does the gmat essay matter

GMAT Prep Online Guides and Tips

Gmat essay: format, scoring, and tips for the awa.

The GMAT Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) can be one of the most intimidating sections of the exam for test-takers. Many students feel unsure of what is expected of them on the GMAT essay or how it’s scored. But there’s nothing to fear as long as you prepare!

In this article, I’ll go over the basics of the GMAT essay, the structure of the prompt, and how the Analytical Writing Assessment is scored. I’ll also give you plenty of GMAT essay tips and strategies to help you ace the Analytical Writing on test day.

The GMAT Analytical Writing Assessment

The GMAT Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA), frequently called the GMAT essay, consists of a single question. The AWA prompt will ask you to read a brief passage that presents an argument. In your essay, you will explain and critique the argument and the reasoning behind it. The GMAT AWA measures your ability to communicate clearly and effectively in written English, to think critically, and to analyze an argument.

The AWA is always the first section of the GMAT. It is the only section of the GMAT that is not multiple choice. You have 30 minutes to complete your writing sample, and there is no specific word count minimum or maximum.

You'll have 30 minutes to complete your GMAT essay.

Not sure how or what to study? Confused by how to improve your score in the shortest time possible? We've created the only Online GMAT Prep Program that identifies your strengths and weaknesses, customizes a study plan, coaches you through lessons and quizzes, and adapts your study plan as you improve.

We believe PrepScholar GMAT is the best GMAT prep program available , especially if you find it hard to organize your study schedule and don't want to spend a ton of money on the other companies' one-size-fits-all study plans.

Improve Your GMAT Score by 60 Points, Guaranteed

The GMAT AWA Prompt

The basic structure of the GMAT essay prompt is the same on every test. You will always be given an argument and asked to analyze it. You won’t be asked to give your own opinion.

GMAT AWA prompts don’t require any business know-how or any outside knowledge of a specific topic. They cover subjects such as economics, politics, leadership, education, social issues, marketing, and the environment, among many others.

Here’s a sample AWA essay prompt:

In this section, you will be asked to write a critique of the argument presented. You are NOT being asked to present your own views on the subject.

The following appeared in the editorial section of a monthly business news magazine:

“Most companies would agree that as the risk of physical injury occurring on the job increases, the wages paid to employees should also increase. Hence it makes financial sense for employers to make the workplace safer: they could thus reduce their payroll expenses and save money.”

Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. In your discussion be sure to analyze the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion.

You can also discuss what sort of evidence would strengthen or refute the argument, what changes in the argument would make it more logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusion.

Note that the directions and the two paragraphs after the quoted section will appear on every AWA prompt. They won’t change at all from test to test. The passage in quotes is the argument itself that you’re being asked to critique. Remember, you’ll never be asked for your personal opinion on the subject at hand, only your critique of the flaws in the argument being presented.

You can find a successful sample response here . Note that the author of the high-scoring sample response begins by paraphrasing the original argument and explaining its basic reasoning and conclusion. The author analyzes a different specific flaw in the argument in each body paragraph (four in total). He examines several false assumptions in the original argument that render it invalid. In the conclusion, the author restates the major flaws in the given argument. This writing sample is a great template for your own practice essays.

You can find a lengthy list of actual past GMAT essay prompts here . I highly recommend practicing with them! Analysis of an Argument prompts are very similar from test to test, so past prompts perfect for GMAT prep.

Practicing with official past AWA prompts at home will help prepare you for the real thing.

How Is the GMAT AWA Scored?

For the Analytical Writing Assessment , you’ll receive a score between 0 and 6, scored in half point intervals (so you could get a 5.5, for example, or a 5.0). You’ll be scored on your ability to express ideas effectively, to give examples to develop those ideas, to analyze the given argument accurately, and to demonstrate your grasp of written English.

Your final score is based on the average of two independent scores, one from a reader and one from an electronic scoring engine. The essay-scoring engine analyzes structural features (related to essay organization, such as having an intro, conclusion, and body paragraphs) and linguistic features (which may include the vocabulary, grammar, spelling, key words, and sentence structure used in the essay). The other reader is a trained expert GMAT essay scorer, usually a university faculty member. If there is a disparity of more than one point between the two scores, a third reader will score the essay as well.

The Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) defines a score of six as ‘outstanding,’ a score of five as ‘strong,’ a score of four as ‘adequate,’ a score of three as ‘limited,’ a score of two as ‘seriously flawed,’ and a score of one as ‘fundamentally deficient.’ A score of zero is ‘unscorable,’ which you’ll only get if you don’t write in English or write a clearly off-topic essay.

So what does it take to get a perfect score on the GMAT writing section? Here are the official GMAC scoring guidelines for an essay that should receive a perfect score of six:

A cogent, well-articulated critique of the argument, demonstrating mastery of the elements of effective writing, and displaying the following characteristics:

Clearly identifies and insightfully analyzes important features of the argument
Develops ideas cogently, organizes them logically, and connects them smoothly with clear transitions
Effectively supports the main points of the critique
Demonstrates superior control of language, including diction and syntactic variety and the conventions of standard written English. There may be minor flaws.

As you can see, the four main aspects of your essay that will be evaluated by your reader are the quality of your analysis, the development of your ideas, the effectiveness of your support (i.e., the examples you give you back up your ideas), and your mastery of writing in English. An essay scoring 5.0 or 5.5 might clearly explain and analyze the argument at hand, for example, but demonstrate a less sophisticated ability to communicate that analysis, or one idea may not flow logically into the next.

The rest of the GMAT AWA scoring guidelines can be found here .

Want to improve your GMAT score by 60 points?

We have the industry's leading GMAT prep program. Built by Harvard, MIT, Stanford, and Wharton alumni and GMAT 99th percentile scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses and customizes a curriculum so you get the most effective prep possible.

Try PrepScholar GMAT for 5 Days Risk-Free.

The business schools you select on exam day will receive your AWA writing sample itself as well as your AWA score, if they so choose. You can learn more about how business schools will use your AWA scores here .

Your AWA score will depend partly on your mastery of written English.

The GMAT Analytical Writing Assessment Word Processor

On test day, you’ll use a basic word processor to write your essay. If you’re familiar with any standard text editor like Word or GoogleDocs, it should feel fairly comfortable to you.

You’ll see the prompt at the top of the screen as you write. You’ll be able to type with a standard keyboard, cut, paste, and undo your previous action. However, there are no keyboard shortcuts. (Control +X won’t allow you to cut text, for example.)

I recommend that you write as many practice AWA responses as you can using the actual GMAT word processor, available in the GMATPrep software or GMATWrite , both provided by GMAC. This will help you to prepare for the actual circumstances of exam day and to feel more confident with any AWA prompt you get. If you don’t want to use the official materials, at least try to type your practice essays rather than writing them out by hand in order to simulate test conditions as closely as possible.

You'll use a word processor to complete your AWA essay.

How to Study for the Analytical Writing Assessment: 6 Strategies

Study logical fallacies. Every argument in a GMAT essay prompt will have several flaws in its premise, or its underlying reasoning, which you’ll need to be able to diagnose in order to score well on the essay. These flaws in reasoning are known as logical fallacies. Familiarize yourself with the most common kinds of logical fallacies ( here’s a great list ), so you can identify and discuss them on test day. Common logical fallacies in GMAT AWA prompts include the straw man, the insufficient sample, ad hominem, non sequitur, and circular reasoning, but you’ll find many others.
Practice writing timed AWA samples with real topics under simulated test conditions. Use the GMATPrep software or the official list of real former GMAT essay prompts to practice writing essays as a regular part of your exam prep. Try to simulate testing conditions as much as possible: take no more than 30 minutes, don’t use any outside sources, and use a basic text editor. If you want to go a step further and have your practice essays scored by expert readers, you can use GMAC’s official writing tool, GMATWrite.
Learn the art of breaking down arguments. Your job in the GMAT writing section is to break down a given argument into its various parts. What is the foundational reasoning of the argument, and what’s the conclusion that the author reaches? Why is that reasoning flawed, and/or why doesn’t it logically lead to the author’s conclusion? What would need to change about the argument in order for it to be logically sound? You can practice doing this with any kind of argument. Read editorials, newspaper articles, and other forms of persuasive writing and try to analyze them. Find the holes in their logic, if you can. Here’s a good guide to the parts that make up an argument.
Have someone proofread your practice essays. This tips is particularly if you are a non-native English speaker or have trouble with technical errors, since you want to spot these issues and resolve them. Don’t just learn from your corrections on a single practice essay. Instead, try to find patterns. Do you repeatedly spell a certain word incorrectly? Do you regularly have trouble with run-ons or fragments? Take note of these issues, brush up on any grammar concepts you need to, and make sure you routinely correct your mistakes as you write practice essays.
Read sample essays by fellow GMAT test-takers. You can find and learn from plenty of high-scoring sample GMAT AWA responses at blogs like the GMAT Club . Evaluate the essays honestly as you read. Why do you think they scored well? What is lacking in your own writing samples that these essays achieve? The more you understand about what readers look for when scoring your essay, the better you’ll be able to plan your approach to writing it.
Create a template for how you plan to format your essay. The GMAT essay is not the time for creativity, especially since one of your graders is an automated essay-scoring engine. Choose a template and stick to it every time you practice, including the number of body paragraphs you want to use and how you want to structure your introduction and conclusion.

