Hey guys,
Keep in mind a few things about the AWA:
1) The GMAT will be downsizing the AWA (eliminating one essay) to make room for the new reasoning section. That should indicate its relative importance on the test - it's a lot more "pass/fail" than anything, so if you're above a 4 you're in good shape.
2) Even if schools could see the actual essay topics (they can't), because of the relative importance of those essays they really wouldn't want to take the time to read them. They're already requiring you to write (and themselves to read) 3-6 essays with your application on topics that are of supreme importance to them (Why do you want an MBA? What are your career goals?), so there's not much value in their reading an additional essay about why you think a letter to the editor contains faulty logic. The score is sufficient.
3) Just like your quant and verbal scores don't indicate your performance on individual questions, the AWA score is one score that covers both essays - it's just a "section score" like the others.
Now, this isn't to say that the AWA doesn't have value - keep in mind, also, that the GMAT is keeping part of it when it makes its changes. And for nonnative speakers, especially, adding a particularly high (5.5 or 6) score is one more way to differentiate yourself from your peers. So it does have value, but its relative importance ensures that schools are pretty happy with one numerical score to gauge your progress, and that's it.
Brian Galvin
GMAT Instructor
Chief Academic Officer
Veritas Prep
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