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Gre prep online guides and tips, 4 top-scoring gre sample essays, analyzed (issue + argument).

The best way to figure out how to get a high Analytical Writing score is to look at a GRE essay sample, but doing so without any guidance can be overwhelming. How do you show insight? Do typos affect your score? What’s a good way to keep your essay organized?

We’ll answer all these questions for you (and more!) in this article by analyzing four real GRE essay examples and highlighting the key features you’ll want to include in your own essays.

How to Use This Guide

Before we get to the GRE sample essays and their analyses, I’ll highlight two best ways to use this guide to improve your essay and get a great scoring essay yourself.

First, use the perfect-scoring sample GRE essays in this guide as models of possible ways to accomplish the essay tasks . By this, I don’t mean you should plagiarize entire sentences, paragraphs, or essays – that’s both wrong and against GRE code of conduct (it will disqualify your entire test if discovered). Plus, there are so many prompts (152 Issue prompts and 176 Argument ones) that it’s unlikely you’d be able to use any of these exact essays anyway.

What you can and should do is incorporate the features highlighted in the analyses below in your own essays. For instance, if you’ve been struggling with how to logically connect ideas within paragraphs in your own essays, take a look of some of the examples of logical connection I point out in this article and see how they fit within the context of the full essay. You can then practice replicating successful connections between ideas in your own practice essays.

The other main way to use this guide is in conjunction with the essay grading rubrics to help ferret out your writing weaknesses and work on them. Start with the rubrics for the Issue and Argument tasks and identify which criteria are most difficult for you to meet. Even if you can’t articulate precisely what your weakest spot is (e.g. failing to logically connect your ideas within paragraphs), you can at least narrow down the general rubric area you most struggle with (e.g. organization in general).

Once you’ve identified the general area you have the most trouble with, read the GRE essay examples and our analyses in this article to find concrete instances (rather than the abstract descriptions) of the rubric criteria. For more information about the different rubrics for the different essay tasks, read our articles on how to write perfect-scoring GRE Issue and Argument essays .

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Because this article is on the longer side, we’ve created a table of contents to enable you to jump to a specific essay example or task type:

Table of Contents: GRE Essay Examples 

Issue essay 1: technology and human ingenuity, issue essay 2: cooperation vs. competition, argument essay 1: mason city riverside recreation, argument essay 2: super screen movie advertising.

The first of the GRE sample essays we’ll be looking at is written in response to the following “Analyze an Issue” prompt:

As people rely more and more on technology to solve problems, the ability of humans to think for themselves will surely deteriorate.

Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.

The essay written on this Issue prompt takes the position that rather than hindering our abilities to think for themselves, technology will spur humanity on to achieve ever-greater things. The full text of this GRE essay sample can be found on the ETS website .

In this analysis, I’ll go over the different ways in which this essay meets the GRE essay rubric criteria for a perfect scoring Issue essay . The first of these rubric criteria I’ll be discussing is the way the author takes a clear and insightful stance on the issue in the essay.

The author’s position that instead of fearing new technology, we should embrace its possibilities is methodically articulated over the course of the entire essay, culminating in the essay’s conclusion with a full thesis statement (“There is no need to retreat to a Luddite attitude to new things, but rather embrace a hopeful posture to the possibilities that technology provides for new avenues of human imagination.”). Below is an outline of how the author expresses her thesis throughout the essay:

• Paragraph 1 : The author acknowledges “technology has revolutionized the world.”
• Paragraph 2 : The author explains the reasoning behind the statement in the prompt (“The assumption is that an increased reliance on technology negates the need for people to think creatively to solve previous quandaries”).
• Paragraph 3 : The author counters the reasoning she discussed in paragraph 2, writing that “reliance on technology does not necessarily preclude the creativity that marks the human species.”
• Paragraph 4 : The author advances her counterclaim one step further, stating that “technology frees the human imagination.”
• Paragraph 5 : The author further develops the idea from Paragraph 4, stating “By increasing our reliance on technology, impossible goals can now be achieved.”
• Paragraph 6 : This final paragraph concludes the essay with a fully articulated thesis that also sums up what went before: “There is no need to retreat to a Luddite attitude to new things, but rather embrace a hopeful posture to the possibilities that technology provides for new avenues of human imagination.”

The author’s straightforward explanations of her thinking and logic enhance the clarity of her position, while the nuanced content of the position itself demonstrates insight into the issue.

The next area a perfect-scoring Issue essay must demonstrate mastery of is the development of its position through compelling and persuasive examples and reasoning . The author of this essay accomplishes this task by providing examples to support each idea she discusses and, furthermore, explaining not only the content of the examples but also why the examples support her position.

Here’s an example from paragraph 5:

By increasing our reliance on technology, impossible goals can now be achieved. Consider how the late 20th century witnessed the complete elimination of smallpox. This disease had ravaged the human race since prehistorical days, and yet with the technology of vaccines, free thinking humans dared to imagine a world free of smallpox. Using technology, battle plans were drawn out, and smallpox was systematically targeted and eradicated.

In this example, the author begins by laying out the main idea to be discussed (impossible things can be achieved by relying more on technology). She then supports this idea with the example of the impossible problem of smallpox and the steps taken that led to its eradication.

The great thing about the way the author explains her reasoning and examples is the concision and precision with which she gets her information across. Rather than going off into a discussion about the damage caused by smallpox, or staying too vague by mentioning how “diseases” had been solved by the use of vaccines, the author chooses a specific example (smallpox) and mentions only the details relevant to proving her point . This kind of precise writing takes practice, but being able to effectively sum up an example and why it supports your position in just a couple of sentences is essential if you want to get a high score on the GRE Issue essay.

Focus, organization, and logical connections are the third criterion that a perfect-scoring essay needs to fulfill. In the case of this GRE essay sample, the author achieves this organization and focus by linking ideas both within paragraphs (as seen in the previous example) as well as between paragraphs . Let’s look at the way the author transitions between the end of paragraph four and the beginning of paragraph five:

The unlikely marriage of economics and medicine has healed tense, hyperinflation environments from South America to Eastern Europe.

