VERY LOW GRE writing score

[PTHoustonTX]

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Hello 🙂

I am applying in the upcoming cycle (July 2016). I plan to apply to most of the programs in Texas. Some out of state. My stats are as follows:

CGPA: 3.87
Pre-req GPA: 3.88
GRE: (took the practice GRE twice): Math: 150 Verbal: 158 Writing: 1.5
Obs hours: 330 in a variety of settings

Overall I think my stats are pretty good, however THAT WRITING SCORE 🙁. I havent taken the actual GRE yet, I took two practice GRE's and for both i scored around the above score. I am an average writer but when it came to the GRE prompt, I was stumped!! My question is how important is the writing score on the GRE? Should I spend more time working on the writing score or can I utilize that time to work on something else? Will I get rejected solely because of my embarrassing writing score? Most of the schools I looked at didn't even mention a writing score threshold, do they not really care about the writing score at all??

Another question, does the personal statement on PTCAS change every year? Or is it the same "vision" prompt every year. 2015-2016 prompt was about the vision of APTA. Will it be the same for this 2016 cycle?

Any help will be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Phyline]

https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/argument/sample_responses

How did you grade your essay? I highly doubt you scored this low. You need to have all sorts of grammatical and spelling errors and completely misunderstand the prompt to even get a 2.

 

[PTHoustonTX]

Im taking an online GRE course and they graded it. They said my essay was too short. I had three paragraphs, each of which had 4-5 sentences

 

[turtlot]

No worries! I believe there's a formula for how to combat the AW section of the GRE.

For the Issue Essay, the objective of it is to state your stance on the issue at hand. Make sure you write at least 4 paragraphs all with 4-5 sentences inputting examples into each paragraph to help strengthen your argument. Always put your strongest point first followed by your weakest.

-Intro
-Point 1 with examples (strongest)
-Point 2 with examples (weakest)
-Conclusion

For the Argument Essay, it's a little bit trickier. You're essentially supposed to find the flaws in the Excerpt given and figure out what the author can do to strengthen it. Same rules as with the Issue Essay: at least 4 paragraphs 4-5 sentences with examples.

-Intro
-What is flawed (strongest flaw then weakest flaw)
-What can be done to fix (include minor flaws)
-Conclusion

Using this formula, I received 4.0 both times I took the GRE. Most schools want an average AW score of at least a 4.0.

Hope this helps!

 

[Spydra]

One of the things that really helped me with the AW section was focusing on the easiest stance to write about even if it differed from my actual opinion. So for the Analyze an Issue prompt I made a quick list of reactions/thoughts. If more of those things sat in the "disagree" camp then that's how I wrote my essay, nevermind if I actually agreed with the prompt. For the Analyze an Argument prompt I didn't fixate on whether the statements were true or matched my own opinion, which is where I bet most people get stumped. If Point A led to Point B, but Point C skipped Evidence D to get to Point E then that's what I wrote about.

In terms of layout I followed the 5 paragraph format: intro/thesis, point 1, point 2, point 3, and conclusion. I took the GRE twice, the first time my AW was 4.0 and the second it was 4.5 which was fine for the programs I applied to.

 

[PTHoustonTX]

One of the things that really helped me with the AW section was focusing on the easiest stance to write about even if it differed from my actual opinion. So for the Analyze an Issue prompt I made a quick list of reactions/thoughts. If more of those things sat in the "disagree" camp then that's how I wrote my essay, nevermind if I actually agreed with the prompt. For the Analyze an Argument prompt I didn't fixate on whether the statements were true or matched my own opinion, which is where I bet most people get stumped. If Point A led to Point B, but Point C skipped Evidence D to get to Point E then that's what I wrote about.

In terms of layout I followed the 5 paragraph format: intro/thesis, point 1, point 2, point 3, and conclusion. I took the GRE twice, the first time my AW was 4.0 and the second it was 4.5 which was fine for the programs I applied to.

Thank you SO much!! I will look into that!

