Customer Reviews

Kaplan GRE & GMAT Exams Writing Workbook

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The book is great, and will do a fantastic job if you need a lot of help with your essays on the GMAT. However, most people don't, and don't need to spend their time on the AWA section. Admissions don't really care about you essay scores and unless you get less than 4.0, your essays will never be reviewed mentioned or touched by the MBA admissions committee.

Most MBA applicants spend 1 - 2 days on AWA. All you need to do is to memorize a couple of templates (one for each of the essay type - issue and argument). Here are the templates I would suggest to use:

ARGUMENT ESSAY:

Intro:

The argument claims that ....(restate)

Stated in this way the argument:

a) manipulates facts and conveys a distorted view of the situation

b) reveals examples of leap of faith, poor reasoning and ill-defined terminology

c) fails to mention several key factors, on the basis of which it could be evaluated

The conclusion of the argument relies on assumptions for which there is no clear evidence. Hence, the argument is weak/unconvincing and has several flaws.

1st Para:

First, the argument readily assumes that......

This statement is a stretch....

For example,...

Clearly,...

The argument could have been much clearer if it explicitly stated that...

2nd Para:

Second, the argument claims that....

This is again a very weak and unsupported claim as the argument does not demonstrate any correlation between....and...

To illustrate,...

While,...

However,....indeed....

In fact, it is not at all clear...rather....

If the argument had provided evidence that.....then the argument would have been a lot more convincing.

3rd Para:

Finally,...

(pose some questions for the argument).....Without convincing answers to these questions, one is left with the impression that the claim is more of a wishful thinking rather than substantive evidence.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the argument is flawed for the above-mentioned reasons and is therefore unconvincing. It could be considerably strengthened if the author clearly mentioned all the relevant facts....

In order to assess the merits of a certain situation/decision, it is essential to have full knowledge of all contributing factors. In this particular case....

Without this information, the argument remains unsubstantiated and open to debate.

ISSUE ESSAY:

Intro:

Many/some people think that....Others.....(restate)

The issue is a controversial one but a closer examination reveals that....(take a position)...for several reasons.

1st Para:

One reason is that/for...

For example,...

Furthermore,...

Clearly,...

2nd Para:

Another reason is that/for...

To illustrate,...

As a result,...

3rd Para:

Perhaps the best reason is (that)....

Specifically,...

Moreover/In addition....

In fact,....

Therefore,....

Conclusion:

In summary, while there are arguments to be made for both sides, it is clear that there are greater advantages to....(repeat the reasons).

Certainly,.....outweigh.......

Hence,....(re-affirm your position)

***Final tips for essay writing***

- During the tutorial type in a few sentences in the mock essay window to get used to the keyboard.

- Again during the tutorial, jot down on your notebook the basic structure of your essays or the opening sentences in case you get too nervous and forget them when the clock starts ticking.

- Write as much as you can. Try to write at least 500 words per essay.

- Always have the e-rater in mind as your potential reviewer. Remember that the human rater will make every effort to grade just like the e-rater. In that sense, keep your structure and volume in mind over actual quality/content.

- Be careful of spelling mistakes. Double check words that you normally know you misspell (e.g. exercise). Try to finish 2-3 minutes before time is up so you can slowly re-read your essay for the purposes of spell checking. Do not reorganize/delete sentences/paragraphs with less than 2 min left.

- No matter how great you thought your essays went, try to stay humble and focused - remember this was just a warm-up and the real stuff hasn't started yet!

- Write the essays during your practice tests (this will help build your stamina)

BB - Founder of GMAT Club

GMAT Score 750 (49, 42)

Let me know if you have any questions about GMAT books - I have read and reviewed all of them.

This book won't help you write the great american novel, but it will get you ready for the GRE Analytical Writing section.

It is a great workbook. I borrowed several books on this subject (including Peterson's Writing Skills for the GRE) from the library before settling on [buying] this one.

It helped me understand the mechanics of the Writing section and how to tackle the essays effectively. Each chapter is organized in sections that present a topic and end with a short practice exercise. The practice exercises are numerous, just one chapter has 25 of them. There are many sample essay prompts for writing practice too.

I realize there will not be much change in content. This time, I bought it for my sis. Easy read for those with not-too-big-a-brain. I am not saying it is not of good quality. What I am saying is it doesn't make you tired unlike Barrons and stuff.

This book is supposed to give readers exmaples of good writing styles and manners. However, there are ample grammar mistakes, typos and junk spoken English. Even in the answers to the practices, I could find poorly writen sentence like:

"Many people are obsessed with video games and television, which I believe are relatively harmless wastes of time."

For God's sake, it just talked about good grammar a few pages before this!

This book is just another junk to make money but not to help readers. I am wondering if I read the whole book, my score will go up or go down!