GMAT prep tips: Analytical Writing Assessment

The Graduate Management Aptitude Test or GMAT‘s Analytical Writing Assessment helps business schools analyse the candidate’s writing skills. It’s scored separately from your 200-800 point score, on a scale from 0-6. Essays are scored by a human-grade and a computer grading system, and the two scores are averaged for your final score.

Duration: 30 minutes

Format: 1 essay

Tests: Ability to analyse an argument

The GMAT Analytical Writing Assessment gives clear instructions on how to plan and write the essay. Due to the time limit, it is difficult to go through the complete instructions. So, it is best to learn these instructions before the test day that will help in saving your time in the GMAT Analytical Writing test. The AWA GMAT measures the candidate’s ability to analyse the argument and communicate their thoughts and ideas.

Tips for GMAT Analytical Writing Assessment

Apart from the GMAT AWA sample papers, you also need to follow these tips to have a great Analytical Writing Assessment.

Identify the strengths and weaknesses of an argument

The Analytical Writing Assessment measures the ability of a candidate to think critically and communicate his/her ideas. Analyse the reasoning behind a given argument and write a critique of that argument within the given time frame.

Become familiar with the possible essay prompts

More and more practice will help you in preparing for the AWA GMAT. You can go for the GMAT Official AWA Practice essay writing practice tool and improve your score

Prepare Analytical Writing Assessment Strategies

Before starting with your response and evaluate the argument and plan your response first. Once you organize your ideas, you can utilize your time in such a manner that you have the time to revise your response.

While organizing the response ask these questions:

• Can other counter-examples be raised?
• What questionable assumptions underlie the thinking?
• Which further evidence could strengthen the argument?
• Does the response read like a discussion having coherent organization and full sentences?

Use well-developed illustrations and examples. Don’t just list examples. Develop your thoughts. Make your response in such a way that it reads like a discussion. Your essay response should be coherent with logical transitions, full sentences, and appropriately introduced and developed examples.

AWA Scores and Percentile Rankings

Analysis of an Argument

This question type presents a brief argument similar to a statement you would find in a critical reasoning question. Your task is to write an essay that critiques the structure of the argument and explains how persuasive or unpersuasive you find it. Consider the following questions:

1. What’s the conclusion?

2. What assumptions does the writer make in moving from evidence to conclusion?

3. What evidence is used to support the conclusion?

4. What alternative explanations might weaken the conclusion?

5. What sort of evidence could help strengthen the argument?

6. Is the argument persuasive?

7. What would make it stronger? Weaker?