GMAT Guide to the E-rater and the AWA

Introduction

The Analytical Writing Assessment, more than any other element of GMAT preparation, has benefits that extend far beyond test day. The skills, reasoning tools, and techniques you learn for the AWA may be applied to any essay or persuasive writing. These skills will help you through business school and beyond.

The AWA can be beaten. The essay topics are available for you to review beforehand. The structures for the AWA answers are simple and may be learned.

Here are some tips before we get started:

★　Grammar and spelling is, by-and-large, less important than structure and content. Focus on structure and your argument formation.

★　The E-rater's main impact is to put more value on highly structured writing and the use of "key" words and phrases that the E-rater recognizes.

★　Take plenty of timed practice tests on a computer. Our sample essays on the site are designed for you to take practice essays and be evaluated.

★　Do not procrastinate AWA preparation. Students tend to put off the AWA until it is too late and then they cannot adequately prepare.

The new E-rater will grade your test along with a human grader. If they disagree, it will be sent to a third human grader. Thus, if you do not write your essay in the proper format for the E-rater it could lead to a lower score. Throughout the guidebook we have tips on the E-rater and a section exclusively about the E-rater.

The AWA consists of two 30-minute sections, the Analysis of Issue essay and the Analysis of Argument essay. You will receive a grade from 1 to 6, which will be sent with your GMAT scores.