General Essay Strategies
To write two “6” essays on the GRE in the time allotted, you need to work
fast. You won’t have weeks, days, or even hours to ponder the topics and
gradually craft your ideas into a masterpiece. Instead, you have to get in, give
the essay graders exactly what they want, and get out. To do that, you need to
have a firm essay-writing strategy in place and a solid grasp of the
fundamentals of GRE essay writing before you sit down to take the test. Here
they are:
- Organization: The “Three-Act Essay”
- Effective Writing Elements: The “Cast of
Characters”
Now let’s see how they work.
Organization: The “Three-Act Essay”
As you write your essays, keep in mind your purpose and your audience:
Your purpose is to get a high score, and your audience is the GRE essay
graders. Remember too that all the graders expect from you is that you write
two strong first drafts; they don’t expect the kind of carefully crafted
prose and arguments found in polished work.
The most successful essays on the GRE follow a set formula, which we
refer to as the three-act essay. Many of you will be already familiar with
this formula from years of writing five-paragraph essays in high school and
college:
|
Act
|
Also Known As
|
Number of Paragraphs
|
Purpose
|
|
I
|
Introduction
|
One
|
Set the stage
|
|
II
|
Body paragraphs
|
Three
|
Tell the story
|
|
III
|
Conclusion
|
One
|
Wrap it up
|
In the same way that a three-act play tells a story, a three-act essay
begins by setting the stage for the argument to come (Act I), then makes the
argument over three body paragraphs (Act II) using reasons and evidence, and
finally concludes by wrapping up the argument (Act III). You’ll use this
structure, with a few modifications, for both the Issue and the Argument
essays.
Let’s see how the three-act essay structure works by practicing with
an Issue essay topic:
“We can learn more from conflicts than we can from
agreements.”
Act I: Set the Stage
Quite literally, the first act of a play sets the stage for the
drama to follow. It grabs the audience’s attention, introduces key plot
elements and characters, and prepares the audience for the rest of the
play. Act I of your GRE essay (aka your first paragraph, or the
introduction) accomplishes virtually the same tasks.
Act I of your GRE essays should include the following:
- The Thesis Statement: Your position on the topic
- The Summary: Your preview of the points you will
discuss
To accomplish these goals, you need at least four sentences in
your introduction. These sentences need to convey your thesis statement
and the overall structure of your essay to the grader. The thesis
statement is usually one sentence, and each of the three points you’ll
discuss in the body paragraphs also gets at least one sentence.
The Thesis Statement.
The thesis statement should be the first sentence of your essay.
It summarizes your position on the topic and grabs the reader’s
attention by clearly explaining what the essay’s going to argue.
Take a look at the following thesis statement:
Although agreements have value, the juxtaposition of different
ideas in a conflict inevitably leads to more significant progress
and evolution.
This thesis statement clearly takes a stand on the issue presented
by the topic. It’s fluid but not fancy. It’s grammatically correct but
doesn’t include clause after clause or comma after comma. It uses a few
big words (juxtaposition, significant, inevitably), but
the words aren’t so big that you’d need a dictionary to understand them.
The Summary.
After the thesis statement, the rest of your introduction should
summarize the three points that will form your body paragraphs. This
summary lets the essay graders know how you’ll structure your essay. You
need to explain and describe your three points to show how they fit into
your argument. Make sure to give each main point its own sentence.
Here’s an example:
Although agreements have value, the juxtaposition of different
ideas in a conflict inevitably leads to more significant progress
and evolution. What scientific progress would we have, for example,
if it weren’t for intellectual debate? None—intellectual debate
leads to scientific progress. The reformation of outdated political
ideas and concepts is also marked by struggle. Finally, in the words
of Friedrich Nietzsche, “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.”
This quotation captures the sentiment that personal growth arises
from conflict.
These short sentences have summarized the three main points
persuasively and effectively, and the paragraph includes a quotation
from a famous German philosopher to boot. The paragraph is organized and
focused, and it presents three thoughtful examples. It also includes
sentence variety, as well as active verbs to demonstrate the facility of
language essay graders want to see in a “6” essay. Also, as you will
see, the intro paragraph (Act I) presents its points in the same order
that they appear in Act II.
