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Last Updated on November 14, 2023
Many students starting their GRE prep ask me, “Is the Analytical Writing important in GRE scoring?”
For a variety of reasons, GRE test-takers often have mistaken impressions about whether the Analytical Writing measure matters and how much it matters. So, in this article, we’ll bust some myths about GRE Analytical Writing and answer the most common questions about the Analytical Writing score.
Here are the topics we’ll cover:
- What Is the GRE Analytical Writing Measure?
- How Does Analytical Writing Affect GRE Scores?
- Does the Writing Score Matter to Graduate Schools?
- A Little Preparation Goes a Long Way
- Key Takeaways
- What’s Next?
To start, let’s review what exactly GRE Analytical Writing entails.
What Is the GRE Analytical Writing Measure?
The Analytical Writing measure is the first section you’ll see on your GRE. This section contains one essay tasks, which you have 30 minutes to complete.
The Issue task asks you to analyze an issue. The essay prompt presents an opinion about a topic of general interest. You’ll have to craft an essay responding to that opinion, with your own reasoning and examples supporting your stance. Whether your response agrees or disagrees with the presented opinion does not affect your essay score. The point is to pick whatever position allows you to craft as logical, coherent, and convincing an essay as possible.
The Analytical Writing measure does not require you to have particular subject matter knowledge. All of the information you need to write an effective response will appear in the essay prompt, be common knowledge, or be things that you happen to know and can utilize in your essay.
You will write your essays using the basic word processing program provided by the GRE test platform. That program features common functions such as Cut, Paste, Delete, and Undo, but does not feature automated spelling or grammar check.
KEY FACT:
The Analytical Writing measure contains one essay task, which you have 30 minutes to complete.
Now that we know what to expect in the GRE Analytical Writing measure, let’s discuss how GRE essays are scored.
How Does Analytical Writing Affect GRE Scores?
The Analytical Writing section is scored separately from the rest of your GRE. In fact, you won’t see your Analytical Writing score along with your other scores on test day, because your essay is scored by a trained human reader as well as the computer. So, to allow time for a human to read your essays, you receive your Analytical Writing score once your official scores are posted to your ets.org account. The score you receive is on a 0-6 scale, in half-point increments.
KEY FACT:
The Analytical Writing section is scored separately from the rest of your GRE.
Now, when test-takers hear that the GRE Analytical Writing score is separate, generally one of the first questions they ask is, is GRE writing a part of the GRE overall score? The simple answer is no. Your GRE total score reflects your performance in the Quant and Verbal sections of the exam. Since you receive your total score immediately upon completion of your exam, before your essay has been scored, it has no effect on your overall GRE score. (You can get a detailed breakdown of how the GRE is scored here.)
KEY FACT:
Your total GRE score does not include Analytical Writing.
Because the Analytical Writing score is not factored into the total GRE score, and because test-takers don’t receive their Analytical Writing scores on test day, many GRE students assume that the essay score doesn’t really matter. However, depending on the graduate program to which you’re applying, your Analytical Writing score may be an important part of how admissions views your GRE scores. Let’s discuss.
Does the Writing Score Matter to Graduate Schools?
Test-takers often mistakenly assume that graduate schools don’t really care about the GRE essay score. The general thinking is that, since the Analytical Writing score is not part of the total GRE score, it doesn’t matter.
Furthermore, test-takers applying to programs in certain fields may assume that writing skills are unimportant for those programs. Or they may think that as long as their application essays are well-written, admissions will “already know” that they have writing skills.
It’s true that programs in some fields expect higher Analytical Writing scores than others. For instance, even top Engineering programs generally don’t expect Analytical Writing scores as high as those that a good Journalism or English program wants to see. That said, even more math-focused programs may look askance at a very low essay score.
So, this begs the question, what is a good Analytical Writing score for the GRE?
What Is a Good Analytical Writing Score on the GRE?
Analytical Writing is no different from the other GRE sections in that particular section scores matter more for some programs than for others.
Let’s take our earlier example of an Engineering vs. Journalism program. The graduate program in Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon, a top 5 Engineering school, reports that the average Analytical Writing score of admitted students is 4.0. NYU’s master’s in Journalism program, on the other hand, reports that its students have an average Analytical Writing score of 5.0.
Of course, this disparity is no surprise. Advanced writing skills are central to a student’s ability to perform at a high level in a Journalism program. That said, a 4.0 average is still pretty good for a “math-centric” program such as Engineering, right?
In other words, it’s a mistake to assume that, because a program is not centered on verbal or writing skills, any Analytical Writing score will do. Would you feel super confident applying to the Mechanical Engineering program at Carnegie Mellon with a 2.5 Analytical Writing score? A 3.0?
The moral of the story is that it’s always best to research the GRE Analytical Writing score averages at the specific programs you’re interested in. Those averages will tell you how important Analytical Writing is for you. If your field of study is more verbal-focused, chances are the Analytical Writing score will matter more than if your field is more math-focused. However, even if you’re applying to math-focused programs, assuming that the Writing score doesn’t matter at all is a mistake.
TTP PRO TIP:
Research the Analytical Writing score averages at the programs you’re interested in to determine how much the Writing section matters for admissions.
Consider School Ranking
Highly ranked programs may require pretty impressive scores in every GRE section.