This last example provides the most hope in how technology actually provides hope to the future of humanity. By increasing our reliance on technology, impossible goals can now be achieved.

The author connects the two paragraphs by continuing paragraph four’s discussion of ways human imagination has been pushed by technology (technology combining economics and medicine has solved a problem) with paragraph five’s exploration of how this example has led to achieving things previously considered impossible. The smoothness of the transition between the two paragraphs is effected both by presenting the content of the next paragraph as a logical progression from what was just discussed as well as by using language (“this last example”) that connects the two on a more superficial level.

By keeping paragraphs tightly linked on both the surface level of sentence structures as well as on the deeper level of content being discussed , the author of this essay also keeps her writing focused and cohesive.

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The last quality a perfect-scoring essay must demonstrate is precision of language and flow in writing . The author of this GRE Analytical Writing sample fulfills this requirement by using language to precisely and economically convey meaning throughout her essay. Here’s one example of precise and effective use of language in the essay:

This disease had ravaged the human race since prehistorical days, and yet with the technology of vaccines, free thinking humans dared to imagine a world free of smallpox.

In this excerpt, the author uses the evocative word “ravaged” to show the dire extent of the problem solved by technology, reinforcing that the issue was previously considered impossible to cope with. She also uses the phrase “humans dared to imagine” in this sentence, which ties the example being discussed back to the previous paragraph’s discussion of human imagination.

While there are a couple of minor errors in this excerpt (“prehistorical” should be “prehistoric,” “free thinking” should be “free-thinking”), they do not significantly change the meaning of the author’s words and so do not detract from the overall effectiveness of the author’s language.

Return to Table of Contents

The second of the GRE Issue essay samples I’ll be analyzing is written in response to the following prompt about the values of cooperation vs. competition:

“The best way for a society to prepare its young people for leadership in government, industry, or other fields is by instilling in them a sense of cooperation, not competition.”

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 or examples that could be used to challenge your position.

The sample Issue essay written in response to this topic takes the stance that cooperation, not competition, is a preferable value to instill in young people in preparation for government. You can read the full essay on page 108 of this PDF . Read on for a discussion of the different ways in which this essay meets the requirements for a perfect score.

As with the previous GRE essay sample, we’ll start by looking at how this essay meets the perfect-scoring essay criteria of stating a clear and insightful position (as required by the essay task). The author fulfills the first part of the criteria with his clear statement of his thesis in the last line of the very first paragraph:

I would have to agree that the best way to prepare young people for leadership roles is to instill in them a sense of cooperation.

He reiterates this clear position with the last two sentences of his conclusion:

Getting to be President of the United States or the managing director of a corporation might require you to win some battles, but once you are there you will need diplomacy and people-skills. Those can be difficult to learn, but if you do not have them, you are likely to be a short-lived leader.

To achieve a perfect Issue essay score, however, it’s not just enough to be clear in your position; your position must also demonstrate insight into the issue . The author of this essay accomplishes this second part by choosing a two-pronged approach to answering the essay question. Rather than merely explaining how cooperativeness leads to positive outcomes in government, industry, and other fields, the author also explains how competitiveness leads to negative outcomes.

Thus, the author makes his position clear by stating it in the opening and closing paragraphs of the essay and shows insight by taking the more complex position that not only is cooperation good, but competition is bad.

The next of the rubric criteria we’ll discuss has to do with how well the author develops his position with examples and reasoning . A great example of this development can be found in the second paragraph of this essay, which discusses the drawbacks of competition.

The author begins his discussion of competitiveness by arguing that it’s a quality that doesn’t need to be “instilled” because it’s already present. Beginning with general reasoning about human behaviors at school and the office to introduce his point, the author then neatly segues into specific examples of competitiveness gone amok (Hitler in Germany and the recent economic meltdown in America).

With each example presented in the essay, the author pushes his position along a little further. He moves from discussing the most extreme historical cases (genocide) to more recent events (economic recession), concluding by focusing in on one person’s life and career (Tiger Woods). This final example allows the author to reach his final destination in his discussion of competitiveness: yes, competition can serve people well up to a certain point, but the price is that it is also “detrimental and ultimately quite destructive.”

The third way this essay meets the requirements of a perfect-scoring essay is through the logical connection of ideas within and between paragraphs . The transition between the end of paragraph two and the beginning of paragraph three provides a stellar example of this skillful connecting of ideas:

It [competitiveness] served him well in some respects, but it also proved to be detrimental and ultimately quite destructive.

Leaders who value cooperation, on the other ahnd, have historically been less prone to these overreaching, destructive tendencies.

On the face of it, the author only connects the two paragraphs by using a transition phrase (“on the other hand”) that sets up the next paragraph as contrasting with what came before. While this kind of transition would be good enough for a lower-scoring essay, though, the author does not just leave the connection between the two paragraphs at that. Instead, he also connects the two paragraphs by keeping the focus on the same issue from the end of one paragraph to the beginning of the next.

The content-level transition between paragraphs occurs when the author transitions from discussing the “detrimental and ultimately quite destructive” competitiveness of Tiger Woods directly into claiming that cooperation-valuing leaders are “less prone to these overreaching, destructive tendencies.” This twofold linkage of content (deeper level) and transition phrase (more surface level) makes it clear to the reader that the discussion of leaders valuing cooperation follows logically the discussion of negative outcomes for competition-valuing leaders.

The final 6-level quality demonstrated by this GRE Writing sample is its use of skillful and precise language to convey specific meaning . Overall, the language in this essay is formal and academic , despite the profligate use of first person point of view by the author (which can make writing seem less formal). The following sentence exemplifies the author’s command of language:

The recent economic meltdown was caused in no large part by the leaders of American banks and financial institutions who were obsessed with competing for the almighty dollar.