Act II: Tell the Story
This is where things get interesting, because it’s here, in your
three body paragraphs, that you’ll actually make the essay’s argument.
These paragraphs provide clear, thoughtful evidence for your thesis by
explaining your examples. The directions for both the Issue and Argument
essays say it loud and clear: Organize, develop, and express
your ideas and Support your critique with relevant
reasons and examples. Act II is where you’ll do all of
this.
As such, each of your three Act II paragraphs should include:
- The Topic Sentence: The thesis statement of the
paragraph
- The Evidence: The specific, concrete facts,
phenomena, events, quotes, or situations that support your
overarching thesis statement
The Topic Sentence.
Each body paragraph should begin with a topic sentence. It might
help to imagine your body paragraphs as three mini-arguments, each with
its own thesis statement, examples, and explanations. Taken together,
these mini-arguments add up to form your essay’s main argument. The
thesis statement of your body paragraph is the topic sentence, or the
first sentence of your paragraph. Here you’ll explain what the
paragraph’s about and how it links to your essay’s main argument. Let’s
look at an example:
First, historically, scientific progress has been inspired by
conflicts of ideas.
This topic sentence succinctly summarizes the paragraph’s point:
Scientific progress is a great example of the benefits of conflict
(which supports the essay’s main claim about conflict from Act I). The
word first shows focus and organization; it also shows
a progression of ideas, because first lets us know that
other paragraphs will follow.
The Evidence.
Each Act II paragraph must provide evidence to make the essay
graders believe your thesis; this evidence forms the backbone of your
argument. The essay graders want to see that you’re capable of making a
logical argument in both the Issue and Argument essays. Good reasons
make readers believe in your argument. You’ll need several sentences in
each body paragraph to develop your examples and provide evidence for
that paragraph’s claim. For now we’re just going to show you one Act II
paragraph. As we continue through the essay chapters, you’ll see several
more. Your GRE essays should have three body paragraphs.
First, historically, scientific progress has been inspired by
conflicts of ideas. In the sixteenth century, for example, a great
debate arose because Copernicus vehemently challenged the notion
that the earth is the center of the solar system. Although he paid a
price both socially and politically for this remonstration,
Copernicus disabused a long-held belief, much to the chagrin of the
Catholic Church and to other astronomers of his day. Because of this
conflict, humankind eventually gained a new understanding of
astronomy.
This paragraph uses the specific, astute example of Copernicus and
his work on the solar system to prove its position: Copernicus’s ideas
caused lots of problems back in the day, but ultimately his theories
proved correct and thus advanced our understanding of
astronomy.
Act III: Wrap It Up
We’ve all been to a play or movie that leaves its audience
hanging. Maybe it did so to entice you to watch the sequel, or maybe it
was one of those movies that’s deliberately confusing and ambiguous so
that you can think about it for days afterward. Regardless of your
feelings about such plays and movies, leaving essay graders hanging is a
great way to lose a few points on your essay score. Do not go all arty
and forget to include a conclusion in your essay.
Act III, the fifth and final paragraph of your essay, should
summarize and broaden the points you made in Act II. Your conclusion
should be a few sentences long and finish your argument. Act III of your
GRE essay should:
-
Recap
your essay
-
Expand
your position
Recap.
The recap is a summary of what you’ve already argued. As in the
thesis statement, the recap should be straightforward, bold, and
declarative. Here’s a recap example:
Clearly, conflict has been responsible for several upward
surges of humankind in diverse respects. In the areas of science,
politics, and individual character, progress requires struggle.
Expand.
The last two or three sentences of the essay should take the
ideas you just recapped and push them a little further. One of the best
ways to push your argument further is to look to the future and think
about what would happen if the position that you’ve taken in your essay
could be applied on a broader scale or to a broader field, such as
politics or art. Take a look at these sentences:
Rather than avoiding conflict at all costs, we should accept
conflict as a necessary—and beneficial—part of the human condition,
whether the conflicts arise among scholars or states. Conflict
permits true transformation and growth.
