AWA: Ran out of time

Question

Took GMAT today (got 760 - Q:50 V:42 IR:8) and did well but ran out of time right at the end of the AWA essay. While I was scrambling to reword the last sentence of my conclusion, I ran out of time and the resulting final sentence which was submitted seems like an incoherent mix of two different sentences mushed together. In addition, all of my brainstorming notes were still written out a few lines above the beginning of my essay, and I did not remember to delete them before running out of time. Otherwise, essay seemed overall strong and I had a good introduction, three solid body paragraphs, and an otherwise coherent conclusion.

I'm worried that despite my score, which I'm happy about, I'll have to retake the test if I get dinged too heavily for running out of time and leaving the above glaring errors.

Does anyone know what the chances are an essay like mine would receive a score lower than a 4.0? If I get lower than a 4.0, I'm worried I'll have to retake. Thanks.

I'm worried that despite my score, which I'm happy about, I'll have to retake the test if I get dinged too heavily for running out of time and leaving the above glaring errors.

Does anyone know what the chances are an essay like mine would receive a score lower than a 4.0? If I get lower than a 4.0, I'm worried I'll have to retake. Thanks.

zhanbo · Answer

My feeling is that you will get at least a five (5) in your AWA. Do let us know when you receive your score.

Congratulations on your 760!

Evo23 · Answer

Congratulations for a great score! GMAT Online does not have the AWA section. That says something about how admissions committee views AWA. Anyway the admissions manager of your target b school can advise you better on the retake.

AndrewN · Answer

Hello,  bbbb23 , and congratulations on earning a fine total score. I agree with what has been written above. My sense is that a grader will perceive that you had left an outline in and garbled the final line, but the essay itself will be treated holistically. If you had a discernible introduction and conclusion and three well-reasoned and articulated body paragraphs—since the bulk of the score comes from these paragraphs anyway—you will likely walk away with a respectable score. Two of my friends used to work as essay graders, and you know what they told me? They had to grade 40 essays an hour, so as long as yours ticks the right boxes and does not contain too many cosmetic flaws, you will be in fine shape. Without actually being able to see the essay, and considering that a person who earns a 760 typically takes the task seriously, I would be shocked if you were awarded any lower than a 4.5. A 5.0 seems about right to me.

Good luck with the application process. I hope you may take the time to write a debrief, since many members of the community relish the opportunity to gain any insights from such a high-scoring candidate.

- Andrew

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi bbbb23,

Based on your overall Score, I assume that you have a reasonably strong capacity to write an organized, logical AWA. Based on what you've described, you would likely be 'dinged' for "structure" and possibly a bit for "grammar/style" - but that probably won't be much more than about half a point in total (assuming that the rest of your Essay is strongly written); keep in mind that the AWA Scores are "rounded UP" to the nearest half-point, so even if you get 'dinged' a bit more than half a point, you still get the 'benefit of the doubt' (for example an averaged score of 4.25 would receive a 4.5). In general, most Schools expect applicants to Score a 4.0 or higher (out of 6.0), meaning that will probably be fine and you will NOT need to retest. I would certainly be interested to hear how you actually score on the AWA though, so please post back once you've received your Official results. 
 
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

bbbb23 · Answer

Hi all, thank you for the comments. I received my official score today and scored a 6.0 on the essay. Everyone was spot on with their predictions.

AndrewN · Answer

Wow,  bbbb23 , that is great news! Thank you for coming back to share. It helps us as a community to know that peccadillos on an essay do not outweigh its relative strengths, that as long as the body of the essay contains what the trained readers are looking for, you can earn even a perfect score. Congratulations on a fantastic, well-rounded GMAT™. Best of luck to you, going forward.

- Andrew

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi bbbb23,

760 is a great score! Regarding AWA, things may not be as bad as you think. That said, even if your AWA score is a bit lower than you’d like, 760 is a VERY STRONG score, so I still think that you’ll be fine. In any case, you just have to sit tight and wait until you receive your official score. Once you do, please let us know.

AWA: Ran out of time

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