Tag Archives: GRE

Argument Essay sample + feedback

Looking for a sample Argument Essay with some expert feedback? Here’s a real essay from a fellow GMAT-student!

PROMPT:

The following paragraph recently appeared in an editorial printed in the opinion section of a local newspaper:

The recent surge in violence in the southern part of the city is a result of a shortage of police officers and an absence of leadership on the part of the city council. In order to rectify the burgeoning growth of crime that threatens the community, the city council must address this issue seriously. Instead of spending time on peripheral issues such as education quality, community vitality, and job opportunity, the city council must realize that the crime issue is serious and double the police force, even if this action requires budget cuts from other city programs.

With the allotted time remaining, discuss how well reasoned you find this argument.

ESSAY:

The argument claims that the recent surge in violence in the southern part of the city is a result of a shortage of police officers and an absence of leadership on the part of the city council and hence the city council must react seriously to the situation by doubling the police force even if doing so requires budget cuts from other city programs. The conclusion of the argument relies on assumptions for which there is no clear evidence. Hence the argument is weak or unconvincing and has several flaws.

First and most importantly, the argument readily assumes that the recent surge in violence in the southern part of the city is a result of a shortage of police officers. This statement is a stretch in a sense that it fails to establish that the shortage of police officers is the only reason for the recent surge in violence. Other factors such as poor economy, a lack of job opportunity and a declined in education quality can also result in a surge in violence. Take the US for example, its rate of violence crimes increases with that of the unemployment which is currently at 9.8%. Without establishing the root cause of the situation carefully, the argument may lead to corrective actions which will not produce the desired outcome.

Second the argument claims that the city council does not realize the seriousness of the recent surge in violence and therefore is not addressing the surge in violence seriously. This is again very weak and fails to prove that the city council is not addressing the surge in violence seriously enough. It could be a case whereby the city council is still working on the issue but there have been no concrete actions yet.

Finally, the argument claims that the city council should double the police force at the expenses of other issues such as education quality, community vitality and job opportunity to curb the recent surge in violence. This again is a far-fetch conclusion in that it did not explain how doubling the police force can help in curbing the recent surge in violence even if it true that indeed a shortage of police force is the cause of the surge in violence.

In summary, the argument is flawed and therefore unconvincing. It could be considerably strengthen if the author clearing mentioned all the relevant facts. In order to ascertain the root cause and subsequently the solution to a situation, it is essential to have full knowledge of all contributing factors and weigh them appropriately before arriving at the conclusion.

FEEDBACK:

This essay is absolutely on the right track. It has clear, forceful writing & a good grasp of the task at hand! Here’s the bullet-points where it could be fine-tuned:

– Style-wise, “hence” is used twice in the opening paragraph; it’s hard to come up with good transition words, but varying up your diction can be impressive to the reader

– For this thesis, the reader is going to look straight at the last sentence of the opening paragraph: “Hence the argument is weak or unconvincing and has several flaws.”

Look for a way to combine this with the previous sentence to make it strong and more stand-alone. The word “or” weakens this thesis – why not use “and”? Always aim for the strongest language possible when criticizing the argument.

-1st paragraph – the phrases “in a sense” and “may lead” are a bit wishy-washy; excellent logic is displayed here and the link between crime and unemployment is strong. It could be improved by a more specific example, such as a case where someone unemployed committed a crime.

-2nd paragraph – There’s not enough of a reason why the city council doesn’t realize. As in the first body paragraph, can it be related  to the real world? How do city councils function? How could they be unaware?

– 3rd paragraph – “far-fetched” should be written instead of “far-fetch”  – What would be even more powerful here would be to discuss how lack of quality education, community vitality and job opportunity can lead to an increase in violence that would overwhelm even a doubled police force

– Conclusion – It’s excellent, with a nice adding in of how it could be strengthened!

Make sure to leave 1-2 min. at the end to proofread your Argument essay – A couple grammatical errors are not massively important, but they do detract from the overall reader impression, so practice writing several essays until you can effectively manage your time!

