GRE Issue Essay Tips (5 Expert Writing Strategies)

From our experience, most students gloss over the instructions and jump to writing. That’s a wrong approach. Your essay score might take a hit if you don’t understand what you need to do.

Every issue task has several subtasks. So, tackling just one won’t get you the perfect score.

To ensure you don’t forget to solve any subtasks, write them down in bullet points before you start writing.

Add a checkmark next to the bullet points as you address them in the essay. That way, you’ll know whether you’ve answered all the questions.

An outline will help you write faster and stay on topic. So, make sure you create one before you write a single letter. Divide the outline into three parts, based on the GRE essay structure.

Here’s what to tackle in each part:

• The introduction — State your thesis in the first sentence of your introduction.
• The body paragraph — Divide the body into three sections like this:
  1. The first paragraph — Back up your most persuasive reason with concrete examples.
  2. The second paragraph — Add a second reason and supporting examples.
  3. The third paragraph — State a counterargument to your thesis and explain why it’s incorrect.
• The conclusion — Summarize your introduction and remind the reader of your main points. State your ultimate verdict on the topic in the final sentence.

Once you have your outline, it’s time to get to writing.

Many students forget that sentence variety also influences their final score.

Here’s how you can vary your sentences and leave an impression of a good writer:

• Length variety — Combine long and short sentences to add rhythm to your writing.
• First-word variety — Start some sentences with the subject and others with objects or transitional expressions.
• Sentence structure variety — Avoid using the same structure for all your sentences, such as following the subject with a verb.