Many students preparing for test day are apprehensive about the GRE Analytical Writing essay. After all, there is no way to know exactly which GRE Writing prompts test-takers will see. So, understandably, students worry that there is no way to be fully prepared for all of the possible GRE essay topics that could pop up.
In that respect, however, GRE essay questions are no different from any other type of GRE question you may encounter. After all, you can’t predict exactly which Quant or Verbal concepts will be tested on any given GRE, or what the exact topics discussed in Reading Comprehension passages will be.
Nevertheless, there is still much we can learn about what we’ll face in GRE Quant and Verbal. And, we can still adequately prepare ourselves for whatever may come our way in those sections on test day. The same goes for GRE Writing topics. In fact, in some ways, we have even more information about what we’ll face in GRE essay prompts.
So, breathe a sigh of relief! There is plenty you can learn about the GRE essay topics, so that you go into your exam well-prepared. To help with that preparation, this article will discuss key aspects of the GRE essay prompts and Analytical Writing topics. We’ll also look at some real examples of AWA prompts.
Here is what we’ll cover:
- What Is GRE Analytical Writing?
- How Many Writing Prompts Are on the GRE?
- The GRE Issue Essay
- Example GRE Essay Questions
- GRE Writing Prompts: Key Takeaways
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- What’s Next?
To start, let’s review what the GRE Analytical Writing section consists of and what it asks you to do.
What Is GRE Analytical Writing?
The first section you’ll see on the GRE is Analytical Writing. The GRE Analytical Assessment (AWA) prompts you to write an essay, which you have 30 minutes to complete. So, you’ll spend the first half-hour of your exam on Analytical Writing.
Your basic job in GRE Analytical Writing is to write a logically organized essay that demonstrates the following:
- critical thinking and logical reasoning skills
- an ability to communicate your ideas clearly and effectively
- basic English grammar and spelling skills.
You’ll write your essay using the basic word processing program within the GRE test platform. The program features common functions such as delete, undo, cut, and paste.
However, since your own grammar and spelling skills will factor somewhat into the GRE essay scoring, the program does not feature automated spelling or grammar check.
KEY FACT:
There is no automated spelling or grammar check in GRE Analytical Writing.
Now that we know what the Analytical Writing section is, let’s discuss the basics of GRE Analytical Writing prompts. We’ll start with how many essay prompts you’ll see.
How Many Writing Prompts Are on the GRE?
One of the first questions I hear from students who are just learning about GRE Writing prompts is, “How many essay prompts are you given on the GRE?”
Some of this confusion comes from the fact that there used to be 2 essay tasks on the GRE: Analyze an Argument and Analyze an Issue. However, as of September 22, 2023, when the new GRE test (aka the shorter GRE) was released, there is no longer an Argument task in AWA.
So, the Analytical Writing section includes only 1 essay task: the Analyze an Issue task. Let’s discuss what that task requires you to do.
KEY FACT:
In GRE Analytical Writing, there is only 1 essay task, Analyze an Issue.
The GRE Issue Essay
The Analyze an Issue task, commonly known as the GRE Issue essay, presents a statement of opinion. Your job is to write a response to that opinion.
The opinion may be presented in a single statement that is 1 or 2 sentences long. Alternatively, it may be presented as a 1-sentence “claim” followed by a 1-sentence “reason,” in which the “claim” is the opinion and the “reason” is the reasoning underlying the opinion.
In either case, following the presented opinion, there will be instructions on how to respond to it — that is, what your essay should discuss or accomplish. (We’ll look at some examples of GRE Issue essay prompts shortly.)
Importantly, whether you agree or disagree with the opinion presented in the prompt does not affect your essay score. In other words, there is no “right answer.”
Rather, you should choose whatever position allows you to craft the most logical, coherent, and convincing essay possible. Your position should demonstrate sound reasoning and analysis, and you should be able to support your position with examples.
KEY FACT:
The GRE Issue essay presents an opinion that you must respond to in your essay.
Now that we understand what the GRE Issue essay is, let’s discuss the topics GRE writing prompts involve.
The Basics of GRE Essay Topics
Let’s start with the good news: GRE Writing topics do not require you to have particular subject matter knowledge. So, there won’t be any GRE Issue topics for which you’re at a disadvantage because you don’t have experience in a certain field of study.
All the information you need to write an effective response to a GRE Issue prompt will appear in the prompt, be common knowledge, or be things you happen to know and can use in your essay.
KEY FACT:
All the information you need to write an effective response to a GRE Issue prompt will appear in the prompt or be common or incidental knowledge you can draw upon.
