How to best handle AWA and IR ?

You should take them seriously. I've heard somewhere that whilst it's true that schools don't care too much about AWA, it just plainly looks bad if you don't try or get below a 4/6 (21st percentile). Also, if you're unaware, the schools get a copy of what you wrote for your AWA.

I would recommend you read through this guide: how-to-get-6-0-awa-my-guide-64327.html Come up with a similar template, memorize it, and write one or two essays with this template. That should be sufficient for you to easily get above a 4/6. I personally had unfinished sentences/paragraphs in my AWA and still managed a 5/6.

As for IR... who knows. I know that MIT specifically stated that they won't look at IR. Lots of other schools may not look at it as well, or more likely, they won't put much weight into it. Again, if it looks like you didn't try or scored poorly, it may look bad. That said, I personally found the IR section to be a combination of quant/verbal, so if you have a decent handle on both sections, I find IR to come naturally. The hardest part about IR is pacing yourself.

But in general, you are correct and you shouldn't stress yourself too much with AWA/IR. They definitely count less than the Quant/Verbal, but do at least try.

Just my two cents.