The essay discussed scholars in its first Act II paragraph about
Copernicus. Although the essay hasn’t discussed the relative pros and
cons of conflicts that arise among countries in our essay, it implies
that the argument would hold for such a discussion. (Would it? Sure . .
. look at the way the United Nations rose from the ashes of World War
II.) And that’s what you want to do when you expand your position: Imply
how your argument could apply to another field or situation.
ACT III wraps up the entire GRE essay. It says to your essay
grader, “I hope you enjoyed the show.”
Effective Writing Elements: The “Cast of Characters”
Characters bring a play to life and make it worth watching. Similarly,
a great GRE essay needs interesting, effective writing elements to make it
worth reading. We call these elements characters to keep with our three-act
essay idea, but it doesn’t matter what you call them. All that matters is
that you include these elements in your GRE essays:
- An Argument
- Evidence
- Varied Sentence Structure
- Facility with Language
These are, quite literally, the stars of your play. Don’t even think
about writing your GRE essays without them.
An Argument
This one’s a biggie: The test makers want to see your ability to
develop an argument in both the Issue and the Argument essays. On that
note, your argument must be related to the topic. You cannot freestyle
your way into the grader’s good graces; you must address the topics
given to you. Save the creativity for the way you develop and support
your examples.
To make an argument, you need to take a stand and then provide and
develop enough evidence to support it. Your thesis statement lets
readers know where you stand and what you’re going to argue. Take a look
again at the thesis statement we’ve been using throughout this section:
Although agreements have value, the juxtaposition of different
ideas in a conflict inevitably leads to more significant progress
and evolution.
We’re saying that when it comes to making progress, conflicts are
more helpful than agreements. So, on the issue of whether we learn more
from conflicts or agreements, we’re coming down firmly on the side of
conflicts. Now we’ll spend the rest of the essay developing examples
that support that stand.
Evidence
To write a “6” essay, you’ve got to load it up with thoughtful
examples—or evidence that shows why your argument is sound. In the Issue
essay, your examples can come from any source, including personal
experience, academic knowledge, and current events. In the Argument
essay, however, your evidence will come from the argument topic provided
by the test makers. Not to worry: In the upcoming chapters, we’ll
discuss the five steps to a “6” Issue essay and the five steps to a “6”
Argument essay.
Let’s say you’re trying to think of examples to support the
position that “struggle is a required element for progress.” Perhaps you
come up with the example of scientific progress. Okay. That’s a
potentially great example. To actually make it great, though, you have
to be able to say more than just “Conflict leads to scientific
progress.” You need to be specific: Give dates; mention specific people,
theories, or facts.
Just as bricks hold up a building, such detailed facts support an
argument. There are literally dozens of good, potential examples for
every position you might choose. Your job is to choose examples that
prove your essay’s argument. The test makers instruct their graders to
look for “appropriate and insightful examples,” which demonstrate a
“powerful and interesting position on the topic.”
For instance, knowing that Copernicus was part of the debate about
the solar system is a good start, but it’s not enough to prove the
essay’s main argument (the juxtaposition of different ideas in a
conflict inevitably leads to more significant progress and
evolution). How did Copernicus or the conflict surrounding
his ideas lead to progress? This is where the detail comes in:
In the sixteenth century, for example, a great debate arose
because Copernicus vehemently challenged the notion that the earth
is the center of the solar system. Although he paid a price both
socially and politically for this remonstration, Copernicus
disabused a long-held belief, much to the chagrin of the Catholic
Church and other astronomers of his day.
This example demonstrates a thorough understanding of the
controversy surrounding Copernicus. It provides dates and a broad
outline of the ideas that led to the controversy. It shows thought and
careful consideration, and it helps prove the essay’s main argument.
To prove the position that conflict leads to
progress, you might choose one example from science, politics,
and personal experience. Here are three examples that you might choose
from those areas:
- Science. Copernicus’s challenge to the idea that
the earth was the center of the solar system
- Politics. The abolition of slavery
- Personal experience. Hardships leading to
personal growth
A broad array of reasons and support provides a more solid and
defensible position than three examples drawn from personal experience
or from just one or two areas. If you derive relevant points from
diverse examples, your Act II will be nothing short of a “6”—that is, if
you also include the other two writing elements that round out our Cast
of Characters.