That said, there are a few GRE essay themes or broad categories that GRE AWA topics tend to fall into. Let’s take a look.
GRE Issue Topics
Broadly speaking, topics for GRE Analytical Writing fall into a few general categories:
- government and politics
- society and culture
- education and research
- technology
- human nature
Remember, you will not need specialized knowledge of any of these GRE Issue categories. But how might GRE Issue essay prompts cover these topics? Well, a GRE Issue prompt might present an opinion about one of the following, for example:
- a type of program that governments should or shouldn’t fund
- a way that scientists should conduct their research
- a procedure that colleges should follow to benefit their students
- the effect of certain technologies on some aspect of society.
Of course, those are just a few examples. You’ll be happy to know that, regardless of the topic covered or how it’s covered, the opinions presented in GRE Writing prompts will not be expressed in highly technical terms or using obscure references.
Rather, they will be much like opinions you might hear during routine conversations with friends or colleagues, hear on a podcast or opinion segment on the news, or read in a newspaper editorial.
KEY FACT:
GRE essay themes include government and politics, society and culture, education and research, technology, and human nature.
Now, let’s explore an often-discussed subject among students investigating the GRE essay topics: the ETS Pool of Issue Topics.
The GRE Published Pool of Topics
You may be surprised to learn that the ETS writing prompts that can appear on the GRE are publicly available. In other words, there is a list of possible essay questions for GRE General Tests. This list is called the Pool of Issue Topics, and it features actual GRE Analytical Writing prompts that have in the past and could in the future appear on the test. You can view the GRE Issue essay topic pool PDF online here.
Now, when some people hear that a list of GRE essay topics is readily available online, they make it their mission to pore over every inch of that list. Here’s the thing: there are dozens of sample GRE essay questions in the Pool of Issue Topics. (In total, the GRE essay topics pool is nearly 40 pages long.) So, it is neither practical nor necessary to read through all of the GRE AWA writing prompts in order to be prepared for test day.
Furthermore, it is certainly a waste of your time to attempt to memorize the AWA sample prompts. For one, the wording you see in prompts in the GRE Writing Issue Pool may vary slightly in prompts on your actual exam.
Secondly, you’ll need to carefully read the prompt you see on test day regardless of how many GRE sample prompts you’ve read before. So, please don’t make the mistake of spending your valuable study time trying to commit the GRE list of essay topics to memory.
Let’s discuss how you should use the GRE Issue Pool.
Using the ETS Issue Topics Pool
You may be wondering how to most effectively make use of having so many sample GRE Issue topics at your fingertips. First, it is worthwhile to read through some of the prompts in ETS’s GRE Pool of Issue Topics to get a feel for how GRE essay prompts are worded and the ways they cover topics.
Then, as your GRE essay practice in preparation for test day, you should randomly select a few sample GRE essay questions to write responses to. Before you write those practice essays, you may want to check out these GRE writing examples, which feature sample essay responses with scores and reader commentary. You also may want to have a look at the GRE scoring rubric for Analytical Writing, to see the essay characteristics that are associated with different scores.
Now, let me make one important point clear: it is not a wise use of your time to attempt to write responses to every prompt in the GRE Analytical Writing pool, for the following 3 reasons:
- You do not need anywhere near such a large amount of practice to be able to write a high-scoring GRE essay. So, in writing so many practice essays, you will waste valuable study time you need for other sections of the test.
- You will burn yourself out on essay-writing by the time test day rolls around.
- After writing so many essays, even if you recognize the prompt you see on test day, you almost certainly will not remember how you responded to it in your practice essay.
TTP PRO TIP:
Practice writing responses to a few GRE Writing sample prompts from the ETS Issue Pool online, but don’t go overboard.
Now, let’s look at a couple of GRE Writing prompt samples from the ETS Issue Pool.
Example GRE Essay Questions
To get a feel for what to expect in the Analytical Writing section, let’s review a couple of example essay questions from the GRE Writing Issue Pool. You can find these GRE essay examples in the PDF linked above.
GRE Issue Tasks: Example 1
Some people believe that the purpose of education is to free the mind and the spirit. Others believe that formal education tends to restrain our minds and spirits rather than set them free.
Write a response in which you discuss which view more closely aligns with your own position and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should address both of the views presented.
Notice the format of the question: first, an opinion is presented. Below that opinion, we see a few italicized lines of instructions on how to respond to the presented opinion. This format is standard for GRE Issue essay prompts.
Notice also that, while we can say that the topic of the prompt is “education,” a test-taker would not need any particular knowledge of education practices or policies in order to write an effective response.
In other words, a person of any background can form an opinion about the “purpose of education.” Forming that opinion does not require having specialized knowledge or training.
