gre test preparation workshop for campus educators preparing for the analytical writing measure

GRE Test Preparation Workshop for Campus Educators

Preparing for the Analytical Writing

Measure

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Overview

• Introduction to the Analytical Writing Measure • Helping Students Prepare• Practice Test Experience



• Consists of two complementary analytical writing tasks:

– 45-minute “Present Your Perspective on an Issue" task

– 30-minute “Analyze an Argument" task

• Essay responses are typed on computer using a basic word processor that does not have a spell checker or grammar checker.

Contents of the Analytical Writing Section



Skills Measured

Measures critical thinking and analytical writing skills including the ability to:

• Construct and analyze arguments

• Articulate complex ideas clearly and effectively

• Examine claims and accompanying evidence

• Support ideas with relevant reasons and examples

• Sustain a well-focused, coherent discussion

• Control the elements of standard written English



What the Analytical Writing Measure Adds to the General Test

• Measures candidates’ actual performance• Allows considerable latitude for examinees to

construct their responses• Integrates the assessment of critical thinking

and analytical writing



How Essay Responses Are Evaluated

GRE readers, who are college and university faculty, read each essay response and evaluate its overall quality according to how well the test taker:

•Responds to the specific instructions •Considers the complexities of the issue or identifies and analyzes important features of the argument •Organizes, develops, and expresses his/her ideas •Supports his/her position with relevant reasons and/or examples •Controls the elements of standard written English



How the Analytical Writing Section Is Scored

• Essay Responses are randomly distributed to readers via an online scoring network

• Each essay is scored by two trained readers, using a 6-point holistic scale

• Two scores that differ by more than one point are adjudicated by a third reader

• Scores from the two readings of an essay are averaged• The final scores on the two essays are then averaged

and rounded up to the nearest half-point interval• A single score is reported for the section• Scoring guides and score level descriptions are available

at www.ets.org/gre/stupubs.html.

http://www.ets.org/gre/stupubs.html



General Structure of Scoring Guides

• Upper-half Scores:– 6-Outstanding– 5-Strong– 4-Adequate

• All described in terms of what is done well

• Lower-half Scores: – 3-Limited– 2-Seriously flawed– 1-Fundamentally

deficient• All notable for what

is lacking



Selected Score Level Descriptions

5.5 and 6 – Sustains insightful, in-depth analyses of complex ideas; develops and supports main points with logically compelling reasons and/or highly persuasive examples; is well focused and well organized; skillfully uses sentence variety and precise vocabulary to convey meaning effectively; demonstrates superior facility with sentence structure and language usage but may have minor errors that do not interfere with meaning

3.5 and 4 – Provides competent analysis of complex ideas; develops and supports main points with relevant reasons and/or examples; is adequately organized; conveys meaning with reasonable clarity; demonstrates satisfactory control of sentence structure and language usage but may have some errors that affect clarity.

1.5 and 2 – Displays serious weaknesses in analytical writing. The writing is seriously flawed in at least one of the following ways: serious lack of analysis or development; lack of organization; serious and frequent problems in sentence structure or language usage, with errors that obscure meaning.

Helping Students Prepare



Common Sense Test Preparation Rules

• Become familiar with the test structure and timing

• Become familiar with each task type• Become familiar with the scoring criteria for

each task• Review published pools and practice writing

on each task type



Common Sense Test Preparation Rules (continued)

• Review sample responses and reader commentary for each task type

• Become familiar with key argument concepts• Practice writing under timed conditions



Task 1: Present Your Perspective on an Issue

• Presents a brief quotation that states or implies an issue of general interest and specific instructions on how to respond to that issue.

• Requires candidates to analyze the issue and develop an argument with reasons and/or examples to support that position.

• Candidates are given a choice of two topics

• Candidates have 45 minutes to plan and compose their responses.

• A response to an issue other than the one assigned will receive a score of zero.



About the Choice

• Topics have comparable difficulty• Time for making the choice is included in 45

minutes, so decide quickly• To make the choice, examinees should

consider:– which topic they find more engaging– which topic is more closely linked to their own

background and/or studies– for which topic can they most readily think of

supporting examples and reasons



Strategies for the Issue Task

Questions to consider when approaching an issue topic:

• What, precisely, is the central issue?• What precisely are the instructions asking me

to do?• Do I agree with all or with any part of the

claim? Why or why not?• Do I agree with the claim only under certain

circumstances? What are those circumstances?



Strategies for the Issue Task (continued)

• Does the claim make certain assumptions? If so, are they reasonable?