Varied Sentence Structure
Take a look at the following paragraph:
Sentence structure is very important. Sentence structure, if
appropriately varied, can keep your readers engaged and help make
your essay exciting and easier to read. Sentence structure, if it is
monotonous and unchanging, can make your essay sound boring and
unsophisticated. Sentence structure is important on the GRE essay.
Sentence structure is also important in essays you write for school.
Are you crying yet? That’s because every sentence not only started
in the same way but also all had the same straight-ahead plodding
rhythm. Sentence structure is . . . Sentence structure can . . .
That’s about as original as roses on Valentine’s Day.
Now take a look at the sample Act II paragraph on Copernicus.
Notice how the various sentences start differently and also have
different internal rhythms.
Historically, scientific progress has been inspired by
conflicts of ideas. In the sixteenth century, for example, a great
debate arose because Copernicus vehemently challenged the notion
that the earth is the center of the solar system. Although he paid a
price both socially and politically for this remonstration,
Copernicus disabused a long-held belief, much to the chagrin of the
Catholic Church and other astronomers of his day. Because of this
conflict, humankind eventually gained a new understanding of
astronomy.
These variations in sentence structure keep the writing vibrant
and interesting. As you write your essay, focus on changing the
structure of your sentences. You don’t have to invert every clause, but
you should be careful not to let a few sentences in a row follow the
same exact structure. You’ve got to mix it up. Here’s the boring first
paragraph of this section rewritten with varied sentence structure:
Sentence structure is very important. Varying the structure of
your sentences keeps your reader engaged; it also makes your writing
easier—and more exciting—to read. Monotonous, repetitive sentence
structure can make your essay sound boring and unsophisticated.
Practice mixing up your sentence structure on the essays for the
GRE, but don’t forget to also vary your sentence structure on the
application essays you write for graduate school!
Much easier to read and far less repetitive, right? Right.
Keep It Simple.
Sometimes test takers think writing long complicated sentences
will impress professors. Maybe, but it won’t impress GRE essay graders.
Be varied in your sentence structure, but also remember to make sure
your sentences make sense. Complex sentences can be difficult to
understand, and your GRE essays should be as clear and easy to read as
possible.
We could fill an entire book with rules about creating simple and
succinct prose. Instead, here are two handy rules to simplify the
sentences that you write on test day:
-
Never write a sentence that contains more than three
commas. Try to avoid sentences with more than two commas (unless
you need to include a list).
-
Never write a sentence that takes up more than three
lines on the screen.
Those rules are certainly not foolproof, but abiding by them will
keep you from filling your essays with overly complex sentences.
Ultimately, these rules will make your essays easier to understand,
which will please your essay graders and, hopefully, help you get a
higher score.
Transitions.
Transitions let readers understand the flow of your argument.
They’re words, phrases, and sentences that take readers gently by the
hand, leading them through your essay. Here are some different kinds of
transitions you can use to spice up your sentence structure:
- Showing contrast. Katie likes pink nail
polish. In contrast, she thinks red nail polish
looks trashy.
- Elaborating. I love going to the movies.
Even more than that, I love eating popcorn and
candy in the dark while I’m there.
- Providing an example. If you save up your money,
you can afford pricey items. For example, Patrick
saved up his allowance and eventually purchased a sports car.
- Showing results. Manuel ingested nothing but soda
and burgers every day for a month. As a result, he
gained ten pounds.
- Showing sequence. The police arrested Bob at the
party. Soon after, his college applications were
all rejected, and eventually Bob drifted into a life of
crime.
Your first Act II paragraph probably dives right into its thesis
statement, but the second and third Act II paragraphs need transitions.
The simplest way to build these transitions is to use words like
first and second. That means
you’ll essentially number your three Act II paragraphs as
first, second, and
third or finally.
A slightly more sophisticated way to build transitions is to
choose examples from different sources, such as from politics and
personal experience. If the first paragraph is about a political
instance of learning from failure and the second concerns a personal
encounter with conflict from your own experience, make that fact your
transition: As in politics, conflict leads to personal growth.
