Verb form 8 ppt

For example, the Analysis of an Issue essay in the pretest skillfully acknowledged the opposition and then presented a rebuttal to that position: Although some may argue that corporations have a responsibility only to their stakeholders and their bottom line and do not legally have a responsibility to “do good” in society, they miss the point that social responsibility is in the best interest of the company. Companies that actively par- ticipate in social programs aimed at curbing crime, fighting poverty and illiteracy, and teaching skills to those in need reap bottom-line benefits from their social programs every day. These programs not only have a positive impact on the local communities where they are enacted, but they also continue to deliver dividends to the organization in positive public relations, building the image of the company in the eyes of the community and developing a more effective employee base.  Analysis of an Argument For your Analysis of an Argument essay, you will be presented with a short argument (one paragraph that is one to five sentences long).Your task will be to critique the reasoning behind that argument. In this essay, you should not offer your opinion of the issue in the argument; instead, you must offer your assessment of the argument by evaluating the logic (or lack thereof) of the claims. Argument Topics The argument in your writing prompt can also be about any topic, although a majority of the topics are some- how related to business. Once again, you will not need to have any specific knowledge about that topic to respond effectively in an essay. For example, the Analysis of an Argument prompt in the pretest is business related, but you do not need to know anything about owning a restaurant to successfully critique the argument. You just need to be able to analyze the argument and present your analysis in an organized and engaging manner. The following is a sampling of the kinds of general subjects you might find in argument prompts on the AWA: ■ strategies for improving business or services ■ which products or services to choose ■ how to spend funds or save money ■ health and environmental issues ■ societal trends – ABOUT THE ANALYTICAL WRITING ASSESSMENT– 223 AWA Prompt List Want to see the AWA writing prompts from last year’s GMAT exam? You can download a complete list of the 2001–2002 AWA essay prompts from the website www.mba.com/mba/TaketheGMAT/Tools/AWATopics2001.htm. 224 Analyzing the Argument On the analysis level, your readers will be looking for evidence that you have considered the following questions: ■ What assumptions underlie the argument? Are they reasonable or problematic? If they are problematic, why? ■ What is the conclusion of the argument? Is it a logical conclusion based on the evidence? ■ Does the argument have any logical fallacies? ■ What evidence would help strengthen the argument? ■ Are there counterarguments or alternative explanations that would weaken the conclusion? ■ Is there any information that would help you better evaluate the conclusion? Although the arguments on the AWA may be somewhat logical, they will usually have at least one sig- nificant flaw that you will need to recognize. The argument may do the following: ■ be based on problematic assumptions ■ jump to conclusions ■ compare apples to oranges ■ ignore alternative explanations ■ show poor reasoning The argument from the pretest, for example, was based on the problematic assumption that location is everything and a move was therefore necessary to improve business. This ignored alternative explanations for the lack of business, including the possibility that customers were simply dissatisfied with the food, price, or service. It also did not consider other possibilities for attracting customers to the current location. Finally, it neglected to consider the high cost of the move. A solid grasp of critical reasoning skills is essential not only for the critical reasoning questions on the Verbal section but also for an effective analysis of the argument on the AWA. To review critical reasoning skills, see pages 87–107. To earn a 4, 5, or 6 on the AWA, your essays will need to have the following six characteristics: • A clear main idea (thesis). Do you have something to say? In the issue essay, have you taken a clear position? In the argument essay, have you expressed your main assessment of the argument? • Sufficient development. Have you explained your position or your judgment of the argument? • Strong support. Have you supported your ideas with specific reasons and examples? • Effective organization. Have you presented your ideas and support in a logical order? • Clear, controlled sentences. Do your ideas come across clearly in properly constructed sentences? • Grammatical correctness. Have you followed the conventions of standard written English? Remember that this is an analytical writing assessment. An essay may be beautifully written, but if it doesn’t show evidence of critical reasoning, it will not receive a top score. What Makes a Good Essay? 225  How the Essays Are Scored Two independent readers will score each AWA essay holistically on a scale of 0 (lowest) to 6 (highest). Read- ers will take into consideration the overall effectiveness of each essay, including its content, style, and grammatical correctness. An essay that expresses sophisticated ideas in sentences full of errors will not receive a top score, but that same essay can earn a 6 even if it has a couple of grammatical mistakes or an awkwardly phrased sentence. A holistic approach means that readers will be looking for the following elements: ■ the level of critical thinking evident in your ideas ■ effective organization ■ sufficient development of ideas ■ strong and sufficient support of ideas ■ effective word choice and sentence structure ■ clear and controlled sentences ■ a command of the conventions of standard written English Your AWA score will be the average of all four scores, two for each essay. If two scores for one essay dif- fer by more than one point, a third independent reader will rate your essay and all five scores will be aver- aged for your total AWA score. Getting to Know E-rater ® As we noted in the first chapter, one of your readers will be a college or university faculty member specially trained to review GMAT essays. The other reader, however, is likely to be a computer program called E-rater®, Follow Directions Your essay will not be scored if you write on a topic other than what was assigned. It is extremely important that you respond to the prompt you are given. Never write about a different topic. 