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| I.
Anatomy of the essay sections |
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| The two
GMAT essay sections |
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| The GMAT CAT includes
two distinct 30-minute AWA (Analytical
Writing Assessment) sections: |
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Analysis of
an Issue (30 Minutes) |
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Analysis of an Argument
(30 Minutes) |
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| During each of these
two sections, you'll compose an
essay in which you respond to
the specific question presented.
You'll record your response using
the word processor built into
the GMAT CAT. (Handwritten responses
are not permitted.) |
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| The Analysis-of-Issue
Section |
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| This 30-minute section
tests your ability to present
a position on an issue effectively
and persuasively. Your task is
to compose an essay in which you
respond to a brief (1-2 sentence)
opinion about an issue. You should
consider various perspectives,
take a position on the issue and
argue for that position. You will
not be able to choose among questions. |
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| The Analysis-of-Argument
Section |
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| This 30-minute section
is designed to test your critical
reasoning and analytical (as well
as writing) skills. Your task
is to compose an essay in which
you critique the stated argument
and indicate how it could be improved,
but not to present your own views
on the argument's topic. You will
not be able to choose among questions. |
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| Here are the procedural
rules for the two AWA sections: |
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The
CAT system does not allow
you to return to either
of the two AWA essays once
you've moved on. |
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If you've
completed either essay before
the 30-minute time limit
has elapsed, you can proceed
immediately to the next
section by clicking the
EXIT SECTION button at the
bottom of the screen. |
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You're allowed
a maximum of 10 minutes after
the second AWA section before
moving on to the multiple-choice
sections. (At the end of
10 minutes, the next section
begins automatically, so
do not exceed this limit) |
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No break is
provided between the two
30-minute AWA sections. |
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Noteboards and markers
are provided. |
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| II.
Who grades these anyway? |
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Your essays are
sent electronically to a central
processing location. Within
two weeks after the test, your
two GMAT essays will be read
and graded. One reader will
read and score your Issue essay,
and a different reader will
read and score your Argument
essay. Each reader evaluates
your writing independently of
any other reader, and no reader
is informed of another's score.
A computer program
referred to as E-Rater will
also evaluate each of your essays
for grammar, syntax, word usage,
diction, idiom, spelling, and
punctuation ¾ but not
for content. |
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| III.
The scoring system for essays |
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| A single score from
0 to 6 based on the overall quality
of your writing will be awarded
by the readers. All readers employ
the same specific ETS scoring
criteria. E-Rater also scores
your essay on a 0-6 scale. |
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| Here's how your
AWA score is determined |
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For
each of your two essays,
E-Rater's score is averaged
together with the human
reader's score. |
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For each essay,
if E-Rater's score is within
1 point of the human reader's
score, then the average
of those two scores is your
final score for that essay. |
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For each essay,
if E-Rater's score differs
from the human reader's
score by more than 1 point,
then a second human reader
will read and grade the
essay, and your final score
for that essay will be the
average of the two human
readers' scores. |
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Your final
AWA score is the average
of the final score for each
of your two essays, rounded
up to the nearest half-point. |
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| In addition to your
AWA score of 0–6, you'll
receive a percentile rank (0%
to 99%) for your AWA performance.
A percentile rank of 60%, for
example, indicates that you scored
higher than 60% of all other test-takers
and lower than 40% of all other
test-takers. |
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| IV.
Scoring criteria |
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| In evaluating the
overall quality of your writing,
the readers will consider four
general areas of ability: |
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Content:
your ability to present
cogent, persuasive, and
relevant ideas and arguments
through sound reasoning
and supporting examples |
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Organization:
your ability to present
your ideas in an organized
and cohesive fashion |
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Language:
your control of the English
language, including diction
(word choice and usage)
and syntax (sentence structure) |
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Grammar: your
facility with the conventions
(grammar and punctuation)
of Standard Written English |
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| V.
How do schools use these scores? |
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| Each business school
develops and implements its own
policies for evaluating AWA scores.
Some schools place more relative
weight than others on AWA scores,
just as various schools place
different relative weights on
GMAT scores and GPA. |
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| Pearson
VUE reports all your GMAT
scores to each business school
you elect. |
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| There are three
approaches to using your scores: |
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Some
schools average your score. |
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Other schools
consider only your highest
reported score. |
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Still other
schools use hybrid approach,
by which they average your
scores unless there is a
sufficiently wide discrepancy
among the scores |
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| VI.
GMAT Score’s manual grading
services |
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| GMAT Score’s
essay grading service is an inexpensive
and quick way to get feedback
on your responses to the essay
questions. |
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| From within GMAT
Score’s full GMAT simulated
tests, you can submit your responses
to the essay questions for manual
grading. You can do this by clicking
on the SUBMIT button on the final
screen of the test. Please note
that if you do not click on this
button, you cannot re-run the
test and submit the responses
from the previous run (your responses
from the previous run will be
lost). |
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| Always remember
to provide a valid email address
so that we can respond to your
request. |
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| After we receive
your request, we will email you
payment instructions for this
service. Please add submitanswers@gmatscore.com
to your whitelist or address book
so that this email is not treated
as spam. |
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| We will send essays
back to you within 5 working days
with a grade and a report on your
performance relative to other
students who have submitted essays.
Our grading includes comments
on style, content and structure. |
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