The AWA essays written by students taking the GMAT are rated usually by one human reader and a computer program called E-rater. These essays are marked on a scale of 0 to 6.0 and the score is rounded off to the nearest half point.
The E-rater is not programmed to appreciate your individual style of writing, humor, or yours inspirations. It looks for the style and structure of your essay to that of other high-scoring essays. The key to write a 6.0 point essay on the AWA section is to understand the algorithm of the E-Rater.
- A Sample Structure
- Restate the argument or your understanding of the issue
- Take a stand early
- Use PREP strategy
Point
Reasoning
Example
Point again
- Cover all your points in about 5-6 crisp paragraphs
- Conclude by restating your stand
- Key words to impress the E-Rater
- In this argument/issue
- To begin with
- First, Second, Third..
- In addition to…
- Finally, Additionally
- Further more, Moreover
- In sum, In conclusion
- Inorder to strengthen the argument
- For example,
- For instance,
- Not only…But also
- Another problem
- Some good links for AWA
- Live Online E-raters
WayAbroad.com (Choose english from the top right corner)
- Bottom line…
Practice is an important for improving your essay writing skills. Always make it a habit to write your AWA essays along with all the Full length practice tests.