Have a friend help you proofread your essays as you practice (maybe an age-appropriate one, though!).

5 Top GMAT Essay Tips for Test Day

Create an outline. You may feel like an outline is a waste since your time is so limited, but a brief outline will save you time and energy in the long run. Write your outline on either the provided GMAT scratch paper or in the AWA text editor itself (but make sure to erase when you’re done!). Take notes as you read the prompt on the logical fallacies you see in the argument. Next, choose the topics of your 2-4 body paragraphs and list them. Select a supporting example to back up your ideas in each body paragraph. This will be your blueprint for yourself as you write.
Stay on topic. The AWA rubric requires you to stay on topic and respond to the specific question. This may seem obvious, but it can be easy to stray under time pressure. You can make it clear to your readers that you are staying on topic by directly quoting or using key words or phrases from the prompt.
Use standard essay structure. Your GMAT essay should follow standard 4-5-paragraph essay structure: introduction, 2-4 body paragraphs, and conclusion. Each body paragraph should clearly address a specific (and different) aspect of the prompt. For example, you might address a different logical fallacy in each body paragraph. Also, every GMAT AWA response should contain an introduction, in which you should explain the main points of the argument at hand (without a too-extensive summary) and introduce the flaws you’ll be discussing in your critique, and a conclusion, in which you restate and paraphrase your main points, linking all your ideas together. Your introduction and conclusion should both be more concise than your body paragraphs, which should be more developed.
Use transition words and phrases to give examples or to move on to a new concept. Each time you provide an example, shift between ideas or body paragraphs, or introduce an idea, it’s a good idea to use a transition word or phrase such as ‘for example,’ ‘similarly,’ ‘in the same vein,’ ‘in conclusion,’ or the like. Practice using them in your essay prep. Here is a good list of effective transition words and phrases .
Leave time to proofread. Leave at least three minutes, but preferably five, to proofread your GMAT essay for technical errors in spelling, grammar, or structure before you submit your writing sample.

Make sure to leave time to check over your essay!

Review: Everything You Need to Know About the GMAT Essay

Let’s review the key points you need to know about the GMAT Analytical Writing Assessment.

The GMAT Analytical Writing Assessment requires you to write an essay, using a basic word processor, that critiques a provided argument. It is the first section of the GMAT and is to be completed in 30 minutes.
The AWA is scored by two readers in half-intervals on a scale of 0-6. You’ll be scored on your analysis, the examples you use, the development of your ideas, and your ability to write cleanly and effectively in English.
To prepare for the AWA, you should familiarize yourself with logical fallacies, practice writing timed AWA responses under simulated test conditions with real GMAT prompts, practice breaking down arguments in other forms of persuasive writing, have someone you trust proofread your work, read sample high-scoring essays, and create a template for how you plan to format your essay on exam day.
In order to do your best on test day, try the following GMAT essay tips: create an outline before writing, stay on topic, use standard essay structure, use transition words and phrases in your essay, and leave time to proofread.

What’s Next?

To learn more about the format of all the GMAT sections, check out our complete guide to the GMAT format .

Want to Identify YOUR GMAT Strengths and Weaknesses?

Our proprietary GMAT Diagnostic Assessment creates a customized study plan for you that takes you from registration all the way to test day! It is included with every account and proven to significantly maximize your score .

Get your personalized assessment as part of your 5 day risk-free trial now:

Get Your Free GMAT Diagnostic Assessment Here

Want to understand all the ins and outs of how your test will be scored? Our expert explanation GMAT scoring is a great resource.

