Critiquing Tips ■ Evaluate any statistics or data in relation to the sample size and population. The numbers might not actu- ally represent what the author claims they do. ■ Keep in mind that an argument must have a premise and a conclusion, but the premise or conclusion may be unstated. ■ If the premise is missing, ask yourself if there are any assumptions that must be true for the argument to be valid. Find the missing link between the premise and conclusion. ■ Remember that a premise for one conclusion can be the conclusion of a subargument. ■ Conclusions must be based on the evidence in the passage. If there is no relevant evidence for an option, it cannot be the correct answer. ■ Stick to the statements and claims in the argument that has been presented. Do not let your opinion on the matter influence your critique of the argument. ■ You do not need to name a fallacy or flaw in logic—you just need to be able to recognize that something is wrong with the argument. 60 Claiming that most people do something, so it must be OK Example: It is OK to take office supplies from your office because everyone does it, so it is not stealing. Using a biased or inadequate sample of data as evidence Example: I know five people from Los Angeles and they are all superficial, so everyone from L.A. must be superficial. Suggesting only one or two alternatives when the issue is more complex and might have more alter- natives than those described Example: I did well in school because my brother did, too. Presenting a non sequitur, where the second part of the claim does not logically follow the first Example: Dayjon has an IQ of 180, so he will get an A on the test. Attacking a person instead of that person’s ideas Example: You are young; therefore, you do not know what you are talking about. Using someone’s popularity to prove a point about which he or she might have little or no authority Example: That NBA superstar says that standardized tests will improve schools’ accounta- bility, and that is why we should implement standardized tests in every school in the country. Comparing two similar things that might not share all the same traits Example: Because the books are both 500 pages and are on the same topic, they are equally good. When you read through the argument you are given in the Argument task, be sure to look for these com- mon fallacies. Narrowing Your Scope Now that you have identified the major flaws in the argument, you are ready to narrow your scope and develop your essay. You may want to discuss the argument line by line, or you may want to develop a critique of one critical flaw in the argument. On the other hand, you might want to briefly summarize the argument and then identify several main flaws in the critique in order of importance. Furthermore, throughout your essay, you should be analyzing the reasoning of, the premise of, and/or the assumptions made in the argu- ment you are critiquing. However you decide to present your critique, what is crucial is how well you rea- soned your analysis and how well you can articulate your analysis. Planning Your Essay Like planning for the Issue task, your Argument essay should also include the main parts of an essay: an intro- duction, body, and conclusion. You already know how to construct a thesis statement, gather support, and create an outline for an essay. However, the way you actually present your critique is a bit different from the way you present a persuasive writing piece. You can look at the sample top-score Argument essays at the end of this chapter for the various forms this task might actually take. THE INTRODUCTION Use the introduction to set up your critique. Start out by summarizing the argument, and then outline the argument’s line of reasoning. Discuss the logic of the argument and identify the major flaws you plan to address in your critique. If you can, write a thesis statement that summarizes the main issues you will address in the rest of your critique. THE BODY The body of your essay is where you will analyze the argument. You have already broken down the argument, identified its major flaws, and narrowed the scope of your critique. In the body, you will make an in-depth analysis of the flaws, providing examples from the passage that support your critique. Be sure to consider the premise of the argument in addition to the assumptions and the types of reasoning made in the argument. THE CONCLUSION The conclusion is where you will sum up your critique by restating the main issues you addressed in the body. This is not the time to bring up any new points. You may want to address what parts of the argument made sense to you, and then summarize your critique by briefly discussing how the author could have improved his or her reasoning and support. – THE GRE ANALYTICAL WRITING SECTION– 61 THE OUTLINE As in the Issue task, you should plan by sketching out a brief outline from your notes and thoughts listing