i have read that a lot of business phd schools don't look at the awa or i.r. so my question is should i even answer those sections. i have studied for about a year on the quant and verbal. i have not looked at the awa or i.r. i don't want to get a bad score in either. the schools i am looking at say they want a writing sample. i plan on not doing the awa and just submitting a writing sample. then in my application, write a sentence or two about why i didn't do the awa/ir. is this a bad idea. i don't want to score bad, and have them look at it. i plan on getting around a 640-700. lets say i get a 640, awa 1.5, and a worse ir. i would rather just have the 640, and the school realize i didn't attempt the other sections. even if i got a 720, and still did bad on the awa/ir, i would rather just avoid it.

or, should i take both parts, and if i do score bad, explain that in my application that i didn't really focus on it. or is it even that big of a deal to get a 700 and bomb the awa/ir. this is just for phd programs. i am not worried about top 10. i am looking at some big12 and big10 schools.

thanks,