If you’re nervous about the AWA and Verbal sections of the GMAT, our articles on GMAT verbal question types and GMAT vocabulary will definitely help you prepare.

Was this helpful? Sign up for FREE GMAT and MBA guides!

Author: Laura Dorwart

Laura Dorwart is a Ph.D. student at UC San Diego. She has taught and tutored hundreds of students in standardized testing, literature, and writing. View all posts by Laura Dorwart

Is AWA Important for the GMAT?

Last Updated on November 23, 2023

With so much to learn for the GMAT, many students wonder how important it is to perform well on the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA). After all, the Analytical Writing Assessment section is not factored into your total GMAT score. Furthermore, your AWA score isn’t included in the unofficial GMAT score report you see on test day. Does the AWA score affect admissions to MBA programs, or do business schools not really care about GMAT writing scores?

It’s natural to ask these questions, but before you decide that preparing for the AWA section “isn’t worth it” or that “no one cares” about the GMAT AWA, there are some important facts to consider.

In this article, we’ll answer some common questions about what the GMAT AWA section is and why it matters. To start, let’s review what exactly the AWA section is.

AWA Essay Prompts

Does awa go toward your gmat score, why don’t you see your awa score on test day, is awa part of the online gmat, reason #1: communication skills matter in the business world, reason #2: your awa essay should “match” your application writing, reason #3: you need to show a strong command of written english, can i skip awa on the gmat, what is the analytical writing assessment section.

The Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) is a 30-minute section of the GMAT exam that consists of one essay task called an Analysis of an Argument.

In the AWA section, an argument is presented to you in a short essay prompt. In an essay of any length, you must write a critique of that argument. So, you’ll do things such as:

analyze the argument’s line of reasoning
point out any flaws or assumptions in the argument
discuss what evidence might strengthen or refute the argument’s conclusion
provide alternative explanations for what the argument says

And of course, you’ll need to organize your ideas logically and communicate them clearly.

In the GMAT AWA section, you’ll have 30 minutes to write an “Analysis of an Argument” essay.

Let’s now take a look at what AWA essays are generally about.

AWA essay topics are typically business-related or “general interest.” Essay prompts are often presented in the form of an excerpt from a hypothetical newspaper or magazine article, organization memo or company report, corporate or organization newsletter, or business plan, to name a few examples.

So, for example, an AWA question might present a short paragraph that is an excerpt of a memo issued by XYZ Corp’s manufacturing department. The excerpt explains why the department supports a proposal to shut down one-third of XYZ’s manufacturing plants. Your job is to find and critique any flaws in the department’s reasoning. Additionally, you would point out any further information that would be useful in assessing the validity of the department’s reasoning.

One good thing about AWA essays is that you don’t need any specialized knowledge to write them. You don’t even have to give your personal views on the subject matter. You just have to create a clear, well-reasoned response to the given argument.

You don’t need any specialized knowledge to write a top-scoring AWA essay.

Now that we have a basic understanding of what the AWA is and what AWA essays are about, let’s discuss some common questions GMAT test-takers have related to the importance of the AWA.

Only the Quant and Verbal sections of the GMAT are factored into your GMAT total score. So, neither the Integrated Reasoning (IR) score nor the AWA score affect your total score. For that reason, both of those sections are generally less emphasized by MBA admissions committees than the Quant and Verbal sections.

However, “generally less emphasized” is not the same as “totally disregarded” or “not important.” A low score in any section of the GMAT has the potential to stick out like a sore thumb on your applications. So, the fact that the AWA score does not affect your total score is not a reason to slack off on the AWA.

The fact that the AWA score does not affect your total score is not a reason to slack off on the AWA.

Some GMAT test-takers make the mistake of thinking that, because the unofficial score report they see after they complete the GMAT exam includes only the Quant, Verbal, IR, and Total Score, the AWA is some “secondary” thing they don’t need to worry about.

However, there is a good reason why you don’t see your GMAT Analytical Writing score on test day. GMAT AWA grading is done by both a computer and a person. All of the other section scores (and the total score) are calculated by a computer alone. Since AWA essays must be reviewed by a person — who will obviously not be at the test center with you — AWA scores take longer to generate than computer-generated scores. ( Read more about how the AWA section is scored here. )

So, the fact that you receive your GMAT AWA score after test day rather than right after you finish your exam is not an indication that the AWA is unimportant or an afterthought.

