GRE Analyze an Issue
A claim plus a specific instruction about how to respond to it. The instruction varies from prompt to prompt and it genuinely changes what the essay has to do — which is why a memorised template is the most common reason a competent writer scores 4.
Read the instruction, not just the claim
| The instruction asks you to | So the essay must |
|---|---|
| Address the most compelling reasons someone could disagree | Build and answer the strongest counter-case |
| Discuss the circumstances in which the claim may or may not hold | Be conditional — when it is true, when it is not |
| Address the consequences of adopting the policy | Argue about effects, not about whether it is right |
| Explain how the two views compare | Weigh both, then take a position |
An essay that states a position and defends it will score moderately against any instruction and well against only one of them. Two minutes on the instruction is the highest-value time in the task.
Thirty minutes, spent
- 0–4 minutes. Read the instruction. Take a position. Write down two reasons and one concession.
- 4–8 minutes. Find a concrete example for each reason. Specific beats impressive.
- 8–26 minutes. Write: introduction with a clear position, two body paragraphs, one paragraph conceding and answering the other side, short conclusion.
- 26–30 minutes. Read it back for sentences that do not finish and words that are not the word you meant.
- Take a side. A balanced survey with no position scores below a clear argument, even a contestable one.
- Concede something real. Answering the strongest objection is what separates the upper bands from competent writing.
- Use specific examples — a named case, a period, a field. Invented statistics are not required and not rewarded.
- Do not pad. Length correlates with score only because developed arguments take words; words alone do not.
Write in plain, direct English. Readers are scoring the reasoning, and elaborate sentences mostly create places for errors to live.
Analyze an Issue — FAQs
2 questions
There is no requirement. Most essays scoring 5 and above run around 500–600 words, because that is what a developed argument takes in 30 minutes.
Yes. There is no correct position — only a supported one.
More analytical writing question types
Sources
Written from the test board's own published material and checked on 1 October 2026.