Intro to Argument Essay

Chris Lele

  • The Argument Task requires test-takers to critically analyze a paragraph for logical flaws and suggest improvements.
  • It emphasizes the importance of attacking the argument, highlighting that the paragraph is intentionally flawed.
  • Examples are used to illustrate common logical fallacies and how to address them in the essay.
  • The structure of the essay should include an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
  • Directions following the argument paragraph are crucial for guiding the essay's structure and content, as per GMAT's requirements.

The GMAT in its current form will be offered through early 2024. Starting on November 7, 2023, a new, shorter version of the exam called the GMAT Focus will become available to take.

All the AWA Essay lessons apply to the current GMAT only. (The GMAT Focus edition does not have an essay.)

Please see the lesson " New GMAT Focus Edition Can be Taken Starting November 7, 2023 " for more details about the Focus edition.

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Logical Fallacies and the Argument Essay

Argument essay.

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Brainstorming for AWA

gre argument essay magoosh

Writing the Argument Essay

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How's my argument essay (from Magoosh practice test)

This is from my first Magoosh mock test. It's from the argument essay

SuperCorp recently moved its headquarters to Corporateville. The recent surge in the number of homeowners in Corporateville proves that Corporateville is a superior place to live than Middlesburg, the home of SuperCorp's original headquarters. Moreover, Middlesburg is a predominately urban area and according to an employee survey, SuperCorp has determined that its workers prefer to live in an area that is not urban. Finally, Corporateville has lower taxes than Middlesburg, making it not only a safer place to work but also a cheaper one. Therefore, Supercorp clearly made the best decision.

There are several assumptions presented in this argument that are not only unsubstantiated but also use flawed logic. Firstly, they argue that a surge in homeowners makes Corporateville a "superior" place to live, but that's not necessarily true. They also argue that because Corporateville has lower taxes, it's a "safer" and "cheaper" place to live, but what exactly about lower taxes makes a place "safer"? Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the argument makes the assumption that all of its employees would be able to relocate to Corporateville, which can't be true.
SuperCorp argues that since Corporateville has had a surge in homeowners, that it must be a "superior" place to live. This is not necessarily true. There could be many confounding variables that led to the surge in homeowners. Perhaps a large business moved into the town and forced their employees to relocate there. Perhaps gentrification or white flight caused a large amount of a certain demographic to move into CorporateVille. This argument provides no context for the surge in homeowners, context that could possibly strengthen the argument.
The argument also assumes that the lower taxes of CorporateVille make the town "safer" and more affordable. There are several things wrong with this assumption. Firstly, how does lower taxes make an area safer? That does not follow logically. In order for that argument to work, they would need to explain how exactly lower taxes makes an area safer. Lower taxes also doesn't necessarily make an area more affordable. Again, the argument is ignoring confounding variables to make its assumptions. While taxes may be lower in CorporateVille, home prices and the cost of living in CorporateVille may be higher than in Middlesburg. The argument would need to explore those variables to solidify that assumption of "more affordable".
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the argument assumes that its employees want or can locate to Corporateville. True, the company did a survey, but the survery didn't ask employees if they wanted to move to Corporateville, it asked if they preferred non-urban areas. Even assuming that Middlesburg is "urban" and that most employees prefer less urban areas, that still doesn't mean that employees can or want to relocate. The argument needs to clarify the willingness of its employees to actually relocate, instead of using some vague survey.
The argument makes a lot of assumptions that ignores a lot of variables. It contains a lot of vague information and uses it to argue that Corporateville would be a cheaper, safer place to live that its employees would want to relocated to. However, that's not necessarily true and some of the factors considered in the argument need to be expounded upon.

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Writer’s/Essay Goal

Kristin Fracchia

  • Identify the writer's specific goal by reviewing the question's language and the essay's scope.
  • Evaluate if the essay achieves the stated goal, ensuring it is neither too broad nor too narrow.
  • Eliminate answer choices with rationales that do not align with the essay's goal.
  • Review the main idea of each paragraph to understand the essay's overall argument.
  • Use process of elimination for answer choices that don't logically support the essay's achievement of the goal.

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Adding or Deleting Sentences

Rhetorical strategy.