The AWA score is not included in the unofficial score report you see on test day because the AWA section takes longer to grade, not because AWA is unimportant.

When the GMAT Online was first introduced, the AWA section was not part of it. However, the AWA has been part of the online GMAT for quite some time now. In fact, the in-person and online GMAT now have the exact same exam structure with the same section order options .

So, depending on what section order you choose for your exam, the AWA section will be presented either first or last in your GMAT. If you choose the default section order, AWA will be the first section you see. If you choose to complete either the Quant or Verbal section first, AWA will be the last section you see.

The in-person and online GMAT have the exact same exam structure with the same section order options, so you will see the AWA section on both versions of the exam.

So, whether you take the GMAT at home or at a test center, you’re going to face an essay task. Let’s now discuss how much MBA programs actually care about your GMAT essay.

How Much Do MBA Programs Care About AWA Scores?

Out of all of the section scores for the GMAT, the AWA score probably carries the least importance for MBA admissions. That said (and you’ll notice a theme here), having the least importance is not the same as having no importance! MBA programs DO care about your GMAT AWA score, for a few reasons. Let’s discuss each of these reasons.

The GMAT Analytical Writing score DOES matter for MBA admissions.

It’s no secret that many MBA programs are highly quant-driven. But make no mistake: showing that you are a well-rounded student is only going to make your application more attractive to MBA admissions committees.

Where does the AWA fit in? Well, the purpose of the AWA section is to gauge your ability to clearly convey ideas in written form. That skill is of the utmost importance not only in business school but also in professional business settings. If you’re unable to coherently and convincingly get your ideas “on paper,” admissions committees may question how you’ll fare in graduate-level business classes and as a business professional.

Now, if you have impressive scores in every other GMAT section, is having a so-so AWA score the “kiss of death” for your candidacy? Probably not. However, impressive writing skills, in addition to your other skills, could be a significant asset on your application.

Impressive writing skills could be a significant asset on your MBA applications, and the AWA is a key opportunity to show off those skills.

Granted, you will have far more time to think through and polish and hone your application essays than you will an argument response that you have just 30 minutes to complete on test day. However, if there is a large disparity between the level of writing in your GMAT AWA essay and the level of writing in your MBA application essays, admissions may wonder whether they’re reading the work of the same person. In other words, you don’t want admissions to entertain the thought that someone helped you write your application essays.

Rather, you want to show admissions that you have a baseline of strong skills that you can apply in any situation — that there is a solid standard your work will always meet. If you put no time or effort into preparing for the AWA section, or you assume that your application essays will be enough to demonstrate your writing skills, then admissions may wonder whether you can consistently perform at a high level.

Don’t let your AWA essay be a reason that admissions wonders whether you can consistently perform at a high level.

With a few exceptions, the language of business and business schools is, for the most part, English. Thus, business schools seek to ensure that their students have a strong command of written English. The AWA can serve as a key indicator of your command of English.

If, for example, you’re a nonnative speaker of English, your GMAT AWA score may be of greater significance to admissions than it would be if English were your first language. This can work in your favor, however. If English is your second language and you earn an AWA score of, say, 5 or above, that score could help you stand out among other applicants whose native language is not English.

If English is your second language, earning a GMAT AWA score of 5 or above can help you stand out among other MBA applicants whose native language is not English.

If everything you’ve read in this article hasn’t convinced you of the importance of the GMAT AWA, you may still be wondering whether you can get away with skipping the AWA.

Unless you are 100% certain that the programs you’re interested in will not consider AWA scores, you should plan to complete the Analytical Writing Assessment on any official GMAT exam you take (including your practice exams !).

If you have reason to believe that your desired programs will not take the AWA into account when evaluating your application, you should call the admissions office of each program to confirm that skipping the AWA will not affect your candidacy. Even if a program’s website states that submitting an AWA score is optional, I recommend speaking to someone in the program’s admissions office to confirm that the policy stated on the website is up to date.

If you have reason to believe that your desired programs will not take your AWA into account when evaluating your application, call the admissions office of each program to confirm.

Given that the vast majority of business schools that require GMAT scores require that all section scores be submitted, including the AWA, your best bet is to make time for some AWA preparation in your GMAT study plan . Fortunately, you don’t have to spend weeks writing essay after essay in order to perform well in AWA. Looking for some tips? These 5 strategies can help you earn a top-notch GMAT Analytical Writing score.