Analytical Writing: Tactics, Strategies, and Practice
What sort of test is the analytical writing test? First and foremost, it is not a multiple-choice test. It is a performance test—you have to write two analytical essays in one hour.
The analytical writing section of the GRE is the most substantive of the three sections on the tests. This section is organized in two parts. In Part 1, “Present Your Perspective on an Issue,” you have 30 minutes to write an essay expressing your point of view on a particular issue. You will be given a quotation that states an opinion about an issue; you will probably write a better essay if the quotation “grabs” you, but you can write a strong paper even if the topic seems unappealing at first.
Your job is to take a stand and to support it, drawing on your own experiences and on your readings to come up with examples that reinforce your argument. It does not matter what stand you take; there is no “correct” position, no one true answer. Many different approaches can work. You can agree completely with the quotation’s point of view or you can dispute it absolutely. You can disagree with some aspects of the quote, but agree with others. What matters is how you present your case.
Part 2 of the analytical writing section asks you to perform a different but complementary task. In Part 2, “Analyze an Argument,” you have 30 minutes to write an essay critiquing the logical soundness of an argument. You will be given one short passage in which an author makes a claim and backs it up, giving reasons that may well be flawed. You get no choice of passages to analyze; you must work with whatever passage comes up on your screen.
This time your job is not to advocate a particular point of view. This is not the moment for you to agree or disagree with the author; it is the moment for you to weigh the validity of the author’s reasoning. Your approach is analytical and expository, not argumentative or persuasive. It is your task to examine carefully what the author offers as evidence. You will find it helpful to note what the author claims explicitly, and also to note what she or he assumes (not necessarily justifiably!).
If you study the tactics and work through the practice exercises in the following chapter, and take full advantage of the study materials on the GRE’s website, www.gre.org, you will be well prepared for the analytical writing section of the GRE and should feel confident in your ability to write high-scoring essays.