Overview for GRE Analytical

Writing
<<Argument Questions>>
• Sections
• I. Introduction to Argument Questions
• (I. 介紹 Argument Questions)
• II. How to Answer Argument Questions
-- the Pool of Argument Questions
(II. 答題技巧及 ETS 提供的例題 )
• III. Other Useful Tips (III. 更多答題技巧 )
• IV. Related Links and References
• (IV. 相關連結與參考資料 )
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I. Introduction to Argument
Questions
There are two kinds of essay questions in the GRE
test
1) Present Your Perspective on an Issue
1 question, 45 minutes
2) Analyze an Argument
1 question, 30 minutes
GRE 分析寫作共有兩種題型 -- issue question &
argument question, 各為一題 , 前者有 45 分鐘
可作答 , 後者 30 分鐘。
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This file focuses on the second kind – argument
question. 此檔案主要介紹 argument question
*you analyze a paragraph-length argument,
pointing out and discussing problems with its
line of reasoning, adequacy and use of evidence,
and internal logic.
首先 , 考生先閱讀一段申論 , 答題時必須指出並分析
這段申論的問題，邏輯，流暢度等等。 ETS 在
www.gre.com 已公布題庫。
• ETS has released its official pool of GRE
Analytical Writing questions on www.gre.org
II. How to Answer Argument
Questions

Directions for the Argument Writing Task

Argument Task 作答指示如下 :
Analyze a paragraph-length argument, pointing
out and discussing problems with its line of
reasoning, adequacy and use of evidence, and
internal logic.

( 此處之 sample argument topic and essay 取材自 ETS 網

站
An Introduction to the Analytical Writing Section of the
GRE General Test.
http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/GRE/pdf/awintro.pdf )
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Argument Task 作答指示如下 :
* Analyze a paragraph-length argument, pointing
out and discussing problems with its line of
reasoning, adequacy and use of evidence, and
internal logic.

* 分析約一個段落長度的申論，針對此申論的論述脈
絡、使用之證據是否充足合適，以及此段落內涵
的邏輯等指出相關問題並討論之。

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Specific guidelines:
• You are not asked to agree or disagree with any
of the statement in the argument.
• You should analyze the argument’s line of
reasoning.
• You should consider questional assumptions
underlying the argument.
• You may discuss what additional evidence
would help strengthen or refute the argument.

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• 作答時需要特別注意 :

• 考生不需要表達同意或不同意段落的論點。
• 考生應該分析題目段落中辯證的流暢度。
• 也要考慮指出段落裡可被質疑的一些預設立場。
• 考生可以就是否有更多證據可以增強或駁斥段落的
論點進行討論。

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請參考 www.gre.com

• Sample Question (ETS 提供之例題 )

Discuss how well reasoned you find this
argument.
Hospital statistics regarding people who go to the emergency
room after roller skating accidents indicate the need for more
protective equipment. Within this group of people, 75 percent
of those who had accidents in streets or parking lots were not
wearing any protective clothing (helmets, knee pads, etc.) or
any light-reflecting material (clip-on lights, glow-in-the-dark
wrist pads, etc.). Clearly, these statistics indicate that by
investing in high-quality protective gear and reflective
equipment, roller skaters will greatly reduce their risk of being
severely injured in an accident.

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Sample Essay ( 範例回答 )
Introductory part
The notion that protective gear reduces the injuries
suffered in accidents seems at first glance to be an
obvious conclusion. After all, it is the intent of these
products to either provent accidents from occuring in the
first place or to reduce the injuries suffered by the wearer
should an accident occur. However, the conclusion that
investing in high quality protective gear greatly reduces
the risk of being severely injured in an accident may
mask other (and potentially more significant) causes of
injuries and may inspire people to over invest financially
and psychologically in protective gear.
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Outline of the Main Body ( 答案大綱 )
(1) First of all, as mentioned in the argument, there are two
distinct kinds of gear - preventative gear (such as
light reflecting material) and protective gear (such as
helmets).
(2) The argument above is weakened by the fact that it does not
take into account the inherent differences between skaters
who wear gear and those who do not.
(3) The statistic also goes without differentiating between
severity of injuries.
(4) Finally, there is absolutely no evidence provided that high
quality (and presumably more expensive) gear is any more
beneficial than other kinds of gear.
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Conclusion
The argument for safety gear based on emergency room
statistics could provide important information and
potentially saves lives. Before conclusions about the
amount and kinds of investments that should be made
in gear are reached, however, a more complete
understanding of the benefits are needed. After all, a false
confidence in ineffective gear could be just as dangerous as
no gear at all.

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Before you write:
‧ carefully read the argument—you might want to read
it over more than once
‧ identify as many of its claims, conclusions, and
underlying assumptions as possible
‧ think of as many alternative explanations and
counterexamples as you can
‧ think of what additional evidence might weaken or
lend support to the claims
‧ ask yourself what changes in the argument would
make the reasoning more sound
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• 開始作答前須考慮的事項

• 仔細閱讀題目段落，最好多讀幾次。
• 盡量辨別出段落提出的主張、論點、結論及隱
藏的預設立場。
• 關於段落提出的論點，是否有不同的解釋或者
能反證的例子？盡量構思不同的解釋及反證。
• 考慮有哪些證據或例子能支持或弱化段落的論
點。
• 設想看看改變段落的哪些部分能讓其辯證更流
暢。

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8 Steps to the Argument Writing Task
(1) Read the argument and identify its conclusion.
(2) Identify and examine the argument’s evidence
to determine how strongly it supports its
conclusion.
(3) Organize and prioritize your points of critique.
(4) Compose a brief introductory paragraph
(5) Compose the main body.
(6) Compose your conclusion
(7) Review and revise for coherence
(8) Proofread for significant mechanical problems.