Despite the minor error in this sentence (it should read “in no small part,” rather than “in no large part,”), the author’s meaning is absolutely clear: competition led to the meltdown. Strong vocabulary choices like “economic meltdown,” “obsessed,” “almighty dollar” are what make this an effective statement of the author’s position. Compare the above excerpt to a more milquetoast version of the same statement:

The recent economic downturn was mostly caused by financial leaders who wanted to earn lots of money.

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This second sentence has the same basic meaning as the real excerpt from the essay. Because it doesn’t use particularly precise or compelling language, however, this watered-down version ends up minimizing the magnitude of problems caused by competitiveness (which undercuts the author’s point). This vaguer version of the essay excerpt also lacks the word “competing,” which makes it useless as an instance of competition among leaders leading to negative consequences.

The original excerpt from the essay, and indeed the entire GRE essay example, is so strong precisely because it manages to pack in specific relevant language that adds to, rather than detracts from, the author’s meaning.

The next essay I’ll be analyzing is written in response to the following “Analyze an Argument” prompt:

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 GRE Argument essay sample I’ll be analyzing critiques the numerous assumptions made and ultimately concludes that the argument for spending more money on Mason City’s riverside recreational facilities rests on faulty assumptions.

The full text of this essay can be found on the ETS website . Be sure to read through the essay first before coming back to read my analysis of it. We’ll start by looking at the ways in which this GRE essay sample identifies and examines the argument given in the prompt in an insightful way:

There are three key assumptions made by the argument that are identified in the essay:

#1 : The survey results are valid and representative

#2 : The reason Mason River isn’t used is because of odor and pollution

#3 : Cleaning the pollution in the river will get rid of the odor and then lead to more usage by residents

The Argument essay example we’re looking at examines each of the assumptions by considering the implications if the assumptions made by the article turn out not to be true . Here’s part of the essay’s investigation of the second assumption listed above:

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 author identifies the assumption that complaints indicate many people want to use the river and examines it by reasoning through possible scenarios other than the one presented in the prompt. The insight comes from the fact that the specific possibilities discussed by the author are highly plausible alternative explanations for the facts that would change the validity of the prompt’s assumption. It’s very possible that the complaints were not made by every single resident, or even a majority of residents, as the prompt seems to assume, but were in fact only made by a few people.

As a result of her analysis, the author ultimately concludes that there is insufficient information to support the assumption that Mason River isn’t used due to its odor and pollution.

The next way the author of this sample GRE essay fulfills the requirements of a perfect-scoring Argument essay is by providing comprehensive support for each of her main points . Throughout the essay, the author is able to explain exactly why each assumption made is problematic by using examples that precisely illustrate her argument.

Consider how this is approached in the second paragraph of the essay. The author starts the paragraph by presenting the assumption made in the essay argument that the survey results can be relied upon. She then proceeds to decimate that assumption with multiple examples of ways in which the survey could be flawed and not be an accurate representation of the residents’ opinions, as can be seen in the following excerpt:

For example, the survey could have asked residents if they prefer using the river for water sports or would like to see a hydroelectric dam built, which may have swayed residents toward river sports. The sample may not have been representative of city residents, asking only those residents who live upon the river. The survey may have been 10 pages long, with 2 questions dedicated to river sports. We just do not know.

The thoroughness of the author’s support for her point is magnified by the specificity of the scenarios she proposes . Stating “the survey might not have been representative of the city residents” would have been far less compelling a point than stating “[t]he sample may not have been representative of city residents, asking only those residents who live upon the river.”

Another important ideal a perfect-scoring Argument essay must live up to is being organized logically, with clear transitions between ideas . The author of this GRE essay sample is able to meet the first part of this requirement with a simple five-paragraph organizational structure : an introduction, one paragraph for each assumption discussed, and a conclusion.

Accomplishing the logical connection and development of ideas throughout the essay requires a little bit more finesse, but the author still manages it. Here’s an example from the beginning of the third paragraph of a skillful transition:

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.

In the above example, the author uses the transition word “additionally” to connect the ideas that will follow with what went before. The example also references the previous paragraph’s discussion of the unreliability of the survey of residents (“their professed interest”) and links it to the current discussion of pollution and smell being the cause of low participation in riverside recreational activities. The combination of these two methods of connecting the two paragraphs results in a smooth logical flow from one idea to the next.

Lastly, a perfect-scoring Argument essay must be precise and effective in its discussion of ideas, with few if any errors . The author of this essay successfully meets this standard by using purposeful language to efficiently and clearly get her point across, as can be seen in this example from paragraph three:

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 author contrasts the prompt’s assumption (“a polluted, smelly river would likely cut down on river sports”) with the “concrete connection” that is not present. The essay as a whole is not completely devoid of errors (for example, the author writes “afffected” instead of “affected”), but the errors are few and do not have a negative impact on the clarity of the writing.

The last of the GRE essay examples I’ll be analyzing at is written in response to this “Analyze an Argument” prompt:

The following is taken from a memo from the advertising director of the Super Screen Movie Production Company.

“According to a recent report from our marketing department, during the past year, fewer people attended Super Screen-produced movies than in any other year. And yet the percentage of positive reviews by movie reviewers about specific Super Screen movies actually increased during the past year. Clearly, the contents of these reviews are not reaching enough of our prospective viewers. Thus, the problem lies not with the quality of our movies but with the public’s lack of awareness that movies of good quality are available. Super Screen should therefore allocate a greater share of its budget next year to reaching the public through advertising.”

Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation and the argument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the recommendation.

The essay written in response to this “Analyze an Argument” prompt raises and evaluates questions about how many viewers and reviews of Super Screen productions there actually were, if there is a strong relationship between how movie reviewers and general audiences react to movies, and whether or not the percentage of positive reviews about a movie reflects how much of an impact reviews have on audiences.

The full text of this GRE essay sample can be found on p. 112 of this PDF . Read through the essay first, then check below for an analysis of its positive (and negative) qualities.

