GRE WRITING EVALUATION http://www.gre.org/writing.html

GRE Analytical Writing Measure
A powerful way to enhance admissions decision making.



The development of the GRE Analytical Writing Measure was approved by the GRE Board because of widespread concern among the graduate community that many entry-level graduate students — even those with otherwise excellent credentials — were unprepared for academic writing. In addition, it was felt that present application requirements did not necessarily elicit evidence of an applicant's skills in this area. The analytical writing measure fills this gap.

The GRE Analytical Writing Measure gives graduate schools valuable information that can be factored into the admissions decision.

Candidates now have the opportunity to demonstrate, in a controlled testing situation, the kinds of high-level thinking and writing skills generally recognized as essential for success in many graduate programs. The addition of the GRE Analytical Writing Measure substantially expands the range of skills assessed by the GRE General Test, including the applicant's ability to

articulate complex ideas clearly and effectively
examine claims and accompanying evidence
support ideas with relevant reasons and examples
sustain a well-focused, coherent discussion
control the elements of standard written English
The GRE Analytical Writing Measure consists of two analytical writing tasks:
a 45-minute "Present Your Perspective on an Issue" task
a 30-minute "Analyze an Argument" task
The Issue task states an opinion on an issue of broad interest and asks test takers to address the issue from any perspective(s) they wish, so long as they provide relevant reasons and examples to explain and support their views.

The Argument task presents a different challenge: it requires test takers to critique an argument by discussing how well reasoned they find it. Test takers are asked to consider the logical soundness of the argument rather than agree or disagree with the position it presents.

Thus the two tasks are complementary in that one requires test takers to construct their own arguments by making claims and providing evidence supporting their position on the issue, whereas the other requires them to critique someone else's argument by assessing its claims and evaluating the evidence it provides.

To learn more about the GRE Analytical Writing Measure


view the actual Issue topics, directions, scoring guide and sample essays; and the Argument topics, directions, scoring guide and sample essays
download An Introduction to the Analytical Writing Secion of the GRE General Test, which contains the topics, screen directions, scoring guides, and sample essays for both tasks
read the procedures for validating the initial use of analytical writing scores in How to Interpret and Use GRE Analytical Writing Scores
view analytical writing score level descriptions
read about the GRE analytical writing research. The development of this test has been guided by faculty committees and by several years of primary research and field testing.
read the GRE DataViews January 2000 issue, "Early Validity Evidence for the Writing Assessment"
read the GRE DataViews September 1996 issue, "Personal Statement: A Writing Sample" — a discussion of graduate and undergraduate admissions committees' uses of personal writing samples.
For additional information about the GRE Analytical Writing Measure, send an email to gretests@ets.org.