Going to retake exam but I got a 6 on the AWA essay

[mobenny]

Hi,

Does a 6 on essays mean anything much to B-schools? Or, does this just mean that I could have spent less energy on this part? In fact, I was surprised about the score. I did little to no prep, and writing is not my strongest suit.

Thanks,

MB

[StaceyKoprince]

Awesome! Get a 5 next time.

I'm totally serious - spend less time and energy next time. Still get a good score (5 or even 4.5), but save that mental energy and stamina for the main event.

Also, I know nobody cares about the essay score, but that doesn't mean we don't need to practice the essays - and not just on practice tests. You need to practice how to spend an hour writing two essays in such a way that you (a) get a decent score, while (b) using as little brain power / energy as humanly possible. That actually takes some practice. :)

[mobenny]

Hi Stacy,

To be honest, I don't recall trying particularly hard on this section. The only thing that I recall doing was writing a lot. Thus, I was really surprised when I saw my score. However as you mentioned, as you mentioned I could have done this section in a more brain dead way. How can I practice using less energy on the essays? Should I just use some of the online grading systems?

Thank you for your input!

Moses

[StaceyKoprince]

To start, always do the essays when you take practice tests, both to build stamina and to "dumb things down" on the essay portion.

Do you have OG11? Chapter 10 has a bunch of essay topics. Use these to brainstorm a rough outline (don't necessarily write the whole thing). What position would you take? What examples would you discuss? Etc.

On the essays themselves, don't write more than this (not necessarily in the order given below - each paragraph should just include the info somewhere in that paragraph):

Para 1, 3-4 sentences: thesis. acknowledge other side / point of view. introduce 2 examples.
Para 2, 4-5 sentences: elaborate on 1st example. demonstrate why it supports your thesis.
Para 3, 4-5 sentences: elaborate on 2nd example. demonstrate why it supports your thesis.
Para 4, 3-4 sentences: re-state thesis (new words!). re-acknowledge other side / point of view. remind reader that your examples supported your thesis.

Even using the above abbreviated format, it's still possible to get a 6 (though obviously I've done this a lot, which is why I can still get 6's even using the abbreviated format) - but all you really need is a 5 and the skills you already have will get you there. (Obviously, your writing and reasoning skills have to be very good for this to work, but yours are since you already got that 6!)

To others reading, the above abbreviated form will get you a "good enough" score IF your writing and reasoning skills are excellent. If they're not, then this abbreviated form may not work for you.

[mobenny]

Thanks!

I will practice this. This makes me think that I should be doing better on the Critical Reasoning since both seem to take reasoning skills. To be honest my scores are average on this section as well as reading comp. Any tricks to improve my scores?

Thanks,

Moses

[StaceyKoprince]

Yeah, there's about 100 pages worth in the CR book. :) Seriously, it's tough to answer such an open-ended question, but if you are struggling with specific questions or question types, I suggest that you post your questions in the relevant folders here on the forums. Try to do some analysis to figure out, to some extent at least, what you're struggling with, and then you can ask some more targeted questions that could actually be answered in a few paragraphs in a forum setting. Good luck with the studying!

[mobenny]

Thank you.

I'll look into my difficulties in greater detail.

Moses

[RonPurewal]

How can I practice using less energy on the essays? Should I just use some of the online grading systems?

Thank you for your input!

Moses

i'm going to be the yang to stacey's yin here, and tell you that you should pretty much do exactly what you're already doing.

by your own admission, you've already scored a 6 on the essay, without being a try-hard at all. therefore, in my professional opinion, it would be ridiculous for you to start trying to implement some "system" for the essays.
such "systems" are, in the main, designed for students who aren't currently scoring very well on the essays, so that those students can follow a protocol and get an acceptable score without wasting all of their energy.

since you currently use NO system, i've no doubt that, if you were to implement a system, you would be, ironically, trying much harder than you would pre-system.
this is a simple fact: whenever anyone institutes any system to which they are not yet accustomed, the system requires a sizable investment of effort up-front.
organizational systems, diets, mileage logs, it doesn't matter what system we're talking about: implementing any system takes effort.
don't do it.
if you scored a 6 with near-zero effort, then continue to do exactly as you were doing, using the same near-zero effort, and you will still score fine. you won't necessarily get the 6 every time, but you also won't suddenly drop to a 3.5, either.

--

if you want to guarantee a drop to a 5.5 or 5, then drop a couple "lol"s and "hell ya"s in there.

[StaceyKoprince]

I agree that you shouldn't employ some totally new system - that actually wasn't what I was trying to suggest. Sorry if I didn't make that clear!

You mentioned that you wrote "a lot" even though it didn't seem like much effort to you. But you did have to use more brain power / energy to write a lot. My suggestion was actually just focused on stripping down what you write - you're not really changing how you write, just how much. :)

[mobenny]

So, basically I need to write less and drop in a "LOL" or "ur" into the essay...I wish the other parts of the test were this intuitive.

Thanks!

Moses

[StaceyKoprince]

lol - that would be hilarious. :)

[mobenny]

Just trying to make the GMAT fun ... what can I say?

[StaceyKoprince]

I like your instincts! ;)