Spotting Consistent Ideas in GRE Sentence Equivalence

Sentence Equivalence is one of the newer GRE Verbal question types (replacing the older Sentence Completions). Like Sentence Completions, Sentence Equivalence consists of one sentence with one blank. Unlike Sentence Completions, there are two correct answers and not one, and you must get both to get the question correct.

To solve Sentence Equivalence, you’ll need to know 1) the relationship of the blank to the rest of the sentence, and 2) the meaning of the entire sentence. There are approximately 8 total Sentence Equivalence questions on the GRE, 4 on each Verbal section. These questions should take approximately 1 minute each.

Consistent Ideas is one of the four types of Sentence Equivalence questions. In Consistent Ideas questions, the blank will mirror or extent the logic of the rest of the sentence. Like it sounds, the blank will continue the ideas of the rest of the sentence. You’ll be able to recognize this type because of certain constructions.

Here are common “Consistent Ideas” key words and phrases to look out for: for this reason, again, to reiterate, along with, in addition, for example, to illustrate, thus, likewise, similarly, since, also, and, next, as well as, as a result, to sum up, concluding, additionally, etc.

Let’s look at an example Sentence Equivalence question:

1. As a teacher of creative writing, Mercedes demanded her students’ best work; likewise, her own fiction was often subjected to ———– analysis by those same students.

A. scrupulous
B. equitable
C. reverent
D. spiteful
E. malicious
F. rigorous

We know this is a Sentence Equivalence Consistent Ideas question because of the keyword “likewise.” The semicolon tells us the second half of the sentence will mirror the logic of the first half. The key phrase is “demanded” which explains the relationship. We can predict something like “demanding” for the blank. We need a word that is neither positive nor negative, but shows a strong, exacting demand.

How to Rock Sequences on the GRE

On the GRE, there are two types of sequences to watch out for: arithmetic, and geometric. An arithmetic sequence occurs when there is a constant difference between terms. For example, in a sequence of 3, 5, 7, 9…, then the difference is +2. In a geometric sequence, there is a constant ratio and not a constant difference.

The common ratio is found by dividing the 1st term into the 2nd term. For example, in a sequence of 2, 4, 8, 16…, the ratio is 2, since each term is multiplied by 2 to get the next term.

The concept of sequences is fairly simple, but what to do when a question asks for an impossibly high term, such as the 149th term? There isn’t enough time to write the sequence out that far, so we’d use one of the following formulas:

For Arithmetic: an = a1 + (n – 1)d

For Geometric: an = a1 * r(n-1)

In these equations, an = nth term, a1 = first term in the sequence, d = difference, r = ratio, and n = the number of the term you want to find. For example, if we were asked to find the 33rd term in the geometric sequence above, we would plug in as follows:

an = 2 * 2(33 – 1)
an = 233

Let’s look at a practice question:

1. In the sequence of numbers, a1, a2, a3, a4, a5, each number after the first is 5 times the preceding number. If a4 – a1 is 93, what is the value of a1?
For this question, it is best to choose simple numbers to see the pattern. If a1 is 1, then we know that a2 = 5, a3 = 25 and a4 = 125, so we know that a4 will be 5*5*5 or 125 times the value a1,. No matter what we choose as a1, a4 will always be 125 times greater than a1. We need to find a value such that 125x – x = 93

124x = 93
x = 3/4

Learnist: How to Get Letters of Recommendation

Even if you have a bad SAT or GRE score, a few strong recs can tip the scales back in your favor when it comes to undergrad and grad school admissions! Here’s how to get awesome ones!

If you succeed in undergrad and graduate school, your old teachers, employers, and friends will be thrilled that they were able to help you along the way. Everyone needs recs, so don’t ever feel guilty about asking. Think about who really knows your character and who can best comment on your readiness to take on graduate school.

Don’t feel like you need to get the most famous person you know to write you a letter of recommendation. A letter from Bill Gates is worthless if Bill Gates doesn’t really know you. As this blog suggests, even research advisors or volunteer coordinators will work!

This post is geared to JD applicants, but makes an important point: you need to help your recommenders know more about you!

