Title: Overview for GRE Analytical Writing <<Argument Questions>>
1Overview for GRE Analytical WritingltltArgument
Questionsgtgt
- Sections
- I. Introduction to Argument Questions
- (I. ??Argument Questions)
- II. How to Answer Argument Questions
- -- the Pool of Argument Questions
- (II. ?????ETS?????)
- III. Other Useful Tips (III. ??????)
- IV. Related Links and References
- (IV.?????????)
2I. Introduction to Argument Questions
There are two kinds of essay questions in the GRE
test 1) Present Your Perspective on an Issue
1 question, 45 minutes 2) Analyze an
Argument 1 question, 30
minutes GRE??????????-- issue question argument
question,????,???45?????,??30???
3- This file focuses on the second kind argument
question. ???????argument question - you analyze a paragraph-length argument,
pointing out and discussing problems with its
line of reasoning, adequacy and use of evidence,
and internal logic. - ??,?????????,?????????????????,??,??????
ETS?www.gre.com?????? - ETS has released its official pool of GRE
Analytical Writing questions on www.gre.org
4II. How to Answer Argument Questions
- Directions for the Argument Writing Task
- Argument Task??????
- Analyze a paragraph-length argument, pointing out
and discussing problems with its line of
reasoning, adequacy and use of evidence, and
internal logic. - (???sample argument topic and essay???ETS??
- An Introduction to the Analytical Writing
Section of the GRE General Test.
http//www.ets.org/Media/Tests/GRE/pdf/awintro.pdf
) -
5- Argument Task??????
- Analyze a paragraph-length argument, pointing
out and discussing problems with its line of
reasoning, adequacy and use of evidence, and
internal logic. -
- ????????????,??????????????????????,?????????????
?????????
6- Specific guidelines
- You are not asked to agree or disagree with any
of the statement in the argument. - You should analyze the arguments line of
reasoning. - You should consider questional assumptions
underlying the argument. - You may discuss what additional evidence would
help strengthen or refute the argument. -
7- ?????????
- ???????????????????
- ??????????????????
- ?????????????????????
- ?????????????????????????????
8???www.gre.com
- Sample Question (ETS?????)
- Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument.
- Hospital statistics regarding people who go
to the emergency room after roller skating
accidents indicate the need for more protective
equipment. Within this group of people, 75
percent of those who had accidents in streets or
parking lots were not wearing any protective
clothing (helmets, knee pads, etc.) or any
light-reflecting material (clip-on lights,
glow-in-the-dark wrist pads, etc.). Clearly,
these statistics indicate that by investing in
high-quality protective gear and reflective
equipment, roller skaters will greatly reduce
their risk of being severely injured in an
accident.
9- Sample Essay (????)
- Introductory part
- The notion that protective gear reduces the
injuries suffered in accidents seems at first
glance to be an obvious conclusion. After all, it
is the intent of these products to either provent
accidents from occuring in the first place or to
reduce the injuries suffered by the wearer should
an accident occur. However, the conclusion that
investing in high quality protective gear greatly
reduces the risk of being severely injured in an
accident may mask other (and potentially more
significant) causes of injuries and may inspire
people to over invest financially and
psychologically in protective gear. -
10- Outline of the Main Body (????)
- (1) First of all, as mentioned in the argument,
there are two distinct kinds of gear -
preventative gear (such as - light reflecting material) and protective
gear (such as helmets). - (2) The argument above is weakened by the fact
that it does not take into account the inherent
differences between skaters who wear gear and
those who do not. - (3) The statistic also goes without
differentiating between severity of injuries. - (4) Finally, there is absolutely no evidence
provided that high quality (and presumably more
expensive) gear is any more beneficial than other
kinds of gear. -
11- Conclusion
- The argument for safety gear based on
emergency room statistics could provide important
information and - potentially saves lives. Before conclusions
about the amount and kinds of investments that
should be made - in gear are reached, however, a more
complete understanding of the benefits are
needed. After all, a false - confidence in ineffective gear could be just
as dangerous as no gear at all.
12- Before you write
- ? carefully read the argumentyou might want to
read it over more than once - ? identify as many of its claims, conclusions,
and underlying assumptions as possible - ? think of as many alternative explanations and
counterexamples as you can - ? think of what additional evidence might weaken
or lend support to the claims - ? ask yourself what changes in the argument would
make the reasoning more sound
13???????????
- ????????,???????
- ???????????????????????????
- ?????????,??????????????????????????????
- ??????????????????????
- ??????????????????????
148 Steps to the Argument Writing Task
- (1) Read the argument and identify its
conclusion. - (2) Identify and examine the arguments evidence
to determine how strongly it supports its
conclusion. - (3) Organize and prioritize your points of
critique. - (4) Compose a brief introductory paragraph
- (5) Compose the main body.