226 which “reads” the essays looking for very specific elements. E-rater cannot understand your ideas and will not grasp the nuances of your argument and style. Rather, it looks for evidence that you have presented a logical, well-organized argument in clear and controlled sentences. Although some might argue that this is a highly superficial way to score an essay, the general writing elements that E-rater will be assessing are the same elements that human readers — who really only have a few minutes to devote to each essay — are also looking for. These elements include the following: ■ the number and length of paragraphs and other indications of logical grouping of ideas ■ transitions and other words and phrases that suggest the development and organization of ideas (e.g., in addition, more important) ■ variety in sentence structure (varied sentence length and combinations of phrases and clauses) ■ correct grammar and mechanics (punctuation, capitalization, and spelling) Keep It Simple Because you only have a half-hour to write each essay, because human readers must read AWA essays quickly, and because E-rater is designed to look for fundamental structural elements, a simple, straightforward pres- entation of your ideas using all of the signposts possible is the best way to write on this exam. Don’t try to write an elaborate, complicated essay, and do not try to gain points by showing off sophisticated stylistic techniques. Aim for simplicity and clarity throughout your essays. Instead of implying your main idea, for example, make sure you have a clear thesis statement for your essay and topic sentences for each paragraph. Choose a simple, easily recognizable organizational pattern for your ideas. Use transitions between sentences and paragraphs, even if the connections seem obvious to you. Avoid stylistic techniques that you might sometimes use for emphasis. For example, sometimes a one-word sentence or paragraph can have great impact as a stylistic technique. However, E-rater is likely to see it as a grammatical error (sentence fragment) or an underdeveloped paragraph. Instead, stick to a more traditional sentence or paragraph length. The GMAT Scoring Rubric Although scoring an essay is far more subjective than correcting a multiple-choice exam, the GMAC has devel- oped a detailed scoring rubric to guide its human readers through the essay-scoring process. This rubric lists the specific criteria that essays should meet for each score. The following shows a scoring rubric modeled after the official GMAT scoring guide. Be sure to review the scoring guide carefully. The more you know about what is expected of you in the essay, the better you will be able to meet those expectations. – ABOUT THE ANALYTICAL WRITING ASSESSMENT– 227 The content of your written response shows an understanding and interpretation of the issue or argument and the task presented in the prompt. The development of your written response gives a clear and logical explanation of ideas using specific and relevant support. The organization of your written response shows a coherent, orderly, and well-reasoned approach. The expression of your ideas reflects an awareness of audience, a command of vocabulary and sentence structure, and an ability to use language to convey purpose. The use of standard English in your written response exhibits the correct use of spelling, punctuation, paragraph organization, capitalization, and grammar. SCORE 6 ■ Forms a thesis statement that reveals an in- depth understanding of the issue or argument. ■ Presents a sophisticated and insightful analysis of the issue or argument. ■ Develops ideas clearly and fully. ■ Provides a wide range of relevant and specific evidence to support the thesis statement. ■ Maintains the focus of the thesis statement. ■ Uses a logical and coherent structure. ■ Applies skillful writing devices and transitions. ■ Exhibits a mature, sophisticated use of language that is precise and engaging. ■ Has a voice and a sense of awareness of audience and purpose. ■ Varies the structure and length of sentences to enhance meaning. ■ Shows control of the conventions of standard English. ■ Has few, if any, errors even when using sophisticated language. ■ Forms a thesis statement that reveals a thor- ough understanding of the issue or argument and the task presented in the prompt. ■ Presents a clear and thoughtful analysis of the issue or argument. ■ Develops ideas clearly and consistently. ■ Makes refer- ence to relevant and specific evidence that supports the thesis statement. ■ Maintains the focus of the thesis statement. ■ Uses a logical sequence of ideas. ■ Applies the appropriate writing devices and transitions. ■ Uses language that is fluent and original. ■ Has an awareness of audience and purpose. ■ Varies the structure and length of sentences to control the rhythm and pacing. ■ Shows control of the conventions of standard English, but may have some errors, especially when using sophisticated language or sentence structure. 5 CONTENT DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION EXPRESSION CONVENTIONS – ABOUT THE ANALYTICAL WRITING ASSESSMENT– 228 ■ Forms a thesis statement that shows a basic understanding of the issue or argument and the task presented in the prompt. ■ Presents a reasonable analysis, often of the most obvious aspects of the issue or argument. ■ Develops some ideas more fully than others. ■ Provides some specific and relevant evidence to support the thesis statement. ■ Maintains a clear and appropriate focus throughout most of the essay. ■ Uses a logical sequence of ideas but may lack consis- tency. ■ Uses appropriate language. ■ Shows some awareness of audience and purpose. ■ Occasionally varies the sentence structure and length. ■ Shows incomplete control of standard English. ■ Has some errors but they do not interfere with comprehension. 4 3 ■ Forms a thesis statement that shows a basic understanding of the issue or argument and the task presented in the prompt. ■ Presents an incomplete analysis of the issue or argument or neg- lects important aspects of the analysis. ■ Develops ideas briefly. ■ Provides some evidence and support material to support the thesis statement. ■ Creates, but does not main- tain an appropriate focus. ■ Uses a basic structure but may include some inconsis- tencies or irrele- vancies. ■ Uses very basic vocabulary. ■ Demonstrates little sense of audience or purpose. ■ Attempts to vary the sentence structure or length but has uneven success. ■ Attempts to control standard English but has some errors that interfere with comprehension. . critical reasoning questions on the Verbal section but also for an effective analysis of the argument on the AWA. To review critical reasoning skills, see pages 87 –107. To earn a 4, 5, or 6 on the. DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION EXPRESSION CONVENTIONS – ABOUT THE ANALYTICAL WRITING ASSESSMENT– 2 28 ■ Forms a thesis statement that shows a basic understanding of the issue or argument and the task. use of spelling, punctuation, paragraph organization, capitalization, and grammar. SCORE 6 ■ Forms a thesis statement that reveals an in- depth understanding of the issue or argument. ■ Presents