Don’t write their letter for them, but do give your recommenders your personal statement, recent resumes/transcripts, and describe for them your “story.” They should know how you want the admissions committee to perceive you, so they can gear their letter towards your strengths.

4 Steps for Two-Blank Sentence Equivalence Questions

One the Revised GRE, Sentence Equivalence questions contain one, two, or three blanks. Two of the answer choices (out of six presented on the GRE) will be correct, and you will need to understand both the meaning of the sentence/s as a whole and be able to identify the clues in the sentence to find the correct blanks. For better scores on GRE Verbal questions like these, follow these easy tips on your GRE Test Day!

STEP 1: Write down the keywords. As you read the sentence, you will be on the lookout for keywords, words that describe the blank or relate to the overall flow of the sentence (transition words). Write them down! It may seem redundant, but the act of writing them down will slow down your impulses and force your brain to think critically. What do the words tell you about the blank?

STEP 2: Write down a prediction for the easiest blank. Once you’ve analyzed the keywords and punctuation of a sentence, you can come up with a prediction for the blank which seems the most straightforward to you. It doesn’t have to be a great prediction, but make sure you do write something down. Even a simple prediction like, “a negative word” or “something like sad” is great! Don’t let yourself read the answer choices without a written-down prediction. If you don’t write it down, you will likely forget it as you read the answer choices.

STEP 3: Eliminate answer choices based on that prediction. Instead of scanning the answers quickly looking for the correct one, carefully move through the choices from A to F, eliminating the answer choices that could not possible match your prediction. Only worry about scanning the column for the blank you predicted for – don’t even read the other words.

STEP 4: Plug in for the remaining blank, if necessary. If you have more than two answer choices left after eliminating, then plug them into the sentence to see which ones are correct. Remember that for Sentence Equivalence, there will be two correct answers!

How to Solve 1-Blank GRE Sentence Equivalence Questions

In Sentence Equivalence questions on the New GRE, the blank(s) will always have a relationship to the rest of the sentence. We identify keywords because it helps us understand this relationship. Some blanks will have a “defining” relationship, meaning the blank will be defined by the rest of the sentence, so you’ll look for a word to embody the description. Other blanks will have a “contrasting” relationship, and you’ll need to choose the word that provides the best contrast to the describing keywords.

On harder Sentence Equivalence, you will often see a more complex relationship, such as “causation.” Let’s see an example of how we can identify keywords to show us the relationship, and allow us to predict for the blank.

Although appliance manufacturers would have you believe otherwise, items like blenders and toasters are not requirements for the creation of a delicious meal; for centuries, our ancestors cooked without these modern _______.

A) conveniences
B) hindrances
C) requisitions
D) creeds
E) incidents
F) utilities

Let’s pick out the keywords:

Although appliance manufacturers would have you believe otherwise, items like blenders and toasters are not requirements for the creation of a delicious meal; for centuries, our ancestors cooked without these modern _______.

“Although” is a common keyword that introduces a contrast. The manufacturers want you to believe the “blenders and toasters” ARE requirements. The word “these” in the second clause refers back to the “blenders and toasters” in the first clause. The clauses here contrast with each other, but the blank is going to be a word that describes “blenders and toasters.” A good prediction would be a word like “appliances.” Essentially, a word that could describe an tangible object.

Scanning the answer choices, B, C, D, and E do not refer to tangible objects. The correct answers must be A and F. After identifying the keywords and making a prediction, we barely had to consider each answer choices. Process of elimination allows us to identify the correct choices (always two for sentence equivalence questions) quickly and effectively! There’s never a need to re-read the sentence 6 times with each answer choice plugged in.

Strategies and Formulas for Tough GRE Sets

For some advanced Data Analysis and Probability questions, it will help you achieve better scores to know the logic and formulas behind set theory. Set theory hinges on two concepts: union and intersection. The union of sets is all elements from all sets. The intersection of sets is only those elements common to all sets.

Let’s call our sets A, B, and C, and use a Venn diagram to express their relationship.