For example, once I . . .
But you also want to use transitions within paragraphs as a way of
varying your sentence structure and aiding the logical flow of your
ideas.
Facility with Language
As the chart at the beginning of this chapter indicates, a “6”
essay “demonstrates a facility with language through the use of
descriptive and appropriate vocabulary.” However, that does not mean
that you have to use tons of sophisticated vocabulary words to score
well. Don’t submit to a compulsion to evidence your estimable
and irrepressible loquaciousness in an endeavor to astonish your
future academic compatriots into acknowledging the vital,
indisputable, and inevitable advisability of acceding to your
fervent desire to obtain entrance to their graduate-level
institution.
In other words, avoid sentences like that—it sounds pretentious
and increases the risk that you and your logic will get lost in the
wordiness. Use language that’s appropriate to make your case. Avoid
overly complex sentences, and don’t get carried away with flowery
embellishments. You don’t have enough time to create the next Great
American Masterpiece, but you do have enough time to construct clear and
persuasive essays. Use the vocabulary you have to the fullest, but don’t
try to squeeze in big words that you may not know how to use correctly.
Let’s look again at the paragraph about scientific progress:
First, historically, scientific progress has been inspired by
conflicts of ideas. In the sixteenth century, for example, a great
debate arose because Copernicus vehemently challenged the notion
that the earth is the center of the solar system. Although he paid a
price both socially and politically for this remonstration,
Copernicus disabused a long-held belief, much to the chagrin of the
Catholic Church and other astronomers of his day. Because of this
conflict, humankind eventually gained a new understanding of
astronomy.
This paragraph is a great illustration of how to use words
effectively. Both remonstration and
disabused are advanced words, and, more important,
they’re used appropriately. Sophisticated vocabulary used in the proper
context is what makes for excellent word choice.
Compelling Word Choice.
Here’s a suggested list of some words that you may want to use as
you write your GRE essays. These words can be effective and
impressive-sounding synonyms for words you probably already know.
|
Use . . .
|
Instead of . . .
|
|
albeit (adv.)
|
even if
|
|
connote (v.)
|
mean
|
|
conversely (adv.)
|
but
|
|
corroborate (v.)
|
support or strengthen
|
|
depict (v.)
|
show
|
|
dire (adj.)
|
urgent
|
|
emblematic (adj.)
|
an example of, symbolic
|
|
hence (adv.)
|
so
|
|
heretofore (adv.)
|
until now
|
|
highlight (v.)
|
show
|
|
implication (n.)
|
suggestion
|
|
majestic (adj.)
|
great
|
|
paramount (adj.)
|
important
|
|
symbolize (v.)
|
demonstrate
|
Proper Grammar and Spelling.
A few grammar or spelling mistakes sprinkled throughout your
essay will not destroy your score. The test makers understand that
you’re bound to make minor mistakes in a rushed 30- or even 45-minute
essay.
Although essay graders will sympathetically ignore a few mistakes
here and there, they definitely will not ignore
patterns of errors. If a grader sees that your
punctuation is consistently wrong, that your spelling of familiar words
is often incorrect, or that you write run-on sentences again and again,
your score will suffer.
In other words, you should proof your essays. It’s better to spend
another thirty seconds or so to change a word or a sentence than to
potentially lose points for having too many errors.
Quotations.
One way to distinguish your essay from the sea of thousands of
similar essays is to include a relevant quote. Prior to test day,
memorize a handful of widely applicable quotes from a source, such as
Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, on big topics such
as love, success, and life. Then, when you’re writing the essays, look
for an opportunity to include one of these quotes.
Limit yourself to one quote per essay. After all, it’s supposed to
be your essay, so it shouldn’t seem like you’re merely regurgitating the
words of others. Because people tend to remember first and last
impressions best, try if you can to place your quote in either the
introduction or the conclusion of your essay.
A quotation isn’t necessary to get a “6,” but it may help add
spice and flavor to your prose.
Okay, one last important note before we get to our in-depth
treatment of the individual GRE essay types in the following two
chapters.
