GMAT WRITING ASSESSMENT

In the GMAT writing assessment, the test takers are required to write two essays, each in 30
minutes. These essays will be marked from 1 to 6 and the markings have no bearing on your
multiple choice verbal score. An acceptable mark is 4.

What will the essay topics look like?

Analysis of an Issue:
In some countries, television and radio programs are carefully censored for offensive
language and behavior. In other countries, there is little or no censorship.

In your view, to what extent should government or any other group be able to censor
television or radio programs? Explain, giving relevant reasons and/or examples to support
your position.

Writing the Analysis of an Issue requires a series of steps.

• Read the topic
• Decide the general position you are going to take, this means you have to choose a side.
Don’t worry about which side you choose, it is irrelevant for the test takers. They are not
interested in your opinion but in how well you can write in English.
• Brainstorm. Come up with a bunch of ideas or examples. It helps to write these down on a
piece of scrap paper (which they give you). These supporting statements are supposed to
help convince the reader that your main thesis is correct.
• Look over your supporting ideas, and throw out the weakest ones. There should be three to
five left. With three you can write a good enough essay, but it is good to have more than
three in case you don’t know to or can’t develop one of them.
• Write the essay
• Read over the essay and do some editing. Editing or correcting is very important because
this is when you can detect silly mistakes, such as spelling or typing mistakes.

An outstanding essay of this type should:

• Explore ideas and develop a position on the issue with insightful reasons and/or persuasive
examples. You can invent anything you want they won’t check if you’re telling the truth, it is
not important. What is important is that your examples make sense and relate to the idea
you’re trying to exemplify.
• Be clearly organized. Organization is very important because it shows that your ideas are
clearly organized in your mind and that you know what you’re writing about.
• Demonstrate superior control of language, including diction (vocabulary) and syntactic
variety (grammar structures).
• Demonstrate superior facility with the conventions of standard written English, but may
have minor flaws. Remember that you’re writing and not talking, so be sure not to use any
informal expressions or contractions (don’t, didn’t, hasn’t, etc.) in your writing.

A sample template

The following is a simple template to help you start writing your essay. Of course many
variations are possible, but this template can be used to write any topic of analysis of an issue.
The words or phrases in bold are linking words, which are a fundamental part of any good
writing.

Paragraph 1: (introduction)
The issue that ___________________is a controversial one. On the one hand,
____________________________________________. On the other hand,
_________________________________However, on the final analysis, I believe that
_____________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
One reason for my belief is that / The first reason for my belief is that
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 3:
Another reason for my belief is that / The second reason for my belief is that
______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 4:
Perhaps the best reason is / The last reason, but not the least important is
that____________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 5: (conclusion)
For all these reasons, I therefore believe that___________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

Another Template for Analysis of an Issue

Introduction
The issue that ___________is a complex and controversial one. On the one hand,_________
On the other hand, ___________. However, although both perspectives are important, I believe
that the advantages of __________________ outweigh the disadvantages.

Development
One reason for my belief is that __________. This is evident due to the fact that ___________.
Another reason for my belief is that __________. This can be illustrated by _______. In
addition_________. For example _______________.

Some people might object that _______________. Nevertheless, this objection can be
countered by _________________.

Conclusion
While the issue that_______________ must be deemed carefully, the reasons mentioned
provide sufficient support that ________________is appropriate.

Analysis of an argument
The following appeared as part of an article in the business section of a local newspaper.

“The owners of the Cumquat Café evidently made a good business decision in moving to a new
location, as can be seen from the fact that the Café will soon celebrate its second anniversary
there. Moreover, it appears that businesses are not likely to succeed at the old location: since
the Café’s move, three different businesses — a tanning salon, an antique emporium, and a pet-
grooming shop — have occupied its former spot.”

Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. In your discussion be sure to analyze the line
of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to consider
what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or
counterexamples might weaken the conclusion. You can also discuss what sort of evidence would
strengthen or refute the argument, what changes in the argument would make it more logically
sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusion.

An analysis of an argument topic also requires a series of steps.

• Read the topic and separate out the conclusion from the premises
 • Since they are asking you to critique (read weaken) the argument, concentrate on
identifying its assumptions. Brainstorm as many different assumptions as you can think of.
Criticizing the argument is always easier than supporting it because the arguments used
have illogical reasoning. Remember that assumptions are unstated premises that support
the conclusion of the argument.
• Look at the premises. Do they actually help you prove the conclusion? Probably not.
• Choose a template that allows you to attack the assumptions and the premises in an
organized way.
• At the end of the essay, remember to take a moment to illustrate how these same
assumptions could be used to make the argument more compelling.
• Read the essay over and do some editing

An outstanding argument essay should:

• Clearly identify and insightfully analyze important features of the argument
• Develop ideas cogently, organize them logically, and connect them smoothly with clear
linking words.
• Effectively support the main points of the critique.
• Demonstrate superior control of the language, including diction, syntactic variety, and
the conventions of Standard English. There may be minor flaws.

A sample template

Paragraph 1: (introduction)

The argument that ____________________________ is not entirely logically convincing, since

it omits certain crucial assumptions/ since it relies on assumptions for which there is no clear
evidence.

