Chapter 5 – Analytical Writing and You

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In continuation with our previous post on Cracking the Reading Comprehension we start with AWA section in this post. Analytical Writing section in GRE comprises of two essays: The Issue and The Argument

With 30 minutes allowed for each. While the issue essay requires you to respond to a topic, the argument essay expects you to side with or against a given topic and substantiate your choice.

Notwithstanding, both test your ability to think, analyze and sustain a meaningful discussion with relevant points without deviating from the topic. With your final score calculated as an average of the 2 essays, it is imperative that you aim to score high on both.

Easier said than done? Well, not as difficult as you imagine. All you have to do is Write. Pick a topic of your choice and start writing. Like everything else, in general, Writing, in particular more so, comes naturally to you only through

practice. As you practice more, you would slowly get rid of the writer’s block and develop an interest towards writing

which is necessary If you want to score high on the essays or become a good writer, for that matter.

If you are struggling to find topics on the internet, it is better to get a copy Manhattan’s “Reading Comprehension & Essays”. Please use this link if you intend to buy Manhattan Prep GRE Set of 8 Strategy Guides (Manhattan Prep GRE Strategy Guides): Manhattan Prep: 9781937707910: Amazon.com: Books.

Once you pick a topic, conduct brainstorming sessions within yourself and jot down the points that you think would aid the essay. To effectively brainstorm, you need to pick on the underlying meaning that accompanies certain topics. Try to understand the topic to the best of your reasoning and make sure your points do not deviate from the essay.

Here is an easy way to do that !

Introduction: In the Introduction paragraph, stake your claim in a clear and concise manner. Please keep in mind clarity is the most aspect as far as analytical writing is concerned. You don’t have to channel your inner Shakespeare or Oscar Wilde while writing these essays. Keeping it simple and, to the point will work wonders. This paragraph should set a tone to what follows rest.

Body: Once you have made your presence felt with the introduction, follow it up by backing your claim with anecdotes or facts that might suit your stance. An ideal essay would consist of 5-7 paragraphs. Assuming your essay consists of 6 paragraphs, with the first being intro and the last being conclusion, you have got a good 4 paragraphs to clearly explain what you feel. Make sure the middle-section of your essay consists of Paragraph that flow from one another till the conclusion. At any cost, do not disrupt the flow by bringing in unnecessary information or contradictory statement’s. Your essay should exude a sense of calmness despite the nature of the topic. Striking a cord with the reviewer is of utmost importance. A reviewer has ideally a maximum of 60 seconds to review an essay. In such a high-pressure scenario, he/she is bound to bring in past experiences either consciously or sub-consciously, in which case it is paramount that your essay doesn’t cause any irritation.

Conclusion: Once you are done with the middle paragraphs, writing the conclusion shouldn’t be a difficult task, but only if the previous components of your essay is well-written. Let the conclusion be a mimic of your first paragraph, albeit in a subtler manner. You can provide a solution if you are really confident about it.Analytical writing can be mastered only through sheer practice and there is no substitute to it. Get hold of as many topics as you can and write as many essays as possible. If you have bought into the notion that Analytical writing scores don’t impact your profile, well, you are sadly mistaken. A 6 out of 6 in this department is bound to make your profile stand out and increase your chances of admission into your preferred university.As you know there is a lot more coming in the next article, and it is on the third aspect of Verbal Section, it’s sentence completion. Until then Stay tuned.

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