GRE Test (Analytical Writing) 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The Analyze an Issue prompt asks you to do what?
- Critique the logic of an argument
- Develop your own position on a topic (Correct answer)
- Edit a passage for grammar
- Solve a quantitative problem
Correct answer: Develop your own position on a topic
The Issue task requires constructing your own argument on a general topic.
Question 2: Specific instructions under the Issue prompt are meant to be:
- Ignored entirely
- Followed closely to frame your response (Correct answer)
- Copied into your introduction
- Answered only if time remains
Correct answer: Followed closely to frame your response
Each prompt includes task-specific directions that shape what graders expect.
Question 3: Which example type tends to support an Issue essay best?
- Vague generalizations
- Concrete, relevant examples from history, science, or experience (Correct answer)
- Unsupported personal opinion repeated
- Random unrelated anecdotes
Correct answer: Concrete, relevant examples from history, science, or experience
Specific, pertinent evidence strengthens persuasive force.
Question 4: A score of 0 on AWA is given when an essay:
- Is under 500 words
- Is off-topic, in a foreign language, or merely copies the prompt (Correct answer)
- Disagrees with the prompt
- Uses informal language
Correct answer: Is off-topic, in a foreign language, or merely copies the prompt
A 0 reflects responses not written on the assigned topic or otherwise non-genuine.
Question 5: What does a 'No Score' (NS) designation indicate?
- A perfect essay
- No essay was written at all (Correct answer)
- An essay scored exactly 3.0
- A flagged plagiarism case
Correct answer: No essay was written at all
NS means the test taker produced no response to score.
Question 6: Roughly what percentile does a 4.5 AWA score typically represent?
- Around the 10th percentile
- Around the 50th percentile
- Around the 80th percentile (Correct answer)
- Around the 99th percentile
Correct answer: Around the 80th percentile
A 4.5 falls near the upper range, around the 80th percentile in recent norms.
Question 7: Practicing AWA with ETS's published pool of topics helps because:
- The actual prompt is drawn from that public pool (Correct answer)
- It is required to register
- It replaces the real essay
- It boosts the Quant score
Correct answer: The actual prompt is drawn from that public pool
ETS publishes the full Issue topic pool, so practice prompts mirror the real test.
GRE Test (Analytical Writing) 3
The Analyze an Issue prompt asks you to do what?