Paragraph 2:
First, the argument assumes that / omits to say that _____________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 3:
Second, the argument never addresses / does not consider ________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 4:
Finally, the argument omits to mention / explain/ enumerate _______________________
________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 5: (conclusion)
Thus, the argument is not completely sound. The argument might have been strengthened
by/would have been more compelling if the author had ____________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Another Template for Analysis of an Argument

Introductory Paragraph [2-4 sentences]

Try to accomplish each of these goals in your introductory paragraph:

• Briefly restate the argument.
• Briefly trace the argument’s line of reasoning.
• Indicate the extent to which the argument is logically convincing.

Here's a sample template for the introductory paragraph that accomplishes these goals:
The author concludes that ______________________ because _____________________. The
author’s line of reasoning is that ___________________. This argument is unconvincing for
several reasons.

First Body Paragraph [3-5 sentences]

In this paragraph your goal is to critique one of the following:

• The reasoning of the argument.
• One of the premises of the argument.
• One of the assumptions of the argument.

Here's a sample template for the First Body Paragraph that accomplishes these objectives:

First of all, _______________________ is based upon the questionable assumption

that____________________________________. However, ___________________________.
Moreover, __________________________.

Second Body Paragraph [3-5 sentences]

In this paragraph your goal is to critique one of the following:

• The reasoning of the argument.
• One of the premises of the argument.
• One of the assumptions of the argument.

Here's a sample template for the Second Body Paragraph that accomplishes these objectives:

Secondly, the author assumes that __________________________________.

However, _______________________________________. It seems equally reasonable to
assume that ________________________________.

Optional Third Body Paragraph [3-5 sentences]

In this paragraph your goal is to critique one of the following:

• The reasoning of the argument.
• One of the premises of the argument.
• One of the assumptions of the argument.

Here's a sample template for the Third Body Paragraph that accomplishes the objectives
indicated above:

Finally (Third), the author fails to consider ________________________.

For example, ________________________. Because the author’s argument lacks
________________________, the author’s forecast of _________________________ cannot
be taken seriously.

Final [Summary] Paragraph [1-3 sentences]

In the final paragraph your goals are to:

• Summarize your critique of the argument.
• Discuss how the argument could be improved or strengthened.

Here's a sample template for the Final Paragraph that accomplishes these objectives:
In conclusion, to convince me that _________________________, the author would have to
provide evidence that _______________________________. Without this additional evidence, I
am not convinced that ______________________.

Premises: stated (written) evidence in support of the conclusion.

Assumptions: unspoken/ unstated ideas (evidence) of the argument, without which the entire
conclusion might be invalid. You have to attack & weaken the assumptions, to critique / weaken
the conclusion of the argument.

Tips that will help you save time as well as produce a good essay:

• If you learn the templates given here and use them whenever you write a Gmat essay,
you will save a lot of time because these templates can be used for any topic given by ETS.
Besides, your essay will always be clearly organized. Organization is very important. The
essay is corrected by a computer program first and then by a human teacher. Your final
mark for each essay is an average of both corrections. The computer program looks for
correct organization, correct use of language and vocabulary and correct use of some
structures such as the ones that appear in the sentence correction exercises.
• It is very useful to write the introduction and the conclusion of your essay at the
beginning of the writing process. This will help you save time and always have an essay
with a conclusion. Remember that not writing a conclusion can lower your mark but not
writing the third paragraph of your development is not essential. A five paragraph essay can
be as good as a four paragraph essay provided both have a conclusion. An essay without a
conclusion is like a story without an ending.
• It is a good idea to use the same type of sentences or the same structures to express
your ideas in your essays when you’re practicing because this will help you become familiar
with them and save time the day you take the exam. Remember that they read only one
essay of each type the day you take the exam, not all the essays you have written up to that
moment, so it will not sound repetitive to them. And don’t worry thinking that other students
will use the same template or structures you’re using because ETS is not interested in your
creativity, they want to know how well you can express your ideas in paper when you’re
pressed for time.
Linking and Logical devices for a better writing:

Addition Cause and Result

in addition to… Because…

as well as + N as…+ clause
besides… since…
in case…
both + N/V/ADJ and + N/V/ADJ.
not only…but also…+ N/clause due to…
owing to … + N
Furthermore… as a result of…
Moreover…+ clause
…also… so ( that )…
…too / as well so + ADJ/ADV + that …+ clause
such + N + that…
therefore + clause
consequently
Concession Contrast

although + clause while…

though + clause whereas…+ clause
even though / even if …+ clause but…
but…
yet…

despite…+ N
in spite of…+ N
however
nevertheless
Similarity and Comparison Purpose

as + Subj. + (verb) in order that…+ clause

like…+ N so that…
as + ADJ/ADV + as
in order to/so as to …+V
as… to…
the same + N + as/that + clause
as + ADJ/ADV + as…
not as/so + ADJ/ADV + as + N / clause
not such + ADJ/ADV + as + N/ clause

as if /though…+ clause
Conclusion Time

In conclusion/ in summary before + N/ Gerund/ clause

To conclude/ to summarize after + N/ Gerund/ clause
In other words till/until
Finally as/as soon as/when
On the whole once/immediately + clause
In short while…
then/ next/after that
later/finally
no sooner …than…+clause
hardly…when