Guide to Perfect 6.0 AWA GMAT Score

Related AWA Resources:

• List of all AWA topics from GMAC
• Sample replies to all Essays
• Overview of GMAT Write, the official essay grading tool

I took the GMAT twice and scored 6.0 each time. I did put a lot of time in it the first time....too much actually. Being a non-native speaker and having not written a damn essay (of any kind) in many many years, I was very scared of the AWA. So, I went through every guide that I could find and wrote nearly 25-30 essays. Even had a friend grade them for me.....Pathetic, huh?

Anyway, for my second time, I just looked over my templates I created and wrote one of each the day before test just to refresh my memory on faster typing without making too many typos......

So, here it is....Enjoy, and please do not blame me if the 6.0 percentile goes down to 80 soon

AWA GUIDE

by Chineseburned

1. General Structure

Intro - Restate argument, point out flaws or state intention to discuss them below
1st Para - First,...
2nd Para - Second/In addition,...
3rd Para - Third/Finally,...
Conclusion - The argument is flawed/weak/unconvincing because of the above -mentioned...Ultimately, the argument can be strengthened if/by...

2. Structural Word (should be all over the essays)

1. Supporting examples - for example, to illustrate, for instance, because, specifically
2. Additional support - furthermore, in addition, similarly, just as, also, as a result, moreover
3. Importance - surely, truly, undoubtedly, clearly, in fact, most importantly
4. Contrast - on the contrary, yet, despite, rather, instead, however, although, while
5. Decide against - one cannot deny that, it could be argued that, granted, admittedly
6. Ying-yang - on the one hand/on the other hand
7. Concluding - therefore, in summary, consequently, hence, in conclusion, ultimately, in closing

3. Templates

Intro:
The argument claims that ....(restate)
Stated in this way the argument:
a) manipulates facts and conveys a distorted view of the situation
b) reveals examples of leap of faith, poor reasoning and ill-defined terminology
c) fails to mention several key factors, on the basis of which it could be evaluated
The conclusion of the argument relies on assumptions for which there is no clear evidence. Hence, the argument is weak/unconvincing and has several flaws.

1st Para:
First, the argument readily assumes that......
This statement is a stretch....
For example,...
Clearly,...
The argument could have been much clearer if it explicitly stated that...

2nd Para:
Second, the argument claims that....
This is again a very weak and unsupported claim as the argument does not demonstrate any correlation between....and...
To illustrate,...
While,...
However,....indeed....
In fact, it is not at all clear...rather....
If the argument had provided evidence that.....then the argument would have been a lot more convincing.

3rd Para:
Finally,...
(pose some questions for the argument).....Without convincing answers to these questions, one is left with the impression that the claim is more of a wishful thinking rather than substantive evidence.

Conclusion:
In conclusion, the argument is flawed for the above-mentioned reasons and is therefore unconvincing. It could be considerably strengthened if the author clearly mentioned all the relevant facts....
In order to assess the merits of a certain situation/decision, it is essential to have full knowledge of all contributing factors. In this particular case....
Without this information, the argument remains unsubstantiated and open to debate.

4. Going from the templates to full-fledged essays

ESSAY QUESTION:
The following appeared in the editorial section of a national news magazine:[/b]

"The rating system for electronic games is similar to the movie rating system in that it provides consumers with a quick reference so that they can determine if the subject matter and contents are appropriate. This electronic game rating system is not working because it is self regulated and the fines for violating the rating system are nominal. As a result an independent body should oversee the game industry and companies that knowingly violate the rating system should be prohibited from releasing a game for two years."

Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. Point out flaws in the argument's logic and analyze the argument's underlying assumptions. In addition, evaluate how supporting evidence is used and what evidence might counter the argument's conclusion. You may also discuss what additional evidence could be used to strengthen the argument or what changes would make the argument more logically sound.

YOUR RESPONSE:

5. Final tips

• During the tutorial type in a few sentences in the mock essay window to get used to the keyboard.
• Again during the tutorial, jot down on your notebook the basic structure of your essays or the opening sentences in case you get too nervous and forget them when the clock starts ticking.
• Write as much as you can. Try to write at least 500 words per essay.
• Always have the e-rater in mind as your potential reviewer. Remember that the human rater will make every effort to grade just like the e-rater. In that sense, keep your structure and volume in mind over actual quality/content.
• Be careful of spelling mistakes. Double check words that you normally know you misspell (e.g. exercise). Try to finish 2-3 minutes before time is up so you can slowly re-read your essay for the purposes of spell checking. Do not reorganize/delete sentences/paragraphs with less than 2 min left.
• No matter how great you thought your essays went, try to stay humble and focused - remember this was just a warm-up and the real stuff hasn't started yet!

