run through a few practice essaysso that you know how much of an outline you can put together in five minutes, and how long an essay you can type in twenty-five minutes. There are sample essay topics at the end of this chapter on which you can practice.
ANALYSIS OF AN ISSUE
Analysis of an Issue questions present you with a short statement about an issue and then ask you to take a position on that issue. The question could look like
At the end of the day, the only meaningful measure of a company’s success is whether or not it has made money for its shareholders.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the opinion expressed above? Support your posi- tion with reasons and/or examples from your own experiences, observations, or reading.
Step 1 is to read the statement and decide whether you are going to agree or disagree. It is probably best to argue the position that you personally side with, because you will probably write a more persua- sive essay that way, but ultimately your score has nothing to do with how strongly you feel about the issue, and everything to do with how well you argue your case. If you don’t have a strong preference for one side or the other, go with the position for which you think you can make the stronger case.
It is very helpful at this stage to brainstorm reasons for and against the statement. You can write down on your scratch paper your reasons for and against. For the issue of measuring a company’s
For Against
Making money is what businesses are for Definition of success is too restrictive Shareholder value helps management focus on Other groups make business success
important goals possible: employees, customers, society at
large
If a company doesn’t make Focusing only on shareholder value money for shareholders, it will go out of encourages management decisions that business and employees and customers will be may be bad for the company in the long
out of luck run
Clearly, an argument could be made on either side. Remember that while it can be helpful to address the arguments of the other side, you need to choose one side and stick with it. Whichever side you choose, you have to incorporate your reasons into a persuasive argument for your position, with supporting evidence. Your next step should be to sketch an outline of what your essay will look like.
An outline for this issue could look like
Paragraph 1: Statement makes an interesting point, but ultimately defines success too narrowly.
A better definition will include other groups: employees, customers, society.
P2: Focusing on employees is important too; example in-house child-care program.
P3: No business without customers; example customer service quality.
P4: Obligations to society; example cleaning up environment.
P5: Many measures of success; attention to these factors benefits shareholders.
Writing a good outline is worth at least five minutes of your time, because the quality of your outline (or, more accurately, the quality of the thinking that goes into your outline) will play a large role in determining the effectiveness of your essay. On the other hand, don’t get carried away with putting too many details into your outline, since an outline alone earns you no points. An investment of five minutes is certainly worth it, but anything more than eight minutes is eating dangerously into your writing time. Remember, it will not hurt your score to write a long essay and it will probably help it, so give yourself adequate time to make your argument.
An essay on this topic could look like this:
The problem with the statement above is that it defines business success in an overly limited way that fails to consider other equally valid measures of success. While I acknowl- edge that many of the business leaders who have embraced the mantra of “shareholder value”
have produced impressive financial results, I would contend that a more comprehensive view of business success will result over the long run in healthier businesses. A comprehensive picture of success will also take into account the other parties that contribute to and benefit from businesses: employees, customers, and society at large.
First of all, to be successful a company must have a good relationship with its employees.
Strict adherence to shareholder value promotes an environment in which companies try to gain the greatest amount of work from their employees for the least money. These companies would be reluctant to accept a needless expense, such as an in-house child-care program for employees, which could take money out of the shareholders’ next dividend check. The flaw in this thinking is that those child-care programs can actually more than pay for themselves, because they lead both to reduced absenteeism of working parents and to greater loyalty and