If n = intersection and u = union, then we can describe the relationship between the sets thusly:
P(A u B u C) = P(A) + P(B) + P(C) – P(A n B) – P(A n C) – P(B n C) + P(A n B n C)

To find the number of people in exactly one set: P(A) + P(B) + P(C) – 2P(A n B) – 2P(A n C) – 2P(B n C) + 3P(A n B n C)

To find the number of people in exactly two sets: P(A n B) + P(A n C) + P(B n C) – 3P(A n B n C)

To find the number of people in exactly three sets: P(A n B n C)

To find the number of people in two or more sets: P(A n B) + P(A n C) + P(B n C) – 2P(A n B n C)

To find the number of people in at least one set: P(A) + P(B) + P(C) – P(A n B) – P(A n C) – P(B n C) + P(A n B n C)

To find the union of all set: (A + B + C + X + Y + Z + O)

Number of people in exactly one set: (A + B + C)

Number of people in exactly two of the sets: (X + Y + Z)

Number of people in exactly three of the sets: O

Number of people in two or more sets: (X + Y + Z + O)

If you’re like me, and formulas like these sometimes seem complicated and intimidating, let’s look at how making a Venn diagram and applying it to a tough GRE question can provide a little relief!

In 1997, N people graduated from college. If 1/3 of them received a degree in the applied sciences, and, of those, 1/4 graduated from a school in one of six northeastern states, which of the following expressions represents the number of people who graduated from college in 1997 who did not both receive a degree in the applied sciences and graduate from a school in one of six northeastern states?

(A) 11N/12
(B) 7N/12
(C) 5N/12
(D) 6N/7
(E) N/7

The key to understanding this question lies in the last sentence:

…who did not both receive a degree in the applied sciences and graduate from a school in one of six northeastern states?

We have two categories to sum: the people who ONLY received a science degree but NOT from one of the 6 schools, and the people who ONLY went to the 6 schools but did NOT receive a science degree. I made up variables for these categories (x and y).

If N = 12, there are 4 applied science students, 1 of which is both. That means x = 3. If 4 students are applied science, then 12-4 = 8 are from one of the six states but NOT applied science. y = 8.

3 + 8 = 11

So we are looking for an answer choice that gives us 11 when N = 12; the answer is A.

You aren’t likely to see many questions at this difficulty level on the actual GRE, but if you continue to challenge yourself, the medium GRE sets questions will soon look easy!

How to Handle Short Passages on the GRE

One benefit to the Revised GRE test is that there are two short Verbal sections with 20 questions each instead of one long section. Another is that you can now freely move back and forth between questions within a given section. This means that you will be able to answer look at questions and choose the order in which you can answer them.

According to the official GRE website, “reading comprehension passages are drawn from the physical sciences, the biological sciences, the social sciences, the arts and humanities, and everyday topics, and are based on material found in books and periodicals, both academic and nonacademic. The passages range in length from one paragraph to four or five paragraphs.”

So how should your approach change from longer to shorter passages? For longer passages, it makes sense to thoroughly read and take notes on the important information presented (main idea, function of each paragraph, author’s point of view, etc.). Shorter passages, however, will usually only be accompanied by 1-2 questions.

Therefore it makes sense to read the questions first before looking at the passage. Quickly identify the pieces of information you’ll need to find. For example, let’s say the first question asks about the “Main Idea” and the second question asks about the Logic behind the author’s use of a specific detail. You will only have two tasks as you read: find the purpose, and find out why the detail is included. There’s no point in trying to focus on the author’s point of view if it isn’t necessary to answer any of the given questions! Make your job as simple as possible.

Creating these clear tasks for yourself is an effective strategy for shorter passages, since you don’t have as much text to decipher.

7 Tips for a Perfect GRE Issue Essay

If you get a perfect score on the GRE’s Issue Essay (a 6), it can really boost your graduate school admissions chances! The best schools want good Verbal and Quantitative scores, but also students who are clear, competent writers. Lots of students have excellent transcripts and are good at taking tests – but not everyone can demonstrate impressive writing skills! Here are 7 tips to take your Issue essay to that perfect 6!