the following elements: 1. introduction: summary of argument, thesis statement 2. first point (assumption, flaw in reasoning, or premise) and evidence 3. second point and evidence 4. third point and evidence 5. conclusion Writing Your Essay Just as you did when you were writing your Issue essay, you should clearly and explicitly use the evidence you uncovered in your analysis to support the points you make in your critique. However you choose to present your critique, be as clear as possible, presenting your analysis in a logical order. Summarize the argument and identify its major flaws. Then present each point of analysis with evidence from the Argument prompt. When you write your essay analyzing an argument, you will want to do all of the following: ■ Identify the main points you will cover in your critique. ■ Be sure you have clear topic sentences that refer explicitly to your position, or thesis. ■ Support your points with facts and examples. ■ Comment explicitly on the underlying reasoning, premises, and assumptions of the argument. ■ Discuss what makes the reasoning weak, flawed, or illogical. Remember, the scorers are looking at how insightfully you analyze the argument you are given. In addition, they are looking at the organization, language, flow, and word choice in your essay — in other words, how well you can sustain and organize the focus of your writing when analyzing and criticizing someone else’s argu- ment logically and fluently. Revising and Editing Again, you are working under time constraints, so you won’t have a lot of time for revising and editing. Leave a few minutes at the end of your allotted time to catch any obvious errors. Take a couple of minutes to change word order, adjust word choice, and correct obvious grammatical and mechanical mistakes. It can help con- vey your ideas more clearly for your readers, showing how strong your critical thinking skills are and show- casing your analytical writing abilities. Assessing Your Writing Compare your essay to the following rubric—adapted from the Analyze an Argument rubric used by the offi- cial scorers of the Analytical Writing section of the GRE—to assess your work. The rubric lists the criteria for each score that trained readers use to assess your work. – THE GRE ANALYTICAL WRITING SECTION– 62 SCORE 6 An essay with a score of 6 reveals a rational and coherent analysis and critique of the argument. The writing is clear and expertly communicates meaning. The essay at this level includes the following attributes: ■ identification and insightful analysis of the essential aspects of the argument ■ ideas that are clearly and logically developed, organized, and connected with clear transitions ■ skillful support of the main points of the critique ■ effective vocabulary, word choice, and sentence variety, communicating ideas fluently and precisely ■ expert control of the conventions (i.e., grammar, usage, and mechanics) of standard written English, perhaps with minor errors SCORE 5 An essay with a score of 5 analyzes the argument insightfully and presents a logical, well-developed, and effec- tive written critique. The essay at this level includes the following attributes: ■ clear and perceptive identification and analysis of significant aspects of the argument ■ clear and logical organization, connecting ideas fluently with appropriate transitions ■ rational and logical support for the main points of the critique ■ good control of language — suitable word choice and sentence variety ■ skill at using the conventions of standard written English, perhaps with minor errors SCORE 4 The essay with a score of 4 critiques and analyzes the argument proficiently, while adequately communicat- ing meaning. The essay at this level includes the following attributes: ■ identification and analysis of essential aspects of the argument ■ satisfactory development and organization of ideas; however, ideas may not be well connected with transitions ■ understanding of the main points of the critique ■ adequate control of language — reasonably clear expression of ideas ■ general control of the conventions of standard written English, perhaps with some errors – THE GRE ANALYTICAL WRITING SECTION– 63 SCORE 3 An essay with a score of 3 reveals some skill at critiquing and analyzing the argument. It communicates some meaning, but contains noticeable flaws. The essay at this level contains at least one of the following flaws: ■ most of the critical aspects or features of the argument are not identified or analyzed, but contain some analysis of the argument ■ unrelated or nonessential analysis of an issue or weak reasoning ■ weak or limited logical development and organization of ideas, offering support of little relevance and value for points of the critique ■ ideas that are not clearly expressed ■ occasional major errors or recurrent minor errors in grammar, usage, or mechanics that may confuse the reader and obstruct meaning