3 Reasons Not to Ignore AW in GRE

Do you know why you should NOT ignore the Analytical Writing section in the GRE Test?

The Official Score Report of the GRE General Test provides the scores that a student receives in the three sections - Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning & Analytical Writing - separately. However, in the public forums, when one discusses about the GRE Score, only the summation of the Quant and Verbal scores is mentioned. So when someone is quoting a 320 score, it does not include the AW score. Because of this, many students are under the misconception that the AW section is not important. This is a mistake!

The performance in the Analytical Writing Section does impact one’s chances of admission to the university.

Reason 1:

When the university asks for the GRE Score Report, it is not just gauging the applicant’s performance in the Quantitative and Verbal Reasoning Measures but is also checking how well one has done in the Analytical Writing Section. Normally, most universities require a minimum score of about 2.5 to 3.0.

Reason 2:

In case one is applying to a Doctoral (Ph.D) program, then the importance of the AW Section further increases. Universities do give more weightage to the performance in the Writing section when evaluating applications for Doctoral programs.

Reason 3:

Students who score 4.0 and above in the Analytical Writing Section stand a better chance to be granted Research or Teaching Assistantships.

Learning:

Do know about the AW section, prepare and ensure that you get a good score.