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AWA

by efetokmen » Thu Dec 27, 2007 8:13 am
Hello again,

I also have another question concerning the AWA part. Because AWA's score has no effect on the total score, I decided not to prepare it as seriously as I prepared the other parts. I think that I will simply read kaplan's and OG's advices and will not even try to write a practice essay because the question pool is so large.

Do you think that I should prepare the AWA more seriously? (even if I should, I'm afraid I won't have enough time to do it :S)


Thanks in advance for your answers.
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Source: — GMAT Essays (AWA) |
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by bates88 » Thu Dec 27, 2007 9:41 am
You should at least write one timed essay during your prep, unless you do a lot of persuasive writing for work. I didn't prep for AWA because I have extensive writing experience, but if you don't, then yes, do more than just read strategies.
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by Barak » Thu Dec 27, 2007 7:14 pm
I completely agree with Bates. If you dont have much experience with the format, look up AWA strategies and do some sample. Then post them on the AWA part of the board for feedback.
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by adpandey » Sat Jan 12, 2008 10:07 am
i didnt practice at all...and i hadnt written an essay since my college days...however...I did pretty well ......5.5.......
I guess the the trick is to analyze the topic given and give examples...to support any point that u make...
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by II » Sun Feb 24, 2008 4:03 am
Barak wrote:I completely agree with Bates. If you dont have much experience with the format, look up AWA strategies and do some sample. Then post them on the AWA part of the board for feedback.
what AWA strategies do you refer to ?

Thanks.
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by cjiang16 » Sun Apr 06, 2008 3:01 pm
You'd better prepare seriously. It is part of GMAT score. If your AWA score is lower than 4.0, the adcom will doubt your writing skills.
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by black_cat » Tue Apr 08, 2008 2:42 pm
I have more than 15 years of corporate communications experience and an English degree. Even so, I still prepped for the AWA a little.

BEFORE THE TEST
- Read through the entire list of potential essay questions. That way, you won't get freaked out by the ones you get on the test.
- Develop an outline for both types of essays beforehand. (Even with all my experience, the AWA is looking for a certain structure that I certainly don't use every day). Make sure you know that structure and use it on test day. (Ideally, that's 5 paragraphs ... intro, supporting point #1, supporting point #2, supporting point #3, conclusion).
- If you're not an experienced writer, PRACTICE a few timed essays.

ON TEST DAY
- Take the first 3-4 minutes at the beginning of the essay to jot down your key talking points. Type them right there on the screen. Then, hit return to push them down the page a little, go back to the top and begin writing. As you include a key point in your writing, delete it from your list. (When you're done, they should all be incorporated into your essay.)
- Make sure you pick a few concrete examples that clearly support your argument.
- Use the structure you developed for that type of essay.
- Vary your sentence length and structure to show you can write intelligently.
- Save a few minutes at the end to spell check.

I scored a 6.0 on my essays. Good luck!
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