The first aspect of the essay we’ll analyze is how it succeeds in identifying and examining the parts of the argument that are relevant to the task . In the essay’s introduction, the author mentions that there are questions that need to be asked (“Before this plan is implemented, however, Super Screen needs to address some questions about its possible flaws”), but he really hammers it home in the conclusion by specifying which questions need to be answered:

In conclusion, there are many questions Super Screen needs to answer before using this advertising director’s plan. They need to look carefully at actual numbers, both of viewership and of positive reviews. The also need to identify the relationship that their target audience has with movie reviewers and determine how their target audience feels about their movies. Fianlly they need to take a nuanced look at the movie reviews that they use in their advertising.

With this conclusion, the author hits the three main points that need to be considered before agreeing to the advertising director’s plan : viewer and review numbers, audience reactions to reviews, and whether or not reviews are a useful metric by which to measure movie success.

An instance of the author identifying a particular argument can be found in the third paragraph of this GRE essay sample. The paragraph starts by clearly stating the question that needs to be answered (what the number of positive reviews was and how it compared to past reviews). After this initial identification of the question, the author also explains how answering this question would have an impact on the usefulness of the recommendation: if the increase in positive reviews was from 1% to 2%, allocating more money to advertising to emphasize this fact is likely to have less impact than if the money were instead budgeted towards improving film quality.

Another quality all perfect-scoring Argument essays must contain is strong and thorough support for each point discussed . The author of the GRE essay sample we’re analyzing fulfills this requirement, supporting every question she raises about the argument in the prompt by showing how its answer would affect the recommendation.

A good example of this all coming together happens in paragraph five of the essay:

Finally the studio must ask whether the percentage of positive reviews is really a relevant way to measure the potential impact of movie reviews. There are dozens of movie reviewers but when deciding whether to not to go to a movie, the general public will usually pick from among the 10 most popular movie reviews. These are the reviews that will impress the public if they are included in advertising. If the most popular movie reviewers disliked Super Screen movies that a larger number of small time film bloggers reviewed positively, Super Screen needs to think of a new advertising strategy.

In this paragraph, the author opens by identifying the element of argument to be discussed (are positive reviews a useful way to measure the impact of movie reviews in general?). She then develops this point through reasoning about why the answer to this question might contradict the assumption made in the argument (people mostly use popular reviews to decide on what movies to see, rather than the ratio of popular to negative reviews).

The author ends this paragraph by conclusively showing that the answer to the question raised in this paragraph is crucial for determining whether or not Super Screen should follow the advertising director’s plan: if the percent of positive reviews isn’t a good way to measure movie impact and the real issue is that relatively few popular movie reviewers liked Super Screen movies, then the recommendation of the advertising department is unreasonable.

The third requirement for a perfect-scoring Argument essay is that it must develop and connect ideas in a clear and logical fashion. The organization of this GRE argument essay sample helps accomplish this by routing the author’s thoughts into an introduction, four body paragraphs, and a conclusion . Each body paragraph of the essay is centered around one or two related questions. A good example of this can be found in paragraph four, which contains two related questions about the relationship between audiences and movie reviewers:

Finally, Super Screen needs to ask what the relationship is between its viewers and the movie reviewers cited in the memo. Using a survey distributed to its target audience, Super Screen could determine if movie reviews have an effect on their audience’s decision to go see a movie, whether movie reviewers tended to have the same taste as the target audience and exactly whether or not movie reviews are reaching the audience. Super Screen also needs to consider how its movie choices have affected the separate movie reviewer and audience populations. If the studio has switched from making mega- blockbuster action movies to more nuanced dramas, the general public may be less willing to go see their movies even though movie critics prefer the dramas to the action movies.

The above paragraph starts out by discussing if Super Screen’s target audiences are affected by reviews and whether their audiences and movie reviewers have the same taste, then segues into discussing if the studio’s film-making choices have affected audiences and movie reviews. The transition between the two different questions being discussed is effected by the simple use of the word “also” in the third sentence of the paragraph:

Super Screen also needs to consider how its movie choices have affected the separate movie reviewer and audience populations. [bolded for emphasis]

The last sentence of the paragraph again links back to the discussion of audience taste vs. reviewer taste, reinforcing the close and logical connection between the two questions discussed in the paragraph.

Finally, a perfect-scoring Argument essay must employ varied and precise language, with few errors . Earlier, we discussed paragraph four as a particularly strong example of the author’s effective development of ideas. The last sentence of this paragraph contributes to this efficacy through the use of specific language :

“If the studio has switched from making mega-blockbuster action movies to more nuanced dramas, the general public may be less willing to go see their movies even though movie critics prefer the dramas to the action movies.”

The use of the descriptor “mega-blockbuster” to describe the action movies preferred by the masses effectively conjures up something that is the diametric opposite of a “nuanced drama.” In addition, the author’s contrasting of the “mega-blockbuster action movies” with “more nuanced dramas” parallels the second half of the sentence’s contrasting of the preferences of the general public vs. those of the (possibly) more refined movie reviewer.

There are a few minor spelling errors (e.g. in “attendence” instead of “attendance”), and the last two body paragraphs both start with “finally” (which is a little repetitive), but in general, this is a skillfully written essay. It’s not perfectly polished like an essay you’d turn in for school, but that’s absolutely OK. In the grand scheme of the GRE essay scoring rubric, writing flourishes matter much less than clarity of thought and precision of language.

6 Tips for a Perfect-Scoring GRE Essay

To wrap up this article, I’ll go over some of the key points you should take from the four GRE sample essays I analyzed in this article.

#1: Include an Introduction and a Conclusion

One thing that all these perfect-scoring GRE sample essays had in common was an introduction and a conclusion . It doesn’t have to be a full paragraph, but you need to at the very least introduce your ideas at the beginning of your essay and wrap up your conclusions at the end of it.

