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Students who are about to take their GRE tests are always nervous when it comes to essays. One thing I would like to emphasize on, that no one is a born writer with an exceptionally excellent vocabulary. You need to have the confidence that you can write well. Don’t worry if you don’t have a very good vocabulary.

For An Issue essay you have to first understand that the best way to teach is to praise positive actions and ignore the negative ones. Issue Essay is one of the essays of a section 1, and this section is specially charted to understand and measure the analytical writing skills of a student. In this type of essay one is required to write a detailed passage on the given topics with good writing skills. This is the reason why your teachers ask you to “Sharpen your writing skills” because a lot can be judged by what you write and the way you write.

You are judged by how well you do the following:

  • Respond to the specific instructions of an Issue Topic.
  • Consider the complexities of the Topic.
  • Organize, develop and express your Ideas.
  • Support your side with relevant reasons and examples (Why your opinion is correct?).
  • Control the element of standard written English.

Inspirus’s Education’s Formula:

  • Debate as if you are in real time conference, think practically and support your side with 2-3 examples that can prove your point.
  • Never give your opinion as “I think or I Guess”, this is the place where we need your opinion and not your guesses.
  • Make use of examples that support your Ideas.
  • Make sure you write grammatically correct English rather than not having your idioms right.
  • It should be convincing and should have a logical connectivity.
  • To write an issue essay you should be aware of the types of questions that are asked. You also need to go through various test preparations in order to prepare for the final test.
  • The time duration is thirty minutes and the word limit is 300- 400 words.
  • Extending your word limit won’t fetch you more marks- IT’S A PURE WASTE OF TIME.
  • Mock tests before hand will help you understand and increase your reasoning ability on the day of the “Test” You need to differentiate between an Issue essay and an Argument Essay – Both are different in their own ways. Also such essays don’t judge your vocabulary but your grammatical and analytical skills.

Here’s a simple short structure of your Issue Essay:

It is a simple 5 paragraph short essay that you need to write within 30 minutes. So keep in mind you need to organize your essay well, write it in such way that its easy and clear for the reader to read, evaluate, and understand your issue essay.

Paragraph 1 will be the Introduction: Understand and Analyze (2-3 minutes) – Begin like a normal essay and add a bit of complexity of the issue essay to score points. Also be focused throughout the entire essay. Make sure you are neither casual nor generic. Rhetorical devices are the most common.

  • A generalization about the topic.
  • A quotation if you wish to add.
  • A short anecdote to set-up your position.
  • A historical framework.

Paragraph 2 will include: First Body Paragraph- (5 – 7 minutes) Use the most specific example that can be from any of the verticals – Science, History, politics, business or personal experiences. But also make sure you CHOOSE the most relevant one, something you are knowledgeable about and something you believe in for each of the paragraphs that can support your thesis. Your Body Paragraph will include the following steps:

  • Emphasize on your example.
  • Relate and connect it to your Topic.
  • Show the interconnection of the entire thesis (Spend more time in proving that your example supports your thesis and your belief in it. This part is the most crucial bit of your essay).

Paragraph 3 will include: Second Body Paragraph (4- 6 minutes) – This is similar to the above paragraph but make sure you use a DIFFERENT EXAMPLE altogether

Paragraph 4 consists of the: Final Body Paragraph – (9minutes) – Again use the similar idea… Add a 3rd example and link it to your thesis… Give an interconnection and prove it as a part of your thesis and not just a random and a generic idea… Be Specific!! Prior to the conclusion you have a paragraph called the Reservation. You can state that the other side is equally true.

So finally your last 5th Paragraph: The Conclusion (5 Minutes) – Interconnect all your 3 examples and introduce the opposing position on the issue and then debate and reinforce your own thesis, hence this part of your essay helps you conclude and get more ideas for a perfect conclusion.

Tips to Remember

Don’t Panic if you’re running out of time; just concentrate on concluding and not making any errors while writing i.e. Grammar, Spelling etc. Also if you even give 2 relevant examples are good but a 3 rd paragraph could fetch you more points. If at all you can’t conclude due to time constraint, don’t worry you will score for your examples. Be clean in your writing, have your grammar and spellings checked while you browse through your last few minutes. Practice till you have a hang of how to write your essays in 30 minutes.. Keep a timer for yourself practice till you’re an EXPERT.

Ace your GRE exam, join GRE classes in Mumbai at Inspirus Education.