SCORE 2 An essay with a score of 2 reveals significantly weak analytical writing skills. The essay at this level contains one or more of the following flaws: ■ logical analysis of critique is not present, or writer presents his/her own position on the argument ■ weak development of ideas, or poor organization and/or logic employed ■ little, if any, relevant or reasonable support ■ serious difficulty in use of language and in sentence structure, problems frequently obstruct meaning ■ major errors or repeated minor errors in grammar, usage, or mechanics repeatedly confuse the reader and obstruct meaning SCORE 1 An essay with a score of 1 reveals essential absence of analytical and writing skills. The essay at this level contains more than one of the following flaws: ■ little or no indication of understanding and analysis of the issue ■ little or no indication of the ability to develop an organized piece of analytical writing ■ critical problems in language and sentence structure errors persistently interfere with meaning ■ pervasive errors in grammar, usage, or mechanics resulting in unintelligible writing SCORE 0 An essay with a score of 0 does not relate to the topic, is written in a foreign language, is a restatement of the prompt, or is illegible, blank, or otherwise totally incomprehensible. – THE GRE ANALYTICAL WRITING SECTION– 64 Tips and Strategies for the Official Test Now you are ready to practice this task. Take a few minutes to go over the tips and strategies on the next few pages, and then go for it. In the practice section of this chapter, there are ten practice prompts for you to analyze and critique. Feel free to flip back to this lesson at any time. Remember, on the official exam, you will have just 30 min- utes to complete this task. When you are practicing, take as long as you need on the first few practice essays you write. Once you feel comfortable, try to complete the task in the time you will be allotted on the official exam. If you practice sensibly, using the formula presented here, you will be well prepared to succeed on the official exam. The following will serve as an easy reference as you complete the practice prompts on the subsequent pages and as you continue to prepare for the Analytical Writing section of the GRE General Test. The bulleted points indicate what to remember as you complete both the Issue and the Argument tasks. The Issue task is 45 minutes and the Argument task is 30 minutes. Be sure to budget your time on the official exam. A good general rule is to divide your time on the essay test accordingly: PERCENT OF YOUR TIME ISSUE ESSAY ARGUMENT ESSAY ᎏ 1 4 ᎏ of your time planning 10 minutes 8 minutes ᎏ 1 2 ᎏ of your time writing 25 minutes 15 minutes ᎏ 1 4 ᎏ of your time revising and editing 10 minutes 7 minutes The Issue Essay Remember, there is no “right” answer to the Issue essay. You are required to present and support a position. Your abilities to think critically and support a position effectively in writing are being examined — you are not being judged on the point of view you present. Don’t forget that your job is to defend your position against those who disagree with you. Establish your credibility by writing in a rational, thoughtful, and logical manner. Choose quickly which claim you will address. The more time you have to formulate your position, choose your evidence, and write and revise your essay, the better it will be. For guiding questions to help you present and support a well-developed position, see the bulleted list on page 47. Be sure to think of and address two to four counterclaims or opposing arguments. Doing so will prove to the scorers that you thought deeply about the issue and came up with some conflicting ideas, but that the evidence for your position refutes opposing arguments. Try to think about the questions this issue raises, and address the implications of the issue in your conclusion. When you are planning your essay, don’t forget the outline, and be sure to include the following pieces: ■ an introduction with a strong thesis statement that presents your position ■ a body that consists of strong, well-developed paragraphs using specific evidence (reasons and exam- ples) to support your position ■ a conclusion that sums up your position, drawing all your evidence together – THE GRE ANALYTICAL WRITING SECTION– 65 . essay to the following rubric—adapted from the Analyze an Argument rubric used by the offi- cial scorers of the Analytical Writing section of the GRE to assess your work. The rubric lists the criteria. Writing section of the GRE General Test. The bulleted points indicate what to remember as you complete both the Issue and the Argument tasks. The Issue task is 45 minutes and the Argument task. of the flaws, providing examples from the passage that support your critique. Be sure to consider the premise of the argument in addition to the assumptions and the types of reasoning made in the