GRE Analytical Writing and the Issue essay
GRE Analytical Writing measures how well you build and defend a position in a written response. The Issue task asks you to address a claim according to specific instructions. The scoring guide considers the development and organization of your reasoning as well as the clarity of your writing.
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GRE Analytical Writing is the essay measure on the GRE General Test. In the Issue task, you take a position and explain why it holds. ETS reports a separate writing score from 0 to 6 in half-point steps, as shown in its score scale.
For practice, imagine a campus debating whether every undergraduate should take a statistics course. A claim that everyone needs statistics leaves the reader guessing. Describe a journalism student checking a poll, then ask whether the same requirement would serve a music student equally well. That contrast gives you a specific reason to defend or narrow your original claim.
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Frequently asked questions
What do I write about?
You respond to an Issue prompt and follow its particular directions.
What makes an example persuasive?
Explain how it supports your position and where the same reasoning might stop applying.
How is the result reported?
Analytical Writing has a separate score, reported in half-point steps.
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