In the Analysis of Issue question you discuss your opinion toward an issue. www.test99.com
You write a well-balanced analysis of the issue the test presents to you. www.test99.com

These are the most common topics: www.test99.com

The most common topics relate to general business and public policy issues. www.test99.com
Business issues generally relate to business ethics, marketing and labor. www.test99.com
Government issues will generally relate to regulatory issues and social www.test99.com
welfare issues. www.test99.com

Here is an example of an Analysis of Issue question: www.test99.com

Following the Colorado massacre of schoolchildren, many lawmakers have www.test99.com
proposed that an international body regulate the internet so that sites www.test99.com
which provide information to terrorists should be eliminated. www.test99.com

Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the above opinion. www.test99.com
Support your opinion with reasons and examples. www.test99.com

The people who grade the Analysis of Issue expect the following: www.test99.com

i) A well-developed essay that is logical and coherent; www.test99.com

ii) An essay that demonstrates critical thinking skills; www.test99.com

iii) An essay which uses varied sentence structure and vocabulary; www.test99.com

iv) An essay that uses the language of standard written English; www.test99.com

v) An essay that is free of mechanical errors in spelling, punctuation, www.test99.com
capitalization; and www.test99.com

vi) An essay that follows the conventions of standard written English. www.test99.com
a. Analysis of Issue: Content www.test99.com
How do I write a well-balanced essay? www.test99.com

You should always acknowledge both sides of an issue. Among the sample www.test99.com
essays there is not one irrefutable essay, yet you must pick a side. The www.test99.com
trick to doing this is to persuade the reader that, despite the counter- www.test99.com
arguments, your position is the strongest one overall. www.test99.com

Try to straddle the fence between both sides of the issue by making www.test99.com
limited use of qualifiers. This will allow you to acknowledge the opposing www.test99.com
view and appear scholarly. (Note that overuse of qualifiers will make the www.test99.com
essay appear too vague and dilute an argument you are making.) www.test99.com

In general, take a politically correct opinion or an opinion that a www.test99.com
majority of top scorers might take. However, if you do not think you can www.test99.com
write an effective politically-correct essay, adjust your content to fit www.test99.com
what you can comfortably express. In general, though, stay uncontroversial www.test99.com
and balanced. Do not use it as a forum to be an ideologue. Writing a highly www.test99.com
charged essay might evoke a bias from the reader (if he disagrees with you) www.test99.com
and it also may confuse the E-rater, since you essay will not resemble any www.test99.com
essays it has stored in its database. Try to approach each issue in a www.test99.com
dispassionate and balanced manner. www.test99.com

Nevertheless, you must be sure to take a stand. You must pick a side that www.test99.com
will win out in the conclusion/introduction. The test instructions www.test99.com
specifically tell you to pick a side. Make sure to disagree or agree with www.test99.com
the questions statement. www.test99.com

Note: Do not write an unsubstantiated opinion, write an argument that www.test99.com
consists of your thesis and logical arguments to support it. www.test99.com

How in-depth should the essays be? www.test99.com

Your essay is short (you have only 45 minutes), so you wont be able to www.test99.com
cover every possible argument, rebuttal and example. When you start the www.test99.com
test set aside a few minutes to set up the points and examples. You do not www.test99.com
have to cover every idea/concept. Most essay students do not have time to www.test99.com
cover everything they would like to cover. Choose the most persuasive www.test99.com
relevant points and examples to use. The essay graders do not expect you to www.test99.com
go in-depth on every topic. www.test99.com

The most important concern here is that you do not go off of the main www.test99.com
subject. Stay focused on the topic. Do not either go off on tangential www.test99.com
arguments or excessively focus on one example. www.test99.com

Where should I get examples? www.test99.com

The instructions (with only a few exceptions) allow you to draw upon your www.test99.com
personal experiences in developing your answer to each essay question. This www.test99.com
practice is acceptable, but dont overdo it. You should generally rely more www.test99.com
on academic knowledge than personal experiences. www.test99.com

Your examples and knowledge can be impressive, but you shouldnt go too www.test99.com
far. Dont try to impress the grader with your expertise in a narrow area. www.test99.com
The AWA tests analytical writing, not specific subject knowledge. www.test99.com

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Where do I get essay issue ideas? www.test99.com

These questions generally favor students who have taken government policy www.test99.com
analysis courses. This section favors the student who flips to the www.test99.com
editorial page of the Wall St. Journal before the Marketplace section. www.test99.com

to get an idea about public policy issues, try Policy Review, the Wall www.test99.com
Street Journal editorial page or the Economist. www.test99.com

International Students: Read these American magazines as much as possible www.test99.com
to see how Americans structure their writing and to stay updated on issues. www.test99.com

Write with your grader in mind www.test99.com

When you write your Issue essay, remember that you are fundamentally www.test99.com
writing your essay to please your grader. www.test99.com

Keep it concise www.test99.com

Put yourself in the position of a grader. They grade essays all day. www.test99.com
Wouldnt you favor a concise and effective essay with 5 paragraphs of 4 www.test99.com
sentences each more than a 4 paragraph rambling essay with 10 sentences in www.test99.com
each paragraph? The bottom line: keep the essays crisp, concise, and www.test99.com
written in a manner appealing to the grader. This is particularly important www.test99.com
on the Analysis of Issue question, where you essay expresses personal www.test99.com
opinions. www.test99.com

b. Analysis of Issue: Structure www.test99.com

Structure is the most important part of your essay. Your essay must be www.test99.com
written in a standard format with the standard logical transitions. The E- www.test99.com
rater will scan your essay to identify if it has a standard structure. www.test99.com

Introduction/Conclusion- These elements will provide the structure for your www.test99.com
essay and keep you on track. www.test99.com

Number of Paragraphs. To satisfy the E-rater, your essay should be 4 to 5 www.test99.com
paragraphs: an introduction, a conclusion, and three body paragraphs. www.test99.com
Each paragraph should have 2 to 5 sentences (total essay about 300-400 www.test99.com
words). www.test99.com

Note: You should skip a line between paragraphs since the TAB key does not www.test99.com
function in the essay section. www.test99.com

Essay Template www.test99.com

The template is just a guideline. You do not have to adhere to it. Often www.test99.com
you will have to make changes to suit your argument. www.test99.com

The numbers of sentences indicated for each paragraph is a guideline that www.test99.com
varies depending on how much content you have. www.test99.com

The transitional phrases we use in the Template are intentionally www.test99.com
simplistic. This is not a simple approach where you can fill-in-the- www.test99.com
blanks. Flesh out the template somewhat and use it as a guideline to write www.test99.com
a disciplined and focused essay. www.test99.com

Template www.test99.com

1) Introductory Paragraph (2-4 sentences) www.test99.com

Make sure to keep your introductory paragraph concise, strong and effective. www.test99.com

What the introductory paragraph should accomplish: www.test99.com

Explain the issue (briefly). www.test99.com
Show that you understand the full complexities of the issue (for example, www.test99.com
by recognizing competing interests or various factors). www.test99.com
State your position on the issue (without the details yet). www.test99.com
Sample template for introductory paragraph (2 sentences): www.test99.com

a) Whether ________________________ depends on _____________________. www.test99.com

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b) (insert your opinion), __________________________. www.test99.com

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2) First Body Paragraph (3-5 sentences) www.test99.com

Begin to develop your position with your most important reason. Use one or www.test99.com
two examples to back up your main point: www.test99.com

a) The chief reason for my view is ___________________________________. www.test99.com

b) For example, ____________________________________. www.test99.com

c) Moreover, ______________________________. www.test99.com

d) Finally, ________________________. www.test99.com

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3) Second Body Paragraph www.test99.com

Expand your position with a secondary reason. Support your rationale www.test99.com
further with at least one example. www.test99.com

State your second reason (one only). www.test99.com

Provide rationale and/or evidence to support it. www.test99.com

Heres a sample template for the second body paragraph that accomplishes www.test99.com
these objectives: www.test99.com

a) Another reason for my view is_____________________________. www.test99.com

b) Specifically,________________. www.test99.com

c) The result is,__________________. www.test99.com

4) Optional Third Body Paragraph www.test99.com

In this paragraph (optional) you acknowledge a competing viewpoint or www.test99.com
counter-argument (and rationale and/or examples that support it), and then www.test99.com
provide rebuttals to further support your position. In this paragraph you www.test99.com
walk a tightrope, you must acknowledge the counter-argument, but yet deny www.test99.com
it immediately in the next sentence and use that denial to strengthen your www.test99.com
own argument. www.test99.com

Acknowledge a different viewpoint or a counter-argument. www.test99.com

Provide rationale and/or examples that support it. www.test99.com

Provide a rebuttal. www.test99.com
Heres a sample template for the third body paragraph that accomplishes the www.test99.com
objectives indicated above: www.test99.com

a) Some might argue,_____________________________. www.test99.com

b) Yet,____________________ www.test99.com

c) Others might cite, __________________. www.test99.com

d) However,_____________________. www.test99.com

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5) Conclusion Paragraph www.test99.com

In this paragraph you write a summary of your position in 1 to 3 sentences: www.test99.com

State the thrust of your position. www.test99.com

Restate the main points from the body of your essay. www.test99.com
The concluding paragraph is not the place for new information or reasons. www.test99.com
It is not a place to draw new conclusions. www.test99.com

a) In sum, I concur that ________________________. www.test99.com

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b) However,_________________; on the whole______________. www.test99.com

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Time Breakdown: www.test99.com
How to write a coherent 300 word essay in 45 minutes www.test99.com

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1. Examine the issue (2-3 minutes) www.test99.com

a. What is the basic issue? Try to phrase it as a question. www.test99.com

b. Those in favor would say…. www.test99.com

c. Those against would say…. www.test99.com

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2. Choose what points you want to make (4-5 minutes) www.test99.com

a. Arguments in favor: www.test99.com

b. Arguments opposed: www.test99.com

c. Take a side: which side do you prefer? www.test99.com

d. What are the assumptions in the arguments? www.test99.com

Step 3: Outline (1 minute) www.test99.com

Use the templates on the prior page. www.test99.com

1. Make sure that your outline: www.test99.com

a. states the central idea of the essay clearly and forcefully; www.test99.com

b. provides a word or phrase for every paragraph in the essay; www.test99.com

c. relates each paragraph to the central idea of the essay in (2a) above; www.test99.com

d. includes an opening and closing paragraph which tie the essay together. www.test99.com

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2. Build your paragraphs in the essay carefully. You may produce effective www.test99.com
writing in the essay analytical writing section on the analysis of an issue www.test99.com
by following a few simple rules: www.test99.com

a. Each paragraph should state a central idea which relates to the central www.test99.com
idea of the entire essay. www.test99.com

b. Every statement in each paragraph should relate to the central idea of www.test99.com
the paragraph in (3a) above. In each paragraph, use examples to support the www.test99.com
central idea or explain it completely. www.test99.com

c. Consciously choose paragraph length, for if your paragraphs are all too www.test99.com
short (one or two sentences), you will be penalized, and if they are too www.test99.com
long you will also be penalized. www.test99.com

Step 4: Write/type your essay (35 minutes) www.test99.com

Whats your thesis sentence? www.test99.com
Arguments for… www.test99.com
Arguments opposed... www.test99.com

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Step 5: Proofread your work (2 minutes) www.test99.com

Check for grammar, spelling, etc.. www.test99.com