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Content Writer - Study Abroad | Updated On - Jun 19, 2024

Highlights:

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Magoosh GRE test prep offers 3 plans with varying features and durations. All GRE study plans include access to video lessons covering every topic, a massive question bank, GRE Magoosh practice tests with video explanations, and progress-tracking tools.

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Magoosh online GRE offers hundreds of videos covering every possible topic. Along with lots of Magoosh GRE practice tests, vocabulary flashcards, Magoosh GRE books , math formula sheets, and other GRE-related info. Magoosh GRE prep has a blog with hundreds of articles, including lots of vocabulary articles, and various GRE study plans. Hence, Magoosh is definitely a choice for aspirants.

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Since there are so many lengthy videos on Magoosh hence there's a tremendous time investment involved. So even though Magoosh is inexpensive in terms of money, it is very expensive in terms of time.

Magoosh provides an in-depth personalized GRE study plan to the test-takers.
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Magoosh does provide 1, 2, 3, and 6-month study plans, but they aren't very objective - all involve heavy use of their course's videos and questions and are obviously designed to get you to sign up for their course.

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  1. Argument Task Example Magoosh GRE

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  2. Lessons

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  3. Magoosh Essay Rubric for the GRE

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  4. Gre prep essay writing majortests.com

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  5. How to Use the GRE Essay Pool for Effective Practice

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  6. GRE Argument Essay: Top 6 Strategies & Sample Essay

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COMMENTS

  1. GRE Essay: Tips on Approaching the GRE Analytical Writing Section

    The GRE essay is a 30-minute task which requires reading an opinion of an issue and then crafting a well-supported argument. The GRE essay not only tests your ability to form a cogent thesis statement but also how well you defend your position over the course of several paragraphs.

  2. GRE Issue Essay: Strategies + 8 Real Student Essays with Scores

    Now that you have the basics down, let's take a look at some more detailed strategies you can use to maximize your score on the GRE AWA Issue essay. 1. Be Organized. Even an impassioned, cogent response falls apart if it is not bundled into a proper essay format: An introduction, a few body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

  3. How to Use the GRE Essay Pool for Effective Practice

    With the upcoming changes to the GRE in September 2023, students will no longer be required to write the Argument Essay. To prepare effectively for this section, it's essential to practice with various essay topics. ETS, the organization that administers the GRE, provides an extensive pool of essay topics for both the Issue Essay and the ...

  4. GRE Writing A Step-by-Step Guide to the GRE Argument Essay

    In this video, GRE expert, Mason, walks you through the steps you should take when writing a strong GRE Argument Essay:00:00 - GRE expert Mason shares how he...

  5. Intro to Argument Task (Was On GRE Before Sept. 22, 2023)

    This lesson only applies to the current GRE through September 21, 2023. On September 22, 2023, the GRE will change and become shorter. One of the key changes is that the Argument Essay will no longer be a question on the exam. For more about other changes to the exam, please see the lesson "The New, Shorter GRE on Sept 22, 2023." Q.

  6. Elements of the Argument

    An argument will have premises -- facts and background information -- as well as a conclusion based on those premises. There are unstated assumptions that are necessary for the premises to logically lead to the conclusion. If these assumptions are true, then the conclusion is strong; if one or more of these assumptions turn out to not be true ...

  7. Intro to Argument Task (Was On GRE Before Sept. 22, 2023)

    And this is important, because in the issue statement, you're actually the one providing the argument. In this case that someone is, and that someone being GRE or ETS, is gonna provide you with an argument. And you have to discuss ways that this argument can be improved. Now let's take an actual look here at an argument.

  8. How do I deal with different AWA argument task prompts ...

    Good question! While the different prompts for the AWA argument tasks may seem different, the strategy for responding to them is essentially always the same. You need to (1) understand the argument and (2) identify the holes in the argument. These 'holes' are logical fallacies.

  9. Score Your GRE Essay

    Give each aspect of your essay a score ranging from zero to six. Total all four scores and find the average. Now you have a sense of your writing score. Round scores up as follows: Round a score of 4.25 to 4.5 and a score of 3.75 to 4. Of course evaluating your own writing will be hard if you don't know what to look for, but this is a perfect ...

  10. I need AWA help! How do I practice and improve?

    List of AWA Argument Prompts. This is a list of ALL of the topics from the exam, so you WILL see one of these topics on your test. The prompts you will see on test day are drawn from these pools! Write practice essays in response to some of these prompts. Even though the prompts you will see on test day are in those lists, don't try to memorize ...