#2: State Your Position Clearly

In my notes to myself on one of the GRE Issue essay examples I analyzed above, I observed that the author “states her thesis early and often” because of the way her position was made clear throughout the essay. While obviously you don’t want to just repeat the same sentence over and over again, it is imperative that you include at least one clear statement of your position in your essay , preferably in your introduction paragraph.

The importance of clearly stating your position varies between the two GRE essay tasks somewhat. For the Argument essay, you might be able to get away with a vague summary of the points you’ll cover and still get a 4.0 or above on the essay; by contrast, it’s nearly impossible to get above a 3.0 on the Issue essay if you do not clearly state your position on the issue, as that is integral to the essay task itself.

Whatever the prompt or essay type, if you want to get a perfect score on your essay, you’ll need to include a clear statement of your position on the issue or what points you’ll be analyzing in regards to the argument in the prompt.

#3: Be Specific in Your Support

All of the perfect-scoring GRE essay examples analyzed in this article contained specific and relevant support for the claims made by the authors. In the Issue essay examples, the authors drew upon well-defined examples and concise examples that directly supported the author’s position on the issue. In the Argument essay samples, the authors focused in on several specific parts of the arguments and debated their validity using specific hypothetical scenarios and questions.

The takeaway of this for your own writing is that the specific is always more persuasive than the general when it comes to supporting a point. And if you can’t find specific support for your position or for the flaw you’ve found in an argument, then that’s a good sign that you need to consider changing your position or finding another part of the argument to critique.

#4: Explain Your Support Clearly

As I discussed in my analyses of the four GRE Writing samples, whether or not your writing is polished and perfectly worded and spelled is not nearly as important as your successful communication of your ideas and how they are supported . In the GRE essay, all is precision, and analyses of issues that use clearly-explained compelling examples or analyses of arguments that cut to the very heart of why an argument is flawed with supporting explanations will ultimately score higher than beautifully crafted but logically imprecise essays.

#5: Use Transitions

All of the authors of the GRE essay examples analyzed in this article are able to maintain focus and organization in their essays by employing multi-level transitions that link ideas between and within paragraphs on both content and linguistic levels. In your own writing, be conscious of when you are changing from discussing one idea to another and make sure the transition is smooth. Even just adding transition words like “additionally” or “in contrast” to the beginning of new ideas can help your writing flow better.

#6: Stay Organized

While all of the GRE essay examples used in this article were written in response to different prompts, they all adhered to basically the standard five-paragraph , introduction-body paragraphs-conclusion format.

There’s no reason to take extra time away from your analysis of the questions to figure out a unique organizational structure for each essay when the five paragraph essay will get it done just as well (if not better). This is not because other forms are not possible; as the ETS website says, “You are free to organize and develop your response in any way you think will enable you to effectively communicate your ideas about the issue.”

But the utility of the five paragraph form is that it’s a tried-and-true way to keep your essay organized . Using it will save you the time of having to figure out a new organizational strategy for every essay you write. And the more consistently you stick to a simple (but clear) organizational structure, the faster you’ll get at it, until organizing your thoughts logically comes as second-nature (especially important in a timed essay environment when every second counts).

What’s Next?

Now you know what it takes to get a perfect essay score. But do you actually need to get a perfect 6.0 on GRE Writing? Find out with our discussion of what a good GRE Writing score is .

Curious about how the criteria mentioned in this article translate into numerical scores? Read our article on how the GRE essay is scored to learn more!

Need to boost your essay score quickly? We have 15 great tips and strategies that help you improve your Analytical Writing score .

Ready to dive into practice essays with some practice topics? Use our guide to the 328 official GRE essay topics to get started.

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Author: Laura Staffaroni

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GRE Analytical Writing: Answers to the Official Pool of Issue Topics (Testwise GRE Prep)

• ISBN-10 1737004909
• ISBN-13 978-1737004905
• Publication date July 17, 2021
• Part of series Testwise GRE Prep Series
• Language English
• Dimensions 7 x 0.51 x 10 inches
• Print length 226 pages
• See all details

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ annie peng (July 17, 2021)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 226 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1737004909
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1737004905
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.3 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 0.51 x 10 inches
• #204 in GRE Test Guides (Books)
• #5,057 in Test Prep & Study Guides

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Chuanwei li.

Chuanwei Li, Ed. M. (Harvard), MPhil (Cambridge), and holder of Certificate in College Advising from Columbia University, is an independent educational consultant for high school and college students and a veteran tutor of tests such as GRE, GMAT, SAT, ACT, TOEFL, and IELTS. He has over 20 years of experience in helping students achieve perfect test scores and enter top universities in US and elsewhere and has published multiple books on test preparation.

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AWA Issue Sample Topic: Setting Up Pro and Con Points

Today, I will take apart an AWA Issue sample topic from the GRE Issue task . I’ll show my brainstorm process and come up with pros and cons and specific examples to back up each side.

Click here to view the prompt (Source and instructions: ETS Pool of Issue Topics )

First of all, be sure to read not only the prompt at the link above but also the directions found in the second ETS link (and this applies to any prompt you write an essay for, of course!). You’ll then want to establish a nuanced position on the issue and provide your rationale. You do not want your position to be too neutral (defending a default position is never that compelling) but neither do you want it to be too extreme (for instance: “Unless you study the cities of a major society you will be forever doomed in trying to understand that society”.)

In determining what position you wish to take, it’s helpful to come up with statements that are either For or Against the prompt. Then, you’ll want to pick whichever side you feel has the best reasoning and support. Below, I’ll walk you through my own example reasoning for this AWA Issue sample topic.

• All great civilizations have had a flourishing city. The government/king/queen have been here. To understand most of its people, the way in which it is ruled, we must understand the city.
• ‘Most important characteristics’ shows that life outside of a city can still help illuminate the society, but not as much as city life can.
• Learning centers/colleges/universities are typically in a city. Understanding the intellectual output is key to understanding a society.
• In post-agrarian societies, most jobs are contained within cities. That is commerce is conducted in the cities.
• Many societies have been agricultural. That society’s customs, rituals can only be understood in the context of a rural backdrop.
• Even a modern society depends on agriculture to sustain it. Surely, to understand the important characteristics of a society, we need to understand the people who live in rural areas.
• ‘Major cities’ is a stretch. Even smaller cities can help us understand a society, especially if the culture/values tend to be different in the smaller cities/more rural areas.