- (6) Compose your conclusion
- (7) Review and revise for coherence
- (8) Proofread for significant mechanical
problems. - ??? Stewart, Mark Alan. Writing Skills for the
GRE/GMAT. Lawrenceville Petersons, 2002. -
15???8???
- (1) ??????????????
- (2) ??????????????,?????? ???????
- (3) ???????????????????
- (4) ??????(introductory paragraph) ?
- (5) ???(main body)?
- (6) ???(conclusion) ?
- (7) ???????,??????????
- (8) ??????,????????????,??????,????,??????
16More questions from the pool of argument topics
????(???www.gre.com)
- The following appeared in a health newsletter.
- Eating a heavy meal may increase the risk of
heart attack. A recent survey of 2,000 people who
had had a heart attack revealed that 158 of them
said they had eaten a heavy meal within 24 hours
before their heart attack, and 25 of them said
they had eaten a heavy meal within 2 hours before
their heart attack. Eating and digesting food
releases hormones into the bloodstream and
temporarily increases heart rate and blood
pressure slightly. Both of these things put
stress on the heart. Therefore, people who are at
risk of having a heart attack can lower that risk
by not overeating.
17- The following is a memo from the business manager
of National Daily News. - To expand the home delivery service of our
national newspaper, we should concentrate on the
state of Urba rather than on the state of Sylva.
First, the population of Sylva is more widely
dispersed, which would require us to spend more
money to deliver our papers in that area,
resulting in less profit per customer. Second, a
long-term study of television viewing habits
suggests that Sylvans prefer local to national
news, since they spend twice as much time viewing
local news programs as they do viewing national
programs. Finally, because events in Urba receive
more coverage in our newspaper than do events in
Sylva, we can expect Urbans to be more interested
in reading our newspaper.
18- The following is a recommendation from the
president of Appleby College. - Whereas Appleby College holds class reunions
every five years, Edelston College holds annual
reunions for all classes, during which Edelston's
alumni are treated to banquets, lectures, and
student performances, enhancing their loyalty to
the college and their willingness to donate
money. Edelston College receives most of its
alumni donations during or shortly after these
reunions. Therefore, the best way for Appleby to
increase its alumni donations is to offer similar
reunion activities and to have each graduating
class hold annual reunions.
19III. Other Useful Tips ??????
- Phrases you can use in your essay ????
- Acknowledge different sides of argument
- ??????????????
- Some people think that
- Although many people feel that
- It is claimed that
- Some people feel that
- While it is true that I believe
- Despite the fact that , many people think...
- Although many people think that., I feel that
- Although it is often said that, in fact the
opposite is true -
20Acknowledge different sides of argument??????????
????
- It is undoubtedly true that However
- It is often argued that However, it is
- Some people say that They claim Nevertheless,
- Supporters of this viewpoint say that
Nevertheless, it is
21- To Signal Examples
- ?????
- for example, for instance
- consider, take the case of
- To demonstrate, to illustrate
- As an illustration, in this case, on this
occasion - One possible scenario is that
22- To singal conclusion
- ???????
- In sum, in brief, in conclusion
- In essence, in a nutshell
- Summing up, to recapitulate
23- transitional phrases or words
- ???
- after all / as a result
- at any rate / at the same time
- in other words / in the second place
- on the contrary / on the other hand
- in turn, subsequently, consequently,
- previously, beforehand
- simultaneously, concurrently
24IV. Related Links and References ?????????
- ltltGRE Writing Skillsgtgt
- http//www.novapress.net/gre/writing.html
- http//www.west.net/stewart/ws/
- http//www.west.net/stewart/grewa/wa101.htmWhosc
ores - ltltETS introduction to GRE Analytical Writinggtgt
- http//web.mit.edu/gso/mymsrp/handouts/internpdfs/
awintro.pdf - http//www.ets.org
- http//thedoublee.blogspot.com/2007/04/argument.ht
ml
25- ltltfree GRE general test materials, including
scoring details, sample tests and answersgtgt - http//www.ets.org/portal/site/ets/menuitem.148851
2ecfd5b8849a77b13bc3921509/?vgnextoid302b66f22c6a
5010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRDvgnextchanneld687e3b
5f64f4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD - ltlt????gtgt
- Stewart, Mark Alan. Writing Skills for the
GRE/GMAT. Lawrenceville Petersons, 2002.
26- ltltwriting suggestions on issue, opinion
argument essaysgtgt - http//www.writefix.com/argument/
- http//www.rscc.cc.tn.us/owlwritingcenter/OWL/Arg
ument.html - http//www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/argument.h
tml - http//www.studygs.net/wrtstr4.htm