Analysis of Issue and Argument Essay - updated

Analysis of Issue Essay

I believe all my previous posts could have helped you to get the basic idea about the New GRE, so i started to explain individual topics in the GRE test, so this is the time to analyze about the issue task in the new GRE, what are the essential guidelines to write a good Issue Essay and score great, read this post completely to get the broad idea about the Issue Task.

Guidelines:

1.) This Issue Task will usually have a statement or two, stating about the issue 

2.) It is usually a straight forward question, so no need to get confused. 

3.) After that statement, follow the set of instructions telling you how to address the topic. 

4.) This guidelines could be followed to all the Issue essays irrespective of the topic.

     a.) Please read the instructions carefully to make sure your response fits well into the issue essay and don't differ from the topic. 

     b.) You have to explain your position/side on an issue, since All the issue topics will have two sides. 

     c.) You must justify your opinion of the topic under discussion with adequate reasons and some sets of examples. 

     d.) There is no "correct/wrong" side in the issue task: just decide your position on the topic after consideration of the pros and cons.

     e.) Always try to be 80-90 one-sided in your discussion, don't fluctuate and confuse the examiner. 

     f.) It is wise to spend the first 5 minutes in thinking and planning. Use your scratch paper and try to think of some 3-5 specific examples on the topic and support your point of view.

    g.) Please look at the topic in a holistic way to show that you are aware of the implications of the different positions on the topic.

Format of your essay:

1.) First of all, there is no specific format for this issue essay, But its better to practice writing in your own unique format to attract the examiner. 

2.) Just beware of the time management, keep in mind always, that you have only 30 minutes to plan and write the essay, so don't show your novel writing skills in this issue
essay. Try to be specific to your topic, introduce your creative ideas in presenting the essay. 

4.) Try to have 2-4 examples , explaining 1 example per paragraph, makes it best organized essay, the more number of relative examples would definitely fetch you more marks 

5.) When you are preparing for the Issue Essay, practice to write as many issue essays as possible. It is better to practice the issue topics given in the official GRE site

NOTE: I would attach the issue topics pool from the official website of GRE soon... check my Blog later and download those topics and practice. 

6.) The Best format to follow for the Issue Essay is to start up with the Introduction paragraph stating about the issue and some of your examples(not explanation) , followed with 2-3 paragraphs of explaining your examples (explain only 1 example per paragraph) and finally conclude the issue essay by your points of view firmly stated.

NOTE: please make it organized by adding the best connectors at the start of each paragraph, don't make an abrupt start, it may look weird to the examiner. 

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The following format is the general format for the Issue task, so try to follow this simple format to score more. Usually the 3 part format has the following components to it:

Part I - Introduction: 

a.) Write an introduction explaining in your own words about the given Issue.  

b.) Try to put-forth your points to make it an interesting discussion, and make it clear why the topic is controversial.  

c.) It is wise to end your introduction paragraph by giving your thesis statement (conclusion), try to be specific in your conclusion, don't confuse the examiner.

Part II - The body of the essay 

a.) The Body of the essay should be specific, while the introduction and conclusion part could be general. 

b.) As described earlier, write 2-4 paragraphs to support your position. Each paragraph should explain your point with example and also give relevant reasons to your valuable point.

Note: please describe only 1 example per paragraph, don't have more than 1 example in a paragraph. It makes the paragraph poorly organized.  

c.) Do not try to give your loads of example, instead try to explain the 2-4 examples as elaborate as possible. These examples can be from your own experience or from your reading or knowledge of current affairs, history etc. 

d.) Don't forget to use connecting words and phrases (links) at the beginning of each paragraph to make it perfectly organized and thus the flow between the paragraphs remains in equilibrium. 

e.) Don't try to sound too dogmatic, always try to remain moderate in your speech.  

Note: always try to start with moderate words like "but" or "however" in your sentences.

Part III - Conclusion 

a.) Don't end your essay without giving a conclusive statement, it will be like watching a   thriller movie without the Climax scene. It would look awkward. 

b.) So never end your essay abruptly, try to bring down your previously described examples into the conclusion part and try to give your conclusion.

Note: Don't try to show your vocabulary skill by writing any complex word of unknown meaning. 

c.) Try to avoid repeating what you have said earlier; find something general to say that makes it clear that you have finished your discussion. 

Note: If you have any famous phrases related to the issue topic, add it in this conclusion paragraph. It may look attractive. 

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Analysis of Argument Essay

The Argument Essay is considered to be the most difficult part in GRE for all the test takers, so try to concentrate on this Argument essay. It has to written in some specific format to score great marks. Follow these guidelines and use this format to score great in your argument task:

Guidelines:

1.) This Argument Essay is completely different from what you could have written in your school days. So that is the reason, why it is felt tough by most of the GRE test takers. 

2.) In this Argument essay, you should not be over-reactive by giving your own points, strategies or argue against the author's view. You simply have to discuss whether the evidence provided warrants that conclusion.

3.) Definitely all the arguments given will have flaws. So try to advice the ways to overcome the flaw.

4.) In your initial reading try to find the main conclusion, identify the underlying logic of the argument and identify the major faults. The main categories of assumptions made by the author are:

a.) Causal Assumption

b.) Analogical Assumption

c.) Statistical Assumption

d.) Sampling Assumption

Format of your essay: 

1.) Here again, There is no specific format that the examiners recommend for addressing the Analyze an Argument task. 

2.) Keep in mind that, you have only 30 minutes to plan and write the essay, So its better to work out an approach that perfectly suits you.  

The following format is the basic format that could help the test takers, so try to follow this simple format , to score more marks in the Argument Essay:

Part I - Introduction 

1.) Try the introduction and argument in your own words . 

2.) End your paragraph with a statement such as:  

• However, this conclusion seems unwarranted, or 

• However, the information provided does not justify this conclusion or

• This conclusion is not well supported / fails to convince/ is flawed etc. 

3.) Try to adhere to the instructions given in the statement and try to point out to the flaws moderately, don't ever oppose the author's argument at any condition.

Part II - The body of the essay 

1.) Write 2-4 paragraphs to describe the line of argument according to the specific instructions given. 

2.) In the case in which you are asked to focus on alternative explanations, you can explain what alternative reasons to be considered. 

3.) Sometimes, the question of the argument needs to be addressed to evaluate the argument, so try to be focused on to the misleading figures, wrong analogies, unwarranted statistics and prove your point in the most humble way.

4.) There is not a particular way to workout this argument, So try to practice as many argument essays as possible to get the hold of the format. Try to practice the Argument essay topics available in the official GRE website. 

Note: Soon you can download the official Argument Essay topics from my blog. 

5.) Beware: There are some sample essays provided in the official website ETS, but don't try to copy any words of that in your own Argument essay, if the officials found you have copied the sentence from the sample essays, your score will be deducted.

Part III - What else is needed? 

1.) In the final paragraph, you should able to give a conclusion, not to give a specific conclusion, try to be general and moderate in your approach, So while concluding you try use the words like "may", "might" rather than using "should", "must" words; this way you could prove your genuineness and giving your non-aggressive conclusion. 

2.) It is also better to end the conclusion in doubt, as you may not be against the author's view here in argument essay. 

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That's it, i feel i have delivered all my points to you and it would definitely help all the beginners to understand the basics of the Issue and Argument Task. If you feel i missed a very good point here, please mail me........As we are Human who are prone to do mistakes ....its better to correct it fast......Soon i will be posting the sample issue and argument essays....Stay tuned ......please do subscribe to this Blog to get his valuable information..