You aren’t being evaluated solely on the strength of your ideas. Your score will also depend on how well you express them. If your writing style isn’t clear, your ideas won’t come across, no matter how brilliant they are.
Good essay writing isn’t just grammatically correct. It is also clear and concise. The following principles will help you express your ideas in good GMAT style.
Good essays have a straightforward, linear structure. The problem is that we rarely think in a straightforward, linear way. That’s why it’s so important to plan your response before you begin typing. If you type while planning, your essay will likely loop back on itself, contain redundancies, or fail to follow through on what it sets up.
Logical structure consists of three things:
Paragraph unity means each paragraph discusses one thing and all the discussion of that one thing happens in that paragraph. Let’s say that you’re responding to the essay prompt we just saw and one of your points is that there may have been reasons for the success of the My Pie restaurant other than its proximity to the Filmmax theater. Your next paragraph should move on to another idea—perhaps something about the expense of opening a new My Pie restaurant near every Filmmax theater. If, in the middle of that next paragraph, you went back to your point about other possible reasons for the success of the My Pie restaurant, you’d be violating paragraph unity.
This is similar to paragraph unity, but it applies to the whole essay. It’s confusing to the reader when an essay keeps jumping back and forth between the different weaknesses of an argument. Discuss one point fully, and then address the next. Don’t write another paragraph about a topic you’ve already discussed.
The basic idea of flow is that you should deliver on what you promise and not radically change the subject. If your introductory paragraph says that you will mention reasons why Hula burgers might be less popular among the 8- to 12-year-old demographic than regular hamburgers are, you need to make sure that you actually do so. Similarly, avoid suddenly expanding the scope of the essay in the last sentence.
Writing that is grammatical, concise, direct, and persuasive displays the “superior control of language” (as the test maker terms it) that earns top GMAT Analytical Writing scores. To achieve effective GMAT style in your essays, you should pay attention to the following points.
Your writing must follow the same general rules of standard written English that are tested by Sentence Correction questions. If you’re not confident of your mastery of grammar, review the Sentence Correction chapters of this book.
Diction means word choice. Do you use the words affect and effect correctly? What about its and it’s, there and their, precede and proceed, principal and principle, and whose and who’s? In addition to avoiding errors of usage, you will need to demonstrate your ability to use language precisely and employ a formal, professional tone.
Syntax refers to sentence structure. Do you construct your sentences so that your ideas are clear and understandable? Do you vary the length and structure of your sentences?
Perhaps the single most important piece of advice to bear in mind when writing a GMAT essay is to keep everything simple. This rule applies to word choice, sentence structure, and organization. If you obsess about how to use or spell an unusual word, you can lose your way. The more complicated your sentences are, the more likely they’ll be plagued by errors. The more complex your organization becomes, the more likely your argument will get bogged down in convoluted sentences that obscure your point.
Keep in mind that simple does not mean simplistic. A clear, straightforward approach can still be sophisticated and convey perceptive insights.
Many test takers mistakenly believe they’ll lose points over a few mechanical errors. That’s not the case. GMAT essays should be polished first drafts. This means that a couple of misplaced commas, misspellings, or other minor glitches aren’t going to affect your score. Occasional mistakes of this type are acceptable and inevitable, given that you have only 30 minutes to construct your essay. In fact, according to the scoring rubric, a top-scoring essay may well have a few minor grammatical flaws.
But if your essays are littered with misspellings and grammar errors, the graders may conclude that you have a serious communication problem. Keep in mind that sentence fragments are not acceptable, nor are informal structures such as bullet points or numerical enumeration (e.g., “(1)” instead of “first”). So be concise, forceful, and correct. An effective essay wastes no words; makes its point in a clear, direct way; and conforms to the generally accepted rules of grammar and style.
On the GMAT, there are three rules of thumb for successful writing: be concise, be forceful, and be correct. Following these rules is a sure way to improve your writing style—and your score. Let’s look at each one in more depth.
Wordy: The agency is not prepared to undertake expansion at this point in time.
Concise: The agency is not ready to expand.
Redundant: All of these problems have combined together to create a serious crisis.
Concise: Combined, these problems create a crisis.
Too many qualifiers: Ferrara seems to be sort of a slow worker.
Concise: Ferrara works slowly.
Needlessly references self: Although I am no expert, I do not think privacy should be valued more than social concerns.
Speaks confidently: Privacy should not be valued more than social concerns.
Uses passive voice: The report was compiled by a number of field anthropologists and marriage experts.
Uses active voice: A number of field anthropologists and marriage experts compiled the report.
Opens weakly: It would be of no use to fight a drug war without waging a battle against demand for illicit substances.
Opens strongly: The government cannot fight a drug war effectively without waging a battle against the demand for illicit substances.
Uses cliché: A ballpark estimate of the number of fans in the stadium would be 120,000.
Employs plain English: About 120,000 fans were in the stadium.
Subject and verb disagree: Meredith, along with her associates, expect the sustainable energy proposal to pass.
Subject and verb agree: Meredith, along with her associates, expects the sustainable energy proposal to pass.
Uses faulty modification: Having worked in publishing for 10 years, Stokely’s résumé shows that he is well qualified.
Uses correct modification: Stokely, who has worked in publishing for 10 years, appears from his résumé to be well qualified.
Uses pronouns incorrectly: A retirement community offers more activities than a private dwelling does, but it is cheaper.
Uses pronouns correctly: A retirement community offers more activities than a private dwelling does, but a private dwelling is cheaper.
Has unparallel structure: The dancer taught her understudy how to move, how to dress, and how to work with choreographers and deal with professional competition.
Has parallel structure: The dancer taught her understudy how to move, dress, work with choreographers, and deal with professional competition.
Is a fragmented sentence: There is time to invest in property. After one has established oneself in the business world, however.
Is a complete sentence: There is time to invest in property, but only after one has established oneself in the business world.
Is a run-on sentence: Antonio just joined the athletic club staff this year, however, because Barry has been with us since 1975, we would expect Barry to be more skilled with the weight-lifting equipment.
Is a correct sentence: Antonio joined the athletic club staff this year. However, because Barry has been with us since 1975, we would expect him to be more skilled with the weight-lifting equipment.