Good luck!
_________________

Chinese Democracy is misunderstood...at your nearest BestBuy.

Best AWA guide here: how-to-get-6-0-awa-my-guide-64327.html

+1 this is really good. thank you.

Makes sense, given the fact that one needs to follow a structure, this would help making life easier in the AWA.. Thanks a ton!

This is exactly what I was looking for! It was mentioned in another thread and I couldn't find it.

I have now seen this guide that has been much talked off. Thanks a lot Chineseburnd. That is +1 Kudos from me. This can help me in starting my GMAT examination on the right footing.

Amazing information, Thanks a lot!! 1+

I followed this guide EXACTLY ("Some people think... Other people support..." and etc. all exactly the same) and got a 6.0 on my AWA! Thank you so much!

This is a great guide!
I used this and got a 6.0.

Sorry if this is off-topic but is this guide applicable to the GRE essays?
I've taken the GMAT but I want to supplement my score with the GRE.
Thanks!

Another testimony of the greatness of this template. I gave my GMAT on 19-May with minimal preparation around AWA. I had just prepared a skeleton structure based on the template above (with slight rewordings) and still managed to get a perfect 6.0 without even practicing any essay before the actual exam.

This template is THE structure to use in GMAT. Thanks chineseburned, you rock! +1!

This totally works! Followed your template and scored a 6.0. Thanks for the advice.

The following appeared as part of an annual report sent to stockholders by Olympic Foods, a processor of frozen foods:
“Over time, the costs of processing go down because as organizations learn how to do things better, they become more efficient. In color film processing, for example, the cost of a 3 by 5 inch print fell from 50 cents for five day service in 1970 to 20 cents for one day service in 1984. The same principle applies to processing of food. And since Olympic foods will soon celebrate its 25th birthday, we can expect that our long experience will enable us to minimize costs and maximize profits.”

This argument states that the long experience of organizations enables it to minimize costs of processing and maximize its profits. This conclusion is based on the premise that over time, the costs involved in processing reduce as organizations become more efficient. However, there are many assumptions that may not necessarily apply to this argument. Firstly, the argument assumes that the cost of processing reduces as organizations become more efficient. Secondly, the argument links color film processing to food processing. Thirdly, the argument claims that Olympic Foods with its long experience will be able to minimize costs and maximize profits.

The first issue to be addressed is whether efficiency of organizations leads to reduction in costs of processing. Clearly, one could argue that the efficiency of an organization has nothing to do with the reduction in the costs of processing. The cost of processing depends on various factors. Some of the factors include cost of raw materials, cost of labor, transportation and inventory costs and market forces. The only influence that the efficiency of organizations has on cost of processing is to handle crisis and has a greater hold on the market because of brand value. For example, if the cost of raw materials increases the organization can use its experience and its brand name to still remain a dominant player in the market. Therefore, the efficiency of an organization is not the correct parameter to measure the costs of processing.

The argument is flawed as it compares color film processing to food processing. The argument fails to reason out the decrease in costs of color film processing, rather the argument assumes that the only factor that caused a decrease in the cost of processing was time from 50 cents in 1970 to 20 cents in 1984. There are definitely other reasons for the decline in costs, which could be improvement in technology. For example, the use of laser printers from ink jet printers. This considerably reduced the costs. Also, the cost of color film processing could have been reduced because of an increasing demand of prints making it still profitable to reduce costs and because of competition among various color film processors.
Also, food processing cannot be compared to color film processing, as these two processing are totally different in nature. The argument fails to reason why a decrease in cost of film color processing would result in decrease in cost of food processing.

The argument claims that Olympic Foods, with its long experience of 25 years will be able to minimize costs and maximize profits. Again, the argument fails to provide any evidence. It might happen that Olympic Foods faces competition, which could lead to decrease in profits. There might be geographical factors such as climate that determine the production of food in order to process them.

Finally, one must understand that while evaluating the costs of processing, the most influential parameters like labor costs, costs of raw material, competition in the market, demand, supply and market forces must be considered. And after consideration of the above-mentioned parameters, only then a conclusion can be drawn whether Olympic Foods will be able to minimize costs and maximize profits.

For example, in 2009, many food-processing companies were faced with high processing costs due to increase in costs of fruits and vegetables. In such a case, the experience helped organizations to come up with strategic plans and find solutions. But the experience did not help them to minimize their costs.

In conclusion, the argument could have been strengthened by using some statistics to prove that time, experience and efficiency are the only factors and no other, that influence the costs of processing and in this case food processing. Before conclusions are drawn, all the parameters and factors must be weighed and taken into consideration.