100 GRE Essays · ISSUE Section

Author: Qian Kunqiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-06-01
Features: In recent years, the Educational Testing Service (ETS) has discovered that although most Chinese students score very high on the GRE, their writing skills are relatively low, leading to many difficulties in their studies in the United States and causing significant for professors. As a result, they began to believe that GRE scores do not fully represent a student's English proficiency. In light of this, starting from October 2002, the Educational Testing Service made the "Analytical Writing" section of the GRE exam mandatory. The GRE's "Analytical Writing" consists of two parts: one is a 45-minute "Issue." This section often presents a widely discussed phenomenon or raises a common issue, such as: "Progress in ideas is achieved through debate between people with different viewpoints," and then asks candidates to state their opinions on such an issue. Candidates can express their views from any angle, propose their own perspectives, and provide evidence to support their arguments. The other is a 30-minute "Argument." The question types in this section are somewhat similar to the single-question logical reasoning section of the past. The questions often provide an argument, supporting evidence for the argument, and a fairly complete reasoning process. The writing requirement asks candidates not only to express support or opposition to a certain viewpoint but also to conduct an in-depth analysis of the logical relationships of the issue, which means analyzing the argument, evidence, and reasoning process to propose their own judgments and justifications. These questions pose greater challenges to candidates. The "Issue" and "Argument" sections complement each other. The first question requires candidates to state their own views, while the second question asks them to critique someone else's argument. Such questions can test candidates' ability to clearly articulate a complex issue, present their views in a standardized and fluent manner, and provide supporting evidence; to support their views with facts and examples while staying focused on the main issue, effectively assessing candidates' "argumentation (logic) and reasoning" skills. After the GRE writing section became mandatory, it had a significant impact on Chinese candidates. Although most Chinese candidates can barely score 4.0–4.5 on the TOEFL writing section (with only a few scoring 5.0 or above), it is extremely difficult to achieve the same 4.0 or above score on the GRE writing section unless candidates receive outstanding and effective guidance and training. It has been proven that the number of GRE candidates sharply declined after October 2002 (with exam registrations already full long before), and overall scores dropped significantly, with many Chinese candidates failing in the "minefield" of the writing section. However, dialectical philosophy teaches us that even the worst situations have positive aspects. As the English proverb goes, "Oneman'smeatisanotherman'spoison," we can reverse its meaning and rephrase it as "Amajorityofpeople'spoisonistheminority'smeat." The introduction of the GRE writing section has eliminated countless potential competitors for a portion of the top Chinese students. It can be predicted that a handful of excellent writers will face a smoother path in future applications, as long as their application materials are well-prepared. Only those with sharp eyes can seize the opportunity, and only those who seize the opportunity can win the victory. This is all you need to remember.