The first essay you’ll have to write when you sit down to take the GRE is the GRE Issue Essay. It’s only 30 minutes and can be a bit of a challenge…
So you need a strong game plan.
But should you really worry about the essays since they don’t factor into your quantitative and verbal scores?
Absolutely!
We tell our students that while the essay scores may not be of importance to graduate programs, the ease of writing them should be important to you. The Analysis of an Issue and Argument essays are the first sections of the GRE. You don’t want to go into them frazzled and anxious. You definitely don’t want to finish them feeling like you could have done better. Unfortunately, this anxiety will carry into the rest of the test and NOT pave the road to earning your best GRE score.
To help you relax into the essays and the rest of the test, we’re sharing the exact template and sample essay we show our GRE students. Before you take a look, read these tips on how to practice with them.
GRE Issue Essay Practice Tips
1. Words to use in every issue essay are in blue on the template.
You want to have these transitions and links well practice so that you can use them automatically on the test. Obviously, if you’re not Arab, you should change the Arabic saying part to your language or culture.
2. Your GRE issue essay should be 4 or 5 paragraphs depending on the question.
Some questions ask you to evaluate another opinion, discuss a disadvantage, or give an opposing viewpoint. Therefore, you need another body paragraph to respond to that part of the prompt.
3. The sample GRE issue essay is directly from ETS, so don’t copy the essay.
Think about how your examples and reasons can be used to respond to the prompt.
4. PEEL!
PEEL means Point – Example – Explanation – Link. The blue in the sample essay shows how well the body paragraphs conform to the PEEL writing format.
5. Always outline your essay first.
It is very obvious to a trained reader when students don’t outline their essays first. You just have to jot down your opinion and reasons or examples in a quick list. This quick outline will help keep you focused and make your writing more cohesive.
6. Check out the full list of GRE issue essay prompts.
You shouldn’t write essays for each prompt (there are a lot). However, you should read over the whole list looking for differences in the ways questions are asked. Then, pick 10 prompts to practice outlining. Of those 10, pick 5 essays to write fully.
7. For extra practice, work on the parts, rather than the whole.
Just write an introduction, a body paragraph, or a conclusion for some of the essay prompts. After outlining, of course. This type of focused writing will improve the individual parts of the essay, resulting in an entire essay that is much better overall. You don’t have to write the parts for the same essay. Switch it up!
8. When you write a full essay, do it in 30 minutes.
Practice the way you are going to perform. By the time you write your second full essay, you should be writing in only 30 minutes. Set a timer and type the essay on the computer without using spell check or Grammarly. Ideally, you will write the essays when you do a full-length GRE practice test. It’s important to develop stamina for the full 4-hour test.
GRE Issue Essay Template
In Arabic we have a saying, “[relevant quote here even if you have to make it up].” Write your thesis as a direct response to the statement in the prompt. Preview your reasons in 1 sentence.
First, write your first reason here. For example, put your example here. Explain your example making sure to include as many vivid details as possible. [Example name]’s example demonstrates that [reason 1 again].
Second, write your second reason here. For instance, put your example here. Explain your example making sure to include as many vivid details as possible.
[You may need another paragraph depending on what the prompt asks you to do.]
In summary, restate thesis. Restate your two reasons here. The examples of [example 1] and [example 2] show that [something profound related to the thesis].
GRE Issue Essay Sample Prompt
As people rely more and more on technology to solve problems, the ability of humans to think for themselves will surely deteriorate.
Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.
Sample GRE Issue Essay
[Hook] Surely there has been no time in history where the lived lives of people have changed more dramatically. [Thesis] Over the past century, technology has positively affected free thinking and human experience. [Preview of reasons] Not only does technology offer humans the necessary efficiency to tackle big problems, but it also unlocks the imagination to design solutions.
[Point] First, technology releases additional time for people to live more efficiently. [Example] For example, most people commute to work in an automobile that runs on an internal combustion engine. During the workday, chances are high that the employee will interact with a computer that processes information on silicon bridges that are .09 microns wide. Upon leaving home, family members will be reached through wireless networks that utilize satellites orbiting the earth. [Explanation] Without a car, computer, or mobile phone, the average worker would need to find alternate methods of transport, information processing and communication. [Link] Technology allows humans to spend time solving important high-level problems, rather than generating repetitive solutions to mundane issues.
[Point] Second, technology frees the human imagination to achieve once impossible goals. [Example] Consider how the late 20th century witnessed the complete elimination of smallpox. [Explanation] This disease had ravaged the human race since prehistorical days, and yet with the technology of vaccines, free thinking humans dared to imagine a world free of smallpox. Using technology, battle plans were drawn out, and smallpox was systematically targeted and eradicated. [Link] By increasing reliance on technology, doctors were able to use it to provide hope to the future of humanity.
[This paragraph is necessary because the prompt asks to consider when your opinion might not hold true.]
[Point] The efficiency and imagination stimulated by technology does not preclude the need for humans to think for themselves. In fact, technology frees humanity to not only tackle new problems, but may itself create new issues that did not exist without technology, thereby requiring even more imagination to solve them. [Example] For instance, the proliferation of automobiles has introduced a need for fuel conservation on a global scale. With increasing energy demands from emerging markets, global warming becomes a concern inconceivable to the horse-and-buggy generation. [Explanation] Likewise, dependence on oil has created nation-states that are not dependent on taxation, allowing ruling parties to oppress minority groups such as women. [Link] Solutions to these complex problems require the unfettered imaginations of maverick scientists and politicians.
[Restatement of thesis] In summary, there is no need to fear the deleterious effects of technology on humans’ ability to think. [Restatement of reasons] Technology can free time and imagination for solving important problems. [Restatement of examples] Technology will always mark the human experience, from the invention of the automobile to the implementation of nanotechnology. Given the history of the human race, there will be no limit to the number of problems, both new and old, for us to tackle. [Closer] There is no need to retreat to a Luddite attitude to new things, but rather embrace a hopeful posture to the possibilities that technology provides for new avenues of human imagination.
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