Let’s look at another example from the GRE list of essay topics.
GRE Issue Tasks: Example 2
Leaders are created by the demands that are placed on them.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.
Notice that the language in the instructions in the prompt above is similar in some ways to that in the first prompt, though not exactly the same. If you scan the GRE Writing examples in the ETS Issue pool, you’ll notice some common language among many of the prompts.
However, there are several variations of instructions that could appear in GRE Issue prompts. So, it’s imperative that you always read the instructions in a prompt very carefully. It would be a mistake to skim or read only part way through a prompt because you recognize the wording, and thus assume you know what the instructions are asking you to do.
TTP PRO TIP:
Always read through the entirety of the instructions in a GRE essay prompt, even if the instructions look similar to ones you’ve seen before!
Now that we’ve done some GRE practice writing prompts, let’s wrap up with the key takeaways from this article and answer some common questions about GRE Analytical Writing.
GRE Writing Prompts: Key Takeaways
- GRE Analytical Writing is the first section you’ll see on your test.
- The Analytical Writing section features 1 essay prompt, Analyze an Issue, which you have 30 minutes to complete.
- Your essay should demonstrate critical thinking and logical reasoning skills, clear and effective communication of your ideas, and basic English grammar and spelling skills.
- The GRE Issue essay presents a 1-2 sentence opinion that you must respond to. Whether your response agrees or disagrees with the presented opinion does not affect your essay score.
- You do not need specialized subject knowledge to effectively respond to GRE essay prompts.
- The pool of Issue topics GRE tests can feature is available online. That list features actual ETS GRE Writing prompts.
- Review and practice some of the example GRE essay questions in the ETS Issue Pool to get accustomed to GRE essay challenges and refine your GRE writing strategies.
- Do not attempt to memorize all of the GRE Issue essay prompts or determine how to address each GRE Writing question in the topic pool.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Let’s answer a few common questions about GRE Analytical Writing.
What essays are on the GRE?
As of September 22, 2023, there is 1 essay task on the GRE, the Analyze an Issue task.
Are you only given one prompt per GRE essay?
There is only 1 prompt per GRE essay. So, you will see only 1 prompt on any given GRE test.
How long should GRE essays be?
There is no minimum or maximum word count required for the GRE essay. So, conceivably, you could write a high-scoring essay that is 350 words or one that is 600 words. There is no magic number.
That said, in order to effectively develop and support your ideas in a well-organized essay, you’ll need an intro and a conclusion paragraph, plus 2 or 3 paragraphs in between to present and elaborate on your main points. So, we’re looking at a 4-5 paragraph essay.
Now, each paragraph does not have to be overly long; good GRE essays should certainly prioritize quality over quantity. But, in many cases, you may find that 400 words is not quite enough to properly respond to a GRE essay prompt.
Think about it: a 4-paragraph essay (the minimum you’ll need) that is 500 words is only 125 words per paragraph. Those aren’t very long paragraphs!
So, shoot for quality over quantity, but realize that in general, you may need more like 500-600 words to write a cohesive and complete GRE essay.
Can I skip writing on GRE test day?
For the vast majority of GRE test-takers, the answer to this question will be NO. Most graduate schools want applicants submitting GRE scores to have taken the entire GRE, not just parts of it.
So, unless you’ve confirmed that your desired programs don’t consider Writing scores, you should absolutely complete the Analytical Writing section.
For more on this topic, check out our article on the importance of the Analytical Writing score.
Is it hard to get a 4 on GRE writing?
A 4.0 is currently a 56th percentile score in GRE Analytical Writing. Note that the mean GRE writing score is currently just under 3.6. So, a 4.0 is slightly better than average. And, generally speaking, schools consider 4.0 a “good” score, though of course each program will have its own standards.
In any case, considering that nearly half of all people who take the GRE are able to score 4.0 or higher on Analytical Writing, I’d say that it isn’t particularly hard to earn that score.
Of course, if you don’t do any Analytical Writing preparation, or you go into your exam without writing strategies in place, scoring 4.0 could be quite hard. So, the answer to whether any particular score on the GRE is “hard” to earn will always be somewhat relative.
Is a 5.0 on GRE Writing good?
A 5.0 is currently a 91st percentile score in GRE Analytical Writing and is generally considered an excellent score. After all, that score would put you in the top 10% of all GRE test-takers.
To read more about how graduate schools view different Writing scores (and other GRE section scores), check out our article on what a good GRE score is.
What’s Next?
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You also may be interested in these strategies for combating boredom in Reading Comprehension and these myths about the GRE Verbal section.