1. Write at least three practice essays. Practice makes perfect! You can study for the GRE online by looking up the AWA prompts and practicing writing several of them within the 30 minute guideline. The only way to get comfortable with the time constraints is to practice them, so set up test-like conditions and get to work. You can see the Issue essay prompts here: http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/issue/pool

2. Don’t waffle. Choose one side of the issue only, and don’t try to “have it both ways.” Even if you don’t believe in the side you choose, you’ll only have time to argue one side effectively. If you take a middle-of-the-road approach you won’t sound as confident or clear. Remember, according to ETS, the “readers are evaluating the skill with which you address the specific instructions and articulate and develop an argument to support your evaluation of the issue.” What exactly you say (what side you choose to defend) is less important than how you defend it!

3. Choose very specific real-world examples. Don’t be general! Every reader would like to see more specific examples: Mitt Romney, the War of 1812, Keynesian economic theory, the mating rituals of octopii, an anecdote about your Uncle Ralph the compulsive gambler, etc. You can have some fun with it, and your examples don’t have to be the most scholarly. What are you an expert on?

4. BUT, make sure your examples are relevant to the topic. You can absolutely choose examples from a wide range of subjects: personal experience, pop culture, history, sports, literature, current events, politics, etc. But make sure you explain HOW your example clearly supports your thesis.

5. Avoid first-person and self-reference. “I think” or “I believe” are obvious. You are the person writing this essay! First-person pronouns should ONLY appear in a body paragraph if you are using personal experience as an example, and telling a story from your own life to support your thesis. Never use “I” in your introductory or concluding paragraph.

6. Make strong, declarative statements. Look for ways to add charged adjectives, adverbs and “because” clauses to make your sentences sound more confident. EX: “The president shouldn’t allow Congress to pass the law.” Or, “It is unacceptable for the president to permit Congress to pass the law because it unconstitutionally overextends Congress’ powers.”

7. Refute the opposing view in your conclusion. Many GRE students wonder what to do in their conclusion. Try introducing the opposing viewpoint, showing that you recognize that in fact some people do not support your position. Then refute their argument in 1-2 sentences, and reinforce the validity of your own thesis.

Learnist: How to Write a Perfect GRE Argument Essay

The GRE’s Argument essay is remarkably straightforward: all you have to do is rephrase, criticize, and suggest improvements for the given argument. Here’s how to earn a perfect 6!

Focus more on conveying your argument succinctly and forcefully than on sounding scholarly. Don’t include long winding sentences that go nowhere in the hopes of sounding more impressive. Simple, clear transitions work well to help you organize your thoughts. Above all, you want the reader to be convinced that the argument is flawed, and they will only be convinced if they can follow and easily understand your points! This video reviews some other style tips, such as avoiding passive voice and wordiness.

Fun fact: ALL of the Argument Essay topics are available for FREE on ETS’ website. You will see one of these official prompts on Test Day, so it’s a good idea to not only read through all of them, but sketch some possible outlines for essays for a number of them.

There’s about 150 topics here, so unfortunately it’s not possible to pre-write an essay for EVERY topic, but you can definitely see common flaws between these topics.

This pdf file from Kaplan describes the basic 6-scale rubric used to score the Argument Essay. Kaplan uses an adjective to describe each “level”:

6 – Outstanding
5 – Strong
4 – Adequate
3 – Limited
2 – Weak
1 – Deficient
0 – Unscorable

An essay would only be considered “unscorable” if it was written using symbols or in a foreign language. Page 46 of this file shows a sample essay, so you can start to get an idea of what a “6” looks like!

Remember that you already know your thesis for ANY possible prompt you’ll see. No matter what the prompt, your thesis is essentially, “the argument is flawed.” There are many ways to say that in a thesis, but that is essentially what the GRE Argument essay boils down to; all you have to do is show why. This blog article reviews a template you can use for any Argument prompt. Just make sure you practice writing at least 3 full practice essays with it so it becomes second nature!

Get more tips on how to write a perfect GRE Argument essay on Learnist!