For instance, UC Berkeley’s graduate program in Psychology, ranked #1 by U.S. News, reports that the 2020 cohort of admitted students had the following average GRE scores:
- Quant 160
- Verbal 163
- Analytical Writing 4.8
It’s difficult to look at those averages and say that the program cares much more about one GRE section vs. another, or that any of the sections isn’t “important.”
Keep this example in mind when researching score averages at your desired programs, because in some cases, you may find data only on GRE Quant and Verbal scores, not Analytical Writing scores. In those cases, you’ll want to consider the program rankings. Are you looking at very highly ranked programs that will want to see fairly high scores in every GRE section?
Additionally, you can look for Analytical Writing score averages at similarly ranked programs, which will probably have score expectations similar to those of the programs you’re interested in. Furthermore, you can always reach out to admissions at your desired programs to try to get further insight into what kinds of GRE essay scores they look for from applicants.
Looking for further guidance on applying to schools? Schedule a free consultation with a TTP admissions expert today.
TTP PRO TIP:
If Analytical Writing score averages aren’t available for your desired programs, look at averages at similarly ranked programs and consider contacting admissions for further insight.
Beware the Steep Drop in the Score Percentiles
Let’s say you’re not applying to a top-ranked school. Or, you’ve determined that Analytical Writing is the least emphasized GRE section for admissions at your desired programs. Even in those cases, you should be aware that there are sharp drops in the percentile rankings associated with Analytical Writing scores below a certain point.
Let’s take a look at the latest Analytical Writing percentile rankings, per ETS, as of this writing. Note that ETS reports that the average Analytical Writing score among all GRE test-takers is 3.6.
| Analytical Writing Score | Percentile Rank |
|---|---|
| 6.0 | 99 |
| 5.5 | 97 |
| 5.0 | 91 |
| 4.5 | 79 |
| 4.0 | 54 |
| 3.5 | 37 |
| 3.0 | 13 |
| 2.5 | 6 |
| 2.0 | 2 |
| 1.5 | 1 |
| 1.0 | |
| 0.5 | |
| 0.0 |
Notice that the differences in percentile rankings among the upper scores are not that great. However, as we approach and fall below the average Analytical Writing score, the percentile rankings quickly plummet.
So, while the difference between scoring, say, 3.5 and 3.0 may not seem that significant to many test-takers, going from “around average” to a 13th percentile ranking may seem pretty darn significant to admissions.
Given the steep drops we see in percentile rankings associated with below-average Analytical Writing scores, I think it’s generally wise to aim for an Analytical Writing score of at least 3.5, even for math-focused programs. That way, you avoid those really low percentile rankings.
Remember, you don’t want to give admissions the impression that you didn’t care enough to even try on your GRE essays. And of course, the higher the Analytical Writing averages at your desired programs, the higher you should aim.
TTP PRO TIP:
Generally speaking, test-takers should try to at least hit the worldwide average Analytical Writing score of 3.5, to avoid very low percentile rankings.
Can I Skip Analytical Writing on the GRE?
One very common question I hear from GRE students, particularly those applying to programs that emphasize Quant, is whether it’s okay to skip the Analytical Writing section of the GRE.
For most 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 your desired programs explicitly state that they don’t consider GRE Writing scores, you definitely should not skip Analytical Writing. Furthermore, even if a program states on its website that Writing scores are not required or considered, it’s a smart idea to contact admissions directly to confirm that policy. You don’t want an avoidable slip-up such as skipping Analytical Writing to cause any problems with your application.
TTP PRO TIP:
Do not skip the GRE Writing unless you have confirmed with admissions that Analytical Writing scores are not factored into admissions decisions.
A Little Preparation Goes a Long Way
All things considered, most GRE test-takers have to complete the Analytical Writing section. Furthermore, many (if not most) need to aim for an Analytical Writing score that is at least average or better than average.
Fortunately, preparing for Analytical Writing does not have to take a huge chunk out of your GRE prep time. When it comes to the GRE essays, a little preparation goes a long way — even more reason not to neglect Analytical Writing! Just taking a few days to do the following could mean the difference between a mediocre Analytical Writing score and a top-notch one:
- Review the kinds of prompts you could see on your exam.
- Solidify a basic outline to follow for your essay.
- Practice writing an essay or two.
At the end of the day, this relatively small investment of time and effort will be well worth it!
TTP PRO TIP:
Take a few days to review the GRE essay topic pools that ETS publishes, solidify a basic outline to follow for each essay type, and practice writing an essay or two of each type.
Key Takeaways
- The Analytical Writing measure contains one task in which you have 30 minutes to write an essay analyzing an issue.
- Analytical Writing is scored on a 0-6 scale, in half-point increments.
- Your Analytical Writing score is not factored into your total GRE score.
- The average Analytical Writing score among all GRE test-takers is 3.6.
- Below-average Analytical Writing scores are associated with percentile rankings in the low teens and single digits.
- It’s a mistake to assume that, because a program is not centered on verbal or writing skills, a low Analytical Writing score will be acceptable.
- To set your Analytical Writing score goal, research the GRE Analytical Writing score averages at the specific programs you’re interested in, or similarly ranked programs. You’ll want to at least hit those averages or better.
- Unless your desired programs explicitly state that they don’t consider GRE Writing scores, do not skip the Writing section of your exam.
- AWA prep doesn’t have to eat up a huge chunk of your GRE prep time. A little goes a long way!
What’s Next?
Wondering how much GRE scores matter in general for graduate school? Check out this article for guidance.
You also may be interested in this article about what graduate schools consider a good GRE score.