For your actual essay, your For/Against should not be so long. Find some shorthand way of expressing your thoughts (I wrote everything out because my shorthand wouldn’t look very good in a blog post).

Perhaps you’ve come up with a different list of For/Against. Regardless, the next step is to figure out where you fall on the Agree/Disagree spectrum. That is what position, based on your brainstorming, are you taking.

I’ll choose For, stating that my position was predicated on modern societies, most of which have a majority of their population living in major cities. I’ll concede at some point in the essay that even smaller cities can offer insight into a society.

To effectively support and develop these points, I would want to think of relevant examples. For the last point, I would offer up the United States. The culture between large cities and small cities can be very different. There is the Red State vs. Blue State dichotomy that can also pertain to small cities vs. large cities. To understand the religious political divide in the U.S. we would need to also study life in small cities and rural areas. This would be my concession point, which basically shows that my position is not 100% for the prompt, but is more balanced and nuanced.

I hope this breakdown of an AWA Issue sample topic was helpful to you. If you’re looking for more practice, the ETS website offers hundreds more sample essay prompts. Now if you’re not convinced and think, “Hey, I already have a book with sample essay prompts,” then consider this: on test day the prompt you get will be one of the prompts on this site. I highly recommend you use it in your GRE practice!

Chris graduated from UCLA with a BA in Psychology and has 20 years of experience in the test prep industry. He’s been quoted as a subject expert in many publications, including US News , GMAC , and Business Because .

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52 responses to “AWA Issue Sample Topic: Setting Up Pro and Con Points”

Hey Magoosh,

I feel very late to the table with my question but here goes- Is it okay for me to back up my support for a topic (or disagreement with it) with real life examples? For instance, If I’ve chosen to support the topic “To understand the most important characteristics of a society, one must understand it’s major cities,” can I state my support with examples of real life cities such as NYC and Lisbon, Portugal or should i steer clear of specifics and try to speak more generally.

Real life examples are definitely OK for these kinds of essays, and using your own experience can make it easier for you to come up with good ideas and supporting details. So go for it! 🙂

Hi, Magoosh

I would like to know the link between these two Issue prompts:

”Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.” and

”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.” Please, also, how do I go about each one of them? Thanks.

Hi Benjamin,

There are six different instructions that you will see in the Issue essay, but they are all basically asking you to do the same thing! Your task in the Issue Essay is to take a position and craft a strong argument in favor of that position. You should also make sure to acknowledge the other side of the argument in a short concession point paragraph, which shows that you thought about the problem from multiple angles. While the instructions are slight different, you’ll notice that they are essentially asking you the same thing! The only difference between them might be in the way you talk about your evidence. For example, in your first example, you might discuss different “considerations” while for the second one you might talk about “reasons.” Your language should mirror the language in the prompt, but otherwise you approach all Issue essays in exactly the same way, regardless of directions!

Hello Chris ! Please if you are for the motion how do you talk against it too. Do you talk for the motion throughout and talk against it at the latter or do both simultaneously?

I can take this one! 🙂 If you are in favor of something in a pro/con AWA essay, it’s best to focus on why you’re for the motion in most of the essay. The best place to bring up points against what you’re in favor of would be in the second-to-last paragraph, right before the conclusion. This second-to-last paragraph can focus on your counter-argument– the cos of what you are “pro” for. Remember, though, if you bring up a counter-argument, you should also explain why the counter-argument isn’t significant enough to sway your opinion. Be sure to explain that part at the end of your counter-argument paragraph. Does that make sense? 🙂

Can we agree to both views in the issue task “Governments should focus more on solving the immediate problems of today rather than trying to solve the anticipated problems of the future.”

Hi Pranavi,

The golden rule of the Issue essay is to always take ONE side and stick to it! It doesn’t matter which side you choose, but the graders want to see that you are thinking critically and able to effectively argue a point. You should have a ‘concession point paragraph’ where you show that you have considered the other side, but even here you need to clearly show why your argument is superior.

My arguments for this topic were completely different from yours. Am I reading the issue topic wrong? My argument was that the demographics, culture, and value of a major city may be extreme different from the rest of the country due to immigration, tourism, and a different economic focus. Therefore, one cannot only study a country’s major cities to understand their society.

The cons you just listed would also work. There are many different approaches someone can take to constructing an AWA argument, and there is no one right approach to this question– or to other AWA questions.

Is there any website that lists the most-frequent topics for the issues and argument sections?

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

This is the pool of topic for issue based essays Hope it helps 🙂

Hello Chris, I´m curious…Can I make up an example – like invent an ancient city to support my position? Regards, Michelle

Hmm…this is fine on the SAT, but I’m not sure how that flies on the GRE. True, the computer won’t know the difference. The human grader, technically, should be looking for logical structure, persuasiveness and general syntactical pizzazz. Still…subjectivity may just creep in there. I’d play it safe, but you might very well be able to get a perfect ‘6’ by talking about Floramia, the most architectural advance pre-Sumerian civilization 🙂

Hi Magoosh,

Can we use personalized examples in awa issue ? Like something from my personal life but still relevant to the topic given ?

You can, to some extent. I would just be careful not to base your entire essay of the example or get too caught up in summarizing the example. As long as there is analysis and you relate it to the issue and even to the other examples. That is, there should be a sentence or two in which you mention the general significance of your example.

Hope that helps!

Can I question the question itself? The concept of “most important characteristics“ is very vague and can be determined solely by interpretation. If we define education as one important characteristics, then we must study cities. If we say that only agriculture is vital, then we need to study the villages. Can I write these points in the essay?

i am struggling with initiating the paragraph with first sentence ,what should i do to overcome this problem.