• Do I need to explain how I interpret certain terms or concepts used in the claim?

• If I take a certain position on the issue, what reasons support my position?

• What examples—either real or hypothetical—could I use to illustrate those reasons and advance my point of view? Which examples are most compelling?



Strategies for the Issue Task (continued)

• What reasons might someone use to refute or undermine my position?

• How should I acknowledge or defend against those views in my essay?



Sample Issue Topic

Spend 2-3 minutes jotting down some ideas about how you might approach the issue topic below.

Present your perspective on the issue below, using relevant reasons and/or examples to support your views.

“In our time, specialists of all kinds are highly overrated. We need more generalists—people who can provide broad perspectives.”



Scored Responses to Sample Issue Topic

• Spend about 5 minutes reading the 6 sample issue responses that appear on pages 9-15 of the resource document.

• As you read, you may want to refer to the Scoring Guide for the Issue Task that appears on page 27 of the resource document.



General Reminders About the Issue Task

• Candidates must respond to the assigned issue using the specific task directions

• Candidates should feel free to accept, reject, or qualify the claim

• There is no “right answer”• Candidates must make it clear how their

reasons and/or examples support their position on the issue



Task 2: Analyze an Argument

• Presents a short passage that presents an argument and specific instructions on how to respond to that passage.

• Requires candidates to assess the logical soundness of the given argument according to the specific task directions.

• Candidates have 30 minutes to plan and compose their responses.

• A response to an argument other than the one assigned will receive a score of zero.



Strategies for the Argument Task

Questions to consider when approaching the argument task:

• What is offered as evidence, support, or proof?

• What is explicitly stated, claimed, or concluded?

• What is assumed or supposed, perhaps without justification or proof?

• What is not stated, but necessarily follows from what is stated?



Sample Argument Topic

Spend 2-3 minutes jotting down some ideas about how you might approach the issue topic below.

Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument.

“Hospital statistics regarding people who go to the emergency room after roller skating accidents indicate the need for more protective equipment. Within this group of people, 75 percent of those who had accidents in streets or parking lots were not wearing any protective clothing (helmets, knee pads, etc.) or any light-reflecting material (clip-on lights, glow-in-the-dark wrist pads, etc.). Clearly, these statistics indicate that by investing in high-quality protective gear and reflective equipment, roller skaters will greatly reduce their risk of being severely injured in an accident.”



Scored Responses to Sample Argument Topic

• Spend about 5 minutes reading the 6 sample argument responses that appear on pages 19-23 of the resource document.

• As you read, you may want to refer to the Scoring Guide for the Argument Task that appears on page 28 of the resource document.



General Reminders About the Argument Task

• Candidates must respond to the argument using the specific task directions

• Candidates must make it clear how their specific analysis of the argument connects to the assigned task

• Candidates are NOT being asked to present their own views on the subject matter



Approaching the Two Tasks

When approaching each task, candidates should :

• Spend a few minutes thinking about the topic and the specific directions and planning a response.

• Pay close attention to the specific task directions!• Support their position on the issue with reasons and

examples drawn from such areas as their reading, experience, observations, and/or academic studies.

• Leave time to read what they have written and make any revisions that you think are necessary.

• Avoid excessive irony or humor that may be misinterpreted by readers

Practice Test Experience



Practice Test

• Practice test will begin with the Issue task (see p. 24-25 of resource document).

• Take 5 minutes to read the Issue directions, choose a topic, and jot down a few ideas. We will break to discuss.

• Then take 5 minutes to read the Argument directions, read the argument, and jot down a few points of critique (see p. 26-27). We will break to discuss.



Issue Topic 1: Technological Tools

• Do all technologies have the same impact on the “human condition?”

• Do some technologies promote communications whereas others promote loneliness?

• Do technology and loneliness only apply to “modern civilizations?”



Issue Topic 2: Declining Environment

• What is the impact of certain specific environmental problems on bringing people together?

• Do certain environmental problems tend to divide people instead of promoting unity?

• Is there a middle ground between unity and cooperation, on the one hand, and disunity and tragedy on the other?



Argument Topic: Forestville Speed Limit

• Whether six months is a sufficiently long time to evaluate the effect of the new speed limit

• What might have happened if the speed limit had decreased?

• Whether other factors account for the increased accident rate

• Whether Forestville and Elmsford are comparable



Questions?

gre test preparation workshop for campus educators preparing for the analytical writing measure

Documents

analytical writing skills

hisher ideas

compelling reasons andor

test taker

sentence structure

welllowerhalf scores

main points

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