For a high-scoring Issue essay, you need to accomplish these four basic tasks:

1. Recognize and deal with the complexities and implications of the Issue.



2. Organize, develop, and express your ideas in a coherent and persuasive manner.



3. Support your ideas with sound reasons and relevant examples.



4. Demonstrate adequate control of the elements of Standard Written English (grammar, syntax, and usage).

The 30 minutes you’re allowed to write your Issue essay isn’t much time, so you will need to use the time wisely. This does not mean using every one of your 30 minutes to peck away at the keyboard like mad. You should spend some time up front thinking about what you should write and how you should organize your ideas. And you should save some time at the end to proofread and fine-tune your essay. Here’s a 7-step game plan to help you budget your time so you can accomplish all four tasks listed above within your 30-minute time limit (suggested times are parenthesized):

1. Brainstorm and make notes (3 min.).



2. Review your notes, and decide on a viewpoint (1 min.).



3. Organize your ideas into a logical sequence (1 min.).



4. Compose a brief introductory paragraph (2 min.).



5. Compose the body of your response (16 min.).



6. Compose a brief concluding or summary paragraph (2 min.).



7. Proofread for significant mechanical problems (5 min.).

Notice that, by following the suggested times for each step, you’ll spend about 5 minutes planning your essay, 20 minutes writing it, and 5 minutes proofreading it.

Success Keys for Writing a GMAT Issue- Analysis Essay

Here’s our very best advice for GMAT Issue Analysis, parsed out into bite-size pieces. Some of these tips reiterate suggestions made earlier in this lesson—suggestions that are well worth underscoring. Others are new here.

Adopt a Viewpoint . . . Any Viewpoint

It’s perfectly acceptable to strongly agree or disagree with an Issue statement. Don’t worry that your position may appear somewhat “right-wing” or “left-wing,” or even outside the mainstream altogether. Just be sure to provide sound reasons and relevant examples to justify your strong viewpoint. It’s also perfectly okay to qualify the statement—in other words, to accept (or reject) it only in part or to a limited extent. Again, just be sure to justify your “middle-ground” position with sound reasoning and relevant examples.

Explain How Your Examples Support Your Viewpoint

Anyone can simply list a long string of examples and claim that they illustrate a point. But GMAT readers are looking for incisive analysis, not fast typing. For each example you cite, be sure to tell the reader how it supports the point you’re trying to make. Otherwise, you argument will be unconvincing, and your score might suffer as a result.

Appeal to Reason, Not Emotion

Avoid inflammatory statements, and don’t preach or proselytize. Approach the Issue writing task as an intellectual exercise in which you dispassionately argue for a certain viewpoint. Do not use it as a forum for sharing your personal belief system. It’s perfectly appropriate to criticize particular behavior, policies, or viewpoints as operating against the best interest of a business or of a society. But refrain from either condemning or extolling based on personal moral grounds. Also avoid demagoguery (appeal to prejudice or emotion) and jingoism (excessive patriotism).

Spare the Reader Rote Facts and Technical Details

The Issue essay is not like a game of Jeopardy! or Trivial Pursuit. You will not score points simply by recounting statistics, compiling long lists, or conjuring up little-known facts. And, don’t try to impress the reader with your technical knowledge of any particular subject. Resist the temptation to use the Issue essay as a forum to recapitulate your senior-year thesis. This is not the place to convince the reader of your firm grasp of the finest points of foreign policy, macroeconomic theory, or market analysis. That’s what your GPA and undergraduate transcripts are for.

Avoid Obvious and Hackneyed Examples

Many GMAT test-takers will rely heavily on today’s headlines and on history’s most illustrious and notorious figures. If you can, avoid relying on these all-too-obvious examples. Try to dig a bit deeper, showing the reader a broader, more literate perspective.

Don’t Dwell on One Point; But Don’t Try to Cover Everything, Either

Avoid harping on one point you believe to be the most convincing one, or on one example that you know a lot about or you feel best illustrates your point. Instead, try to cover as many points in your outline as you have time for, devoting no more than one paragraph to each one.

At the same time, if you try to cover everything you can think of about the issue at hand, you’re likely to become frustrated, and you might even panic as the testing clock ticks away your 30 minutes. The readers understand your time constraints. So don’t worry if you’re forced to leave the secondary and more tangential points on your scratch paper. Stick to your outline, ration your time, and you’ll be fine.

Keep It Simple; the Reader Will Reward You for It

Don’t make the Issue writing task more onerous than it needs to be for you to attain a solid score. Keep your sentences clear and simple. Use a straightforward structure for your essay. Avoid using “fancy” words just to impress the reader. Don’t waste time ruminating over how you can come across as ultra-brilliant, mega-insightful, or super-eloquent. Finally, don’t waste brain-power or keystrokes trying to be clever, creative, or humorous. Be forewarned: Dazzling the reader with your amazing wit and wisdom is not the way to score points.

Look Organized and in Control of the Task

Use every tool at your disposal to show the reader that you can write well under pressure. Use logical paragraph breaks—one after your introduction, one between each of your main points, and one before your concluding paragraph. Be sure to present your main points in a logical, easy-to-follow sequence. (If you don’t get it right the first time, you can use the word processor’s cut-and-paste features to rearrange your ideas.) Your essay’s “bookends”—the introductory and concluding paragraph—are especially key to looking organized and in control. First of all, make sure they’re there! Then, make sure they’re consistent with each other, and that they reveal your viewpoint and recap your reasons for your viewpoint.

It’s Quality, Not Quantity, That Counts

The only limitation on your essay’s length is the practical one that the 30-minute time limit imposes. But, do the readers prefer brief or longer Issue essays? Well, it all depends on the essay’s quality. A lengthy essay that’s articulate and that includes many insightful ideas that are well supported by examples will score higher than a briefer essay that lacks substance. On the other hand, an essay that’s concise and to the point can be more effective than a long-winded, rambling one.

Don’t worry about the word length of your essay. GMAT readers don’t count words. As long as you incorporate into your essay all the suggested elements you learned about in this lesson, you don’t need to worry about length. Just keep in mind that it’s quality, not quantity, that counts.

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