 

[PTHoustonTX]

One of the things that really helped me with the AW section was focusing on the easiest stance to write about even if it differed from my actual opinion. So for the Analyze an Issue prompt I made a quick list of reactions/thoughts. If more of those things sat in the "disagree" camp then that's how I wrote my essay, nevermind if I actually agreed with the prompt. For the Analyze an Argument prompt I didn't fixate on whether the statements were true or matched my own opinion, which is where I bet most people get stumped. If Point A led to Point B, but Point C skipped Evidence D to get to Point E then that's what I wrote about.

In terms of layout I followed the 5 paragraph format: intro/thesis, point 1, point 2, point 3, and conclusion. I took the GRE twice, the first time my AW was 4.0 and the second it was 4.5 which was fine for the programs I applied to.

No worries! I believe there's a formula for how to combat the AW section of the GRE.

For the Issue Essay, the objective of it is to state your stance on the issue at hand. Make sure you write at least 4 paragraphs all with 4-5 sentences inputting examples into each paragraph to help strengthen your argument. Always put your strongest point first followed by your weakest.

-Intro
-Point 1 with examples (strongest)
-Point 2 with examples (weakest)
-Conclusion

For the Argument Essay, it's a little bit trickier. You're essentially supposed to find the flaws in the Excerpt given and figure out what the author can do to strengthen it. Same rules as with the Issue Essay: at least 4 paragraphs 4-5 sentences with examples.

-Intro
-What is flawed (strongest flaw then weakest flaw)
-What can be done to fix (include minor flaws)
-Conclusion

Using this formula, I received 4.0 both times I took the GRE. Most schools want an average AW score of at least a 4.0.

Hope this helps!

Oh wow, Thank you SOO much! I will def follow this format and see how I do next time. I sincerely appreciate the help!

 

[PTHoustonTX]

No worries! I believe there's a formula for how to combat the AW section of the GRE.

For the Issue Essay, the objective of it is to state your stance on the issue at hand. Make sure you write at least 4 paragraphs all with 4-5 sentences inputting examples into each paragraph to help strengthen your argument. Always put your strongest point first followed by your weakest.

-Intro
-Point 1 with examples (strongest)
-Point 2 with examples (weakest)
-Conclusion

For the Argument Essay, it's a little bit trickier. You're essentially supposed to find the flaws in the Excerpt given and figure out what the author can do to strengthen it. Same rules as with the Issue Essay: at least 4 paragraphs 4-5 sentences with examples.

-Intro
-What is flawed (strongest flaw then weakest flaw)
-What can be done to fix (include minor flaws)
-Conclusion

Using this formula, I received 4.0 both times I took the GRE. Most schools want an average AW score of at least a 4.0.

Hope this helps!

Oh wow, Thank you SOO much! I will def follow this format and see how I do next time. I sincerely appreciate the help!

 

[turtlot]

Oh wow, Thank you SOO much! I will def follow this format and see how I do next time. I sincerely appreciate the help!

No worries! I went from a 1.5 AW on practice GRE's to a 4.0 AW. If I can do it, you can do it too! 🙂

Spend your time wisely during the 30 minutes allowed. Spend 5-8 minutes gathering your ideas together on scratch paper. By the 25-22 min mark, start writing immediately. If you're planning to write a 4-5 paragraph essay, make sure you give yourself enough time to do so. If you don't have time to write 5 paragraphs, write 4 paragraphs. Make sure the essay is cohesive and achieves the objective. If you have two minutes to spare towards the end, use that time to edit your essay quickly. If not, then hope for the best!

Download the software ETS offers to prepare for the GRE. I know it provides examples for the AW section with past years essays and the scores they received. It will also provide feedback for these essays.

Good luck on the GRE!

 

[DPTjm12]

My older sister is an English PhD student so I took all of her old GRE books to help me study. Since hers were specially for English majors, they took a lot of time emphasizing how to write a really great essay. That's all I studied and I got a 5 on the writing. Hope that helps!