HI Mr.Chris, I have started preparing for my GRE exam. I am extremely worried about the analytical writing section. While writing an essay, I take a lot of time to plan and jot down the points.I get frustrated that I am not able to complete the essays in 30 minutes. Even after taking down the points, I am not able to write a free-flowing essay as I tend to get stuck often. Until now, I practiced about 4 essays and each took me more than an hour to complete. Please help me.

This approach does make the task easier and I thank you for it. But even so, I had recently asked my friends to grade a couple of essays I had written and they’ve all been averaging 3.5. They say I use unrelated words and that my grammar isn’t very good. I understand that those reasons would impact my score but could you tell me to what degree they would? I do provide examples related to the topic and write enough text to support my stand.

I think it’s very tough for friends–or someone who isn’t familiar with what GRE essays get which scores–to grade these essays. What typically happens is said friends will look at the score guidelines (for what merits anything from a ‘0’ to a ‘6’) and then use their interpretation of the info. to come up with a score. One user on the forums was so adamant that an essay deserved a ‘1’ because according to him, his scoring was consistent with how he interpreted the scoring.

What someone needs to do is actually look at essays that have score a 1, 2, etc. to get a sense of what the GRE considers a 1, 2, etc. If your friends are willing to put in the time to get a better sense of this, then you could use their feedback. For now, I’d question it.

One quick piece of advice: don’t just say you agree or disagree with the prompt and then use a few examples that clearly show your stance. You have take a stance somewhere in the middle. Doing so shows that you accept that the answer to the question is anything but black and white but depends on some variables. Address these “depends” and showing how they influence your position is the type of analytical thinking the GRE is looking for–don’t just rattle of tidy examples.

Hey, thanks for the advice against taking a concrete stand and not acknowledging the opposing view. I used to make that mistake up until that point but I soon changed my approach and focused on an analytic reasoning of both sides of the topic. I got 5.5 on the AWA on test day and being a non-native speaker, I’m very thrilled. Thanks again. =)

Great! That’s awesome to hear 🙂

Thanks for your awesome tips. Their simply great. Is the issue and argument going to be one of the topics included in the ETS ‘s issue/argument pool. Thanks

Hello Chris,

I wanted to ask that in the issue essay, after we have jotted the points for both the sides of the issue(pros and cons) and its time to choose a side, is it necessary to choose a side? Or we can elucidate/support both the positions in our essay?

Actually, do not choose just one side. You can choose a side for a couple of paragraphs but then you should show how the position doesn’t hold up in some cases. You should address those cases, using relevant examples. The whole point of the Issue is they give you a black and white statement and they want you to elucidate the shades of gray. Ultimately, you don’t want to choose a side but show that the truth is somewhere in the middle.

Hi Yeah, I understand it better now. Anyways thank you for all the awesome tips you provide here. Great job! 🙂

But *then ?

Thanks for catching that typo! 😉

My problem stems from getting the pros and cons. i’m usually stuck there 🙁 . How can i improve this aspect of my writing?.

Hi, I was wondering how we should go about tackling the issues with prompts that state a Claim and Reason. For e.g.

Claim: Nations should suspend government funding for the arts when significant numbers of their citizens are hungry or unemployed. Reason: It is inappropriate—and, perhaps, even cruel—to use public resources to fund the arts when people’s basic needs are not being met.

Do we have to spend our whole essay dissecting the reason, arguing for and against the cruelty of using funds to support the arts when people are starving, or can we address the claim more generally, giving other reasons such as government funding for the arts is an insignificant portion of overall funding for the arts? I hope it is the latter, for it does not seem like an easy task to come up with many argument for only one reason.

I don’t think ETS really has an official stance on how the best approach the question. As long as you combine an analysis of the claim and the reason, you should be fine. Meaning, focus on the claim, if you feel it is easier to do so, but do not ignore the reason. Likewise, do not focus only on the reasoning, attacking it the same way you would a typical issue question, without addressing the claim on which it is based.

Hope that made sense :).

Hello So do you think it would be all right if if you argument states that the claim is right but the reason is not applicable to the claim?

I’m not sure if I understand the last part of your question…in general, though, don’t completely agree with the issue. The issue is there for you to analyze. Indeed, the issue is stated in such a black and white manner so that you can step in and say, in essence, “Actually, it’s not that straightforward.”

My strategy is similar to what is listed here. I took about 7 minutes to brainstorm and draw up a pro and cons column. Also, I had examples for both positions and at the end of brain storming, I decided which side of the essay prompt I was going to adopt. Then after clearly elucidating my arguments for my adopted position, I also considered the opposing view, so as to give the essay a balanced analysis.

I received a 4.5/6 on the AWA.

Without actually seeing your essay it is hard to determine why you received a 4.5 and not a ‘5’ or higher. The truth is structure is only one ingredient to your essay. ETS will also look to see how cogent your examples are, how varied your sentence structure, and how sophisticated your prose is. I can confidently say that if you followed the structure above that doing so should not have detracted from your score.

My best guess is cogency of examples. Some of my students have off days, and though everything else is tidy about their essays, their examples fail to cohere and they get a point or so off.

Hope that helps shed some insight :).

Thanks Chris, I began practice for AWA two days back. I hope my writings improves to earn at least a 4.5 on my test date (Early September). Also, Do we have a magoosh team that can help score practice AWA essay. At no cost o!

Hi Oluwunmi,

Unfortunately, we don’t offer an essay review service! If you have any general questions about approaches to writing or structuring essays, feel free to let us know through the Help tab in Magoosh and we’d be happy to help.

I’m going to retake the gre and am wondering how much a score higher on the essays like from 4 to 5 will affect my quantitative grade as well. I just need five grades higher on the quantitative and am wondering how many points I can get by studying for and raising my essay as well? I mean is it worth the time or should I stick to the maths, I don’t really have much time left.