取材自 Stewart, Mark Alan. Writing Skills for the

GRE/GMAT. Lawrenceville: Peterson’s, 2002. 14
作答的 8 個步驟
(1) 仔細閱讀申論題目並辨識結論。
(2) 辨認及檢查申論文中使用的證據，思考這些證
據 如何支持結論。
(3) 組織你的評論並將評論重點排列優先次序。
(4) 寫簡短的引言 (introductory paragraph) 。
(5) 寫主文 (main body) 。
(6) 寫結論 (conclusion) 。
(7) 檢查並修飾答案，尤其是答案的流暢度。
(8) 再次檢查答案，注意是否有技巧方面的問題，
例如文法錯誤，拼字錯誤，標點符號等。
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More questions from the pool of
argument topics 更多例題
( 請參考 www.gre.com)
• The following appeared in a health newsletter.
Eating a heavy meal may increase the risk of
heart attack. A recent survey of 2,000 people
who had had a heart attack revealed that 158 of
them said they had eaten a heavy meal within
24 hours before their heart attack, and 25 of
them said they had eaten a heavy meal within 2
hours before their heart attack. Eating and
digesting food releases hormones into the
bloodstream and temporarily increases heart
rate and blood pressure slightly. Both of these
things put stress on the heart. Therefore,
people who are at risk of having a heart attack
can lower that risk by not overeating.
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• The following is a memo from the business manager
of National Daily News.
To expand the home delivery service of our national
newspaper, we should concentrate on the state of
Urba rather than on the state of Sylva. First, the
population of Sylva is more widely dispersed, which
would require us to spend more money to deliver
our papers in that area, resulting in less profit per
customer. Second, a long-term study of television
viewing habits suggests that Sylvans prefer local to
national news, since they spend twice as much time
viewing local news programs as they do viewing
national programs. Finally, because events in Urba
receive more coverage in our newspaper than do
events in Sylva, we can expect Urbans to be more
interested in reading our newspaper. 17
• The following is a recommendation from the
president of Appleby College.
Whereas Appleby College holds class reunions
every five years, Edelston College holds annual
reunions for all classes, during which Edelston's
alumni are treated to banquets, lectures, and
student performances, enhancing their loyalty
to the college and their willingness to donate
money. Edelston College receives most of its
alumni donations during or shortly after these
reunions. Therefore, the best way for Appleby
to increase its alumni donations is to offer
similar reunion activities and to have each 18
III. Other Useful Tips
更多答題技巧
Phrases you can use in your essay 實用片語
Acknowledge different sides of argument
用來引用或介紹不同論點的片語
• Some people think that…
• Although many people feel that…
• It is claimed that…
• Some people feel that…
• While it is true that… I believe…
• Despite the fact that …, many people think...
• Although many people think that…., I feel that
• Although it is often said that…, in fact the opposite
is true
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Acknowledge different sides of argument
用來引用或介紹不同論點的片語

• It is undoubtedly true that… …

However…
• It is often argued that… However, it is
• Some people say that… They claim…
Nevertheless, …
• Supporters of this viewpoint say that…
Nevertheless, it is …

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To Signal Examples
舉例的片語
• for example, for instance
• consider, take the case of …
• To demonstrate, to illustrate
• As an illustration, in this case, on this occasion
• One possible scenario is that …

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To singal conclusion
表達結論的片語
• In sum, in brief, in conclusion
• In essence, in a nutshell
• Summing up, to recapitulate

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transitional phrases or words
轉折語
after all / as a result 
at any rate / at the same time 
in other words / in the second place 
on the contrary / on the other hand
in turn, subsequently, consequently,
previously, beforehand
simultaneously, concurrently
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IV. Related Links and
References 相關連結與參考資料
<<GRE Writing Skills>>
http://www.novapress.net/gre/writing.html
http://www.west.net/~stewart/ws/
http://www.west.net/~stewart/grewa/wa101.h
tm#Whoscores
<<ETS introduction to GRE Analytical
Writing>>
http://web.mit.edu/gso/mymsrp/handouts/inte
rnpdfs/awintro.pdf
http://www.ets.org
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<<free GRE general test materials, including
scoring details, sample tests and answers>>
• http://www.ets.org/portal/site/ets/menuitem
.1488512ecfd5b8849a77b13bc3921509/?
vgnextoid=302b66f22c6a5010VgnVCM10000
022f95190RCRD&vgnextchannel=d687e3b5f
64f4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD
<< 參考書目 >>
Stewart, Mark Alan. Writing Skills for the
GRE/GMAT. Lawrenceville: Peterson’s, 2002.

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<<writing suggestions on issue, opinion
& argument essays>>
• http://www.writefix.com/argument/
• http://www.rscc.cc.tn.us/owl&writingce
nter/OWL/Argument.html
• http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/han
douts/argument.html
• http://www.studygs.net/wrtstr4.htm
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