  11. GRE Argument Task

    GRE Argument Task — Magoosh Mock 4. The following appeared as part of the Dean's newsletter: "The University of Wabash is considering a community service requirement for all undergraduate ...

  12. Intro to Argument Essay

    Summary. The Argument Task of the AWA section on the GRE requires test-takers to critically analyze and challenge a given argument, identifying its logical flaws and suggesting improvements. The task involves being presented with an argument that intentionally contains logical flaws. Test-takers must adopt a critical stance, challenging the ...

  13. Logical Fallacies

    This lesson only applies to the current GRE through September 21, 2023. On September 22, 2023, the GRE will change and become shorter. One of the key changes is that the Argument Essay will no longer be a question on the exam. For more about other changes to the exam, please see the lesson "The New, Shorter GRE on Sept 22, 2023."

  14. How's my argument essay (from Magoosh practice test) : r/GRE

    How's my argument essay (from Magoosh practice test) This is from my first Magoosh mock test. It's from the argument essay. SuperCorp recently moved its headquarters to Corporateville. The recent surge in the number of homeowners in Corporateville proves that Corporateville is a superior place to live than Middlesburg, the home of SuperCorp's ...

  15. 12 Tips to Ace GRE Writing

    2 minutes to read through the prompt and directions. 3 minutes brainstorming, outlining, and writing a thesis statement. 20 minutes writing the body paragraphs and examples of your essay. 2 minutes to edit for small mistakes, such as grammatical errors. 3 minutes (if available) to write an intro.

  16. How are the GRE Essays Scored?

    ETS says that essays are graded "using a six-point holistic scale." In holistic scoring, the professional readers are trained to assign scores on the basis of the overall quality of an essay (both its quality as writing and its quality in response to the assigned task, so the instructions matter). ETS also tells us that "the primary emphasis in ...

  17. Writer's/Essay Goal

    The lesson focuses on understanding and answering questions related to whether an essay achieves the writer's intended goal, a common question type on the ACT exam. Identify the writer's specific goal by reviewing the question's language and the essay's scope. Evaluate if the essay achieves the stated goal, ensuring it is neither too broad nor ...

  18. GRE Analytical Writing Category

    The GRE includes a unique component called the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA), where test-takers are currently required to write two essays: the Issue Essay and the Argument Essay. With the upcoming changes to the GRE in September 2023, students will no longer be required to write the Argument Essay. To prepare effectively for this section

  19. Magoosh Essay Rubric For The GRE

    This document outlines Magoosh's rubric for scoring essay responses on the GRE and GMAT on a scale of 0 to 6. It evaluates essays based on four criteria: quality of ideas, organization, writing style, and grammar/usage. Higher scores are given for well-developed ideas, clear organization, varied sentence structures and word choice, and proper grammar. Lower scores indicate vague, disorganized ...

  20. A Comprehensive Overview of Magoosh GRE Course

    Magoosh GRE review comprises the advantage of accessing the resources from anywhere - computer, laptop, smartphone. Students can access the mobile browser. Limited Practice Tests Magoosh GRE review slightly suffers from a setback when it comes to full-length practice tests. While the related GRE prep courses have 6 - 8, Magoosh GRE prep has 3.

  21. What is the GRE Test? All You Need to Know (2024)

    Given a specific issue, you'll need to stake a position and then support your argument. You'll want to write an essay that's well structured (with a clearly defined thesis), well reasoned (with examples that convincingly show your position), and well expressed. ... Explore the Magoosh GRE blog for more advice, practice questions, and tips.

  22. GRE Prep Tips & Advice

    Magoosh is the leader in GRE prep having helped millions of students study since 2010. Our affordable self-study plan includes exclusive official practice questions, full-length practice tests, and a score improvement guarantee. Top Resources: Free GRE Practice Test 1,000+ Vocab Flashcards Daily Study Plans What's a good GRE score? Math ...

  23. GRE Tips for Non-Native English Speakers

    Magoosh is the leader in GRE prep having helped millions of students study since 2010. ... Her expertise runs the gamut of standardized tests, but there's a special place in her heart for the verbal and essay components. Looking for a way to help more students, especially those who were unable to afford access to expensive test prep programs ...