Your essay score is totally unrelated to your quant score. So in order to raise you quant score you will have to improve on the math. I’d say don’t give up so easily. A 5-point increase in math is attainable :).

oh I wish I’d known that a bit earlier. this just made me realize- so if I need a quantitative grade of 149 to apply for my masters, then I can even totally skip the verbal and essay sections to the maths?? (I mean ım not sure ıll actually do this, but then it means it won’t affect my maths at all?) and one last question- Im not sure if it may be silly but I had a 145 in my last exam and need a 149, about how many more questions will I have to do right this time?.. I wish the gre scores were given in more detail (to me and not the school or wherever).

thanks a lot!

Yes, I know the score bit is confusing. I’m guessing a 3+ correct answers should get you there.

As for skipping the AWA, you can definitely do so without in any way affecting your verbal score.

Hey Chris, I’ve signed on to Magoosh for a year and had written GRE earlier this year (303 awa 2). i intend to take GRE once again and the AWA scares me. Not that I cant read nor right, I just have this problem starting and developing the thoughts to my satisfaction. Is there a section for AWA on magoosh ?

I had a different problem. My verbal score was 146 and AWA 4.0. However, I am seeing mostly people with having far better verbal score than mine but their AWA score less than 4.0. Still perplexed with my predicament of this type.

How did you go about studying for the verbal? I’d love to help you dramatically improve upon your score :).

Yes, we do have a special section for the AWA. Hopefully, it will help get the thoughts flowing. In the meantime, I recommend using the prompts from the ets bank to practice coming up with pros and cons.

http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/issue/pool

Yes, we have an AWA section on Magoosh :). Indeed it talks about a few strategies to help generate thoughts. Let me know if you find it helpful :).

You mentioned that one should avoid being too neutral in an issue essay, and yet in the example topic, you concede with the point that small cities can offer insight into a society. At what point is an essay deemed “too neutral?” I often find myself having appealing pro and con examples for my essays, yet too few of substantial examples to firmly decide on what side of the issue I should write on.

Also, do you have any tips for generating examples on the fly? I often find myself stuck trying to generate insightful examples and ultimately result to insipid “personal experience” ones.

Good question! I think there is an important difference between a concession point and a neutral thesis. A concession point shows that you are able to consider the other side of the issue and show that, in some cases or situations, your point does not hold true.

Being neutral, on the other hand, would involve not taking a side at all. Consider the following thesis: Studying cities can sometimes yield important characteristics of a society.

That’s a very wishy-washy argument, one that really doesn’t amount to much of a stance.

Hope that clears things up :).

Thanks! Very helpful points.

Could you please give main points(For and Against) for a few more difficult issue topics.

Hi Shubham,

I will work to do so in the near future. Glad you are enjoying the posts :).

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GMAT vs GRE

Differences between the GMAT and GRE

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GRE Format:

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Numerous graduate programs, ranging from literature to quantum physics, accept GRE results, but only business institutions take GMAT scores. Take the GMAT if you are certain that you want to enrol in a business school. Take the GRE if you want to leave your choices open and are still indecisive.

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• Part 1 Quantity (35 minutes)
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For further information on resources including networking opportunities, career services, academic help and tutoring, internship and research possibilities, get in touch with the specific graduate schools.

5. Location and Living Expenses

Find out if the graduate program provides online degrees if you are unable to relocate for in-person classes or if the location is just too expensive.

Consider the value of the GMAT after completing your graduate program

The GMAT exam is your best first step toward a career with impact, as the GMAC correctly states. GMAT effects are well-known through extra than 7,seven-hundred business and management applications globally, making it the examination of choice for bold commercial enterprise executives who want to get into esteemed commercial enterprise schools. You could show off the capabilities that are critical to fulfilment in enterprise school publications and in your profession by taking the GMAT examination.

When you consider that commercial enterprise faculties, together with the MBA, MiM, and other management packages, have disturbing curriculums, admissions committees want confirmation that applicants aren’t handiest able to attend, however additionally have the potential to manipulate the workload.

A strong GMAT result attests to your suitability for these courses. The GMAT exam’s widespread acceptability is one of the main elements boosting its appeal. It is accepted by several master’s programs in management, including business analytics programs, MiM (Master in Management), and MieM (Master in Entrepreneurship and Management), in addition to MBA programs.

FAQs – GMAT vs GRE 2024 : What are the key differences?

How do you sit for the gmat and gre assessments.

Those two assessments are laptop-based totally in an online mode. The GMAT is basically a PC-adaptive examination, and you may take it at a domestic or at one of the numerous locations throughout the globe. The GRE is an online check, yet there are numerous instances in which it may be taken offline.

Is the GMAT or GRE a better examination?

When deciding between the GMAT and GRE, bear in mind which exam pleasantly suits your abilities and which is wanted by way of the establishments you are making use of. strong verbal talents are frequently more high quality for college kids taking the GRE, however strong quantitative skills are more high-quality for those taking the GMAT.

What is GMAT examination?

The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) is the enterprise corporation that administers the GMAT, one of the most famous MBA entry assessments in the international. it is a test designed to evaluate a candidate’s capability for evaluation and critical concept, which is conducted completely in an online mode.

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This subreddit is for discussion of the GRE (Graduate Record Examination). If you're studying for the GRE, or can help people who are studying for the GRE, you're in the right place!

Was this never in the issue essay pool of ETS AWA?

"The real talent of a popular musician cannot accurately be assessed until the musician has been dead for several generations, so that his or her fame does not interfere with honest assessment." Is this not in the issue essay pool of ETS AWA?

I was taking the princeton review's practice test and found this prompt. I wrote the essay and while i was trying to see what other people might have written on the same topic afterwards, i couldnt find much (except one or two). then, when i went through the ETS's issue essay pool, i couldnt find the prompt. i'm just wondering was this in their prompt before the GRE was revised and now they removed it, or is it just princeton's own prompt if anybody knows? i thought these testprep companies only used ETS's prompts as part of our practice, now i'm not so sure anymore

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