Overview for GRE Analytical Writing<<Issue Questions>>

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Overview for GRE Analytical WritingltltIssue
Questionsgtgt

• Four Sections in this overview
• I. Introduction to Issue Questions
• (I. ??Issue Questions)
• II. How to Answer Issue Questions
• (II. ?????ETS?????)
• A Detailed Look at an Issue Topic and
  Answer / Developing a Position on the Issue
• III. Other Useful Tips (III. ??????)
• IV. Related Links and References(IV.?????????)

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I. Introduction to Issue 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???

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• This file focuses on the first kind issue
  questions.
• You will be asked to --
• Present your perspective on the issue, using
  relevant reasons and/or examples to support your
  views. That means, you will adopt a position.
• You need to choose from two issue topics. Each
  presents an opinion on an issue of broad
  interest.
• ETS has released its official pool of GRE
  Analytical Writing questions on www.gre.org

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???????issue question

• Present your perspective on the issue, using
  relevant reasons and/or examples to support your
  views. That means, you will adopt a position.
• ??????????????,???????????????????
• You need to choose from two issue topics. Each
  presents an opinion on an issue of broad
  interest.
• ?????????,??????????Issue question?????????????
  ?????????
• ETS?www.gre.com??????

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• Directions for the Issue Writing Task (Issue
  writing task????)
• Present your perspective on one of the issues
  below, using relevant reasons and/or examples to
  support your views. You are free to accept,
  reject, or qualify the statement.
• ???????????,??????,??????????????????????????????(
  accept or reject the statement),????????????,?????
  ?????(qualify the statement) ?

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• Topic 1
• "Both the development of technological tools and
  the uses to which humanity has put them have
  created modern civilizations in which loneliness
  is ever increasing."
• Topic 2
• "Our declining environment may bring the people
  of the world together as no politician,
  philosopher, or war ever could. Environmental
  problems are global in scope and respect no
  nation's boundaries. Therefore, people are faced
  with the choice of unity and cooperation on the
  one hand or disunity and a common tragedy on the
  other."

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More Questions from the Pool of Issue Topics

• "The university community consists of three
  different worldsthe sciences, the humanities,
  and the social sciences. Because each world
  operates on its own assumptions and has its own
  special habits of thinking, rarely is there
  meaningful interaction among the sciences, the
  humanities, and the social sciences."
• "The problems of modern society have led many
  people to complain 'We live in terrible times.'
  Yet, given the choice, no one today would prefer
  to live in any other time."

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• "Students should be encouraged to realize that
  mental agility and rhetorical skill must be
  accompanied by sincerity and the true conviction
  of their own beliefs."
• "While most of the environmental problems we face
  result from the use of technology, society must
  depend upon technology to find solutions to these
  problems."

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• "The absence of choice is a circumstance that is
  very, very rare."
• "What we call progress is a matter of exchanging
  one problem for another."
• "Only through mistakes can there be discovery or
  progress."
• "Every new generation needs to redefine 'right'
  and 'wrong' in its own terms and according to the
  conditions of its own time."

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II. How to Answer Issue Questions II.
?????ETS?????

• ltltA Detailed Look at an Issue Topic and Answergtgt
• Issue Topic??
• In our time, specialists of all kinds are
  highly overrated. We need more generalistspeople
  who can provide broad perspectives.
• ??????,???????????????????????,?????????????
  ?????
• ???????????(sample essay) ,????,???????????????ETS
  ????(http//www.ets.org/Media/Tests/GRE/pdf/awintr
  o.pdf )?
• (???sample issue topic and essay?strategies???ETS?
  ? An Introduction to the Analytical Writing
  Section of the GRE General Test.
  http//www.ets.org/Media/Tests/GRE/pdf/awintro.pdf
  )

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• Sample Essay
• In this essay, the writer attempts to qualify the
  issue statement. He/She acknolwedges that both
  specialists and generalists are needed.
• ??????,???????????????????????????????????????????
  ????
• (For complete sample essays scored from 1-6 with
  reader commentaries, please refer to
  http//www.ets.org/Media/Tests/GRE/pdf/awintro.pdf
  )

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• Introduction of this essay
• In this era of rapid social and technological
  change leading to increasing life complexity and
  psychological displacement, both positive and
  negative effects among persons in Western society
  call for a balance in which there are both
  specialists and generalists.

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Outline of the Main Body

• Specialists are necessary in order to allow
  society as a whole to properly and usefully
  assimilate the masses of new information and
  knowledge that have come out of research and have
  been widely disseminated through mass global
  media.
• Simply put, without specialists, our society
  would find itself bogged down in the Sargasso sea
  of information overload.
• On the other hand, Over specialization means
  narrow focii in which people can lose the larger
  picture.
•  

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• (4) Not only may over-specialization be
  dangerous in terms of the truth, purity and
  cohesion of knowledge, but it can also serve to
  drown moral or universall issues.
• (5) Finally, over-specialization in a people's
  daily lives and jobs has meant personal and
  psychological compartmentalization.

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• Conclusion
• Without generalists, society becomes
  inward-looking and eventually inefficient.
  Without a society that recognizes the importance
  of broad-mindedness and fora for sharing
  generalities, individuals become isolated. Thus,
  while our form of society necessitates
  specialists, generalists are equally important.
  Specialists drive us forward in a series of
  thrusts while generalists make sure we are still
  on the jousting field and know what the stakes
  are.

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ltltStrategiesgtgt ????

• Before you start writing, explore the
  complexities of the issue. ?????????????
• 1) What, precisely, is the central issue?
• ???????
• 2) Do I agree with all or with any part of the
  claim? Why or why not?
• ????????????,??????
• ?????
• 3) Does the claim make certain assumptions? If
  so, are they reasonable?
• ??????????????????,??????

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• 4) Is the claim valid only under certain
  conditions? If so, what are they?
• ???????????????????????,??????
• 5) Do I need to explain how I interpret certain
  terms or concepts used in the claim?
• ??????????????,???????????????????????????

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• 6) If I take a certain position on the issue,
  what reasons support my position?
• ???????????(????????????),????????????
• 7) What examples could I use to illustrate those
  reasons and advance my point of view? Which
  examples are most compelling?
• ????????????????,?????????????????????

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• ltltDeveloping a Position on the Issuegtgt???????????
• The instructions emphasizes
• You are free to accept, reject, or qualify the
  statement.????????????????,????????????,??????????
  
• 1) Qualifying an Issue Statement
• For issue statements that have the following
  patterns, you might want to consider choosing to
  qualify the statement in your essay(???????????,??
  ??????????)

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• A statement
• whose accuracy depends on various factors
• ???????????????????
• that raises two distinct but related issues
• ??????????,????????
• that lists, or otherwise embraces, two or more
  distinct categories
• ????????????????
• that is unclear or vague in some way
• ???????????????
• that might be true generally but fails to account
  for significant exceptional cases
• ?????,?????,?????????????

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• 2) Accepting or Rejecting the Statement
• ????????????
• You must provide sound reasons and supporting
  examples to justify your strong agreement or
  disagreement. ???????????????,???????--???????????
  ??
• It is ok to adopt a controversial stance,
  but avoid a fanatical or extreme stance.
• ???????????,?????????????
• Avoid making criticism based on personal moral
  grounds, spirituality, or jingoism (excessive
  patriotism).
• ??????????????????????????

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III. Other Useful Tips??????

• 5-Steps Approach?????
• Step 1 Read the question make sure you
  understand the question.
• (1)????????,?????????
• Step 2 Underline
• Underline key words in the question and write
  words with the same or related meaning.
• (2)?????????????????
• Step 3 Get Ideas
• Decide if you are for or against the idea. It is
  ok to give both sides (for and against - one
  paragraph each) and then to give your opinion in
  the conclusion.
• (3)?????????????????????,?????????????????,???????
  ?????

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• Step 4 Decide Layout
• (4)??????
• There is one easy layout called 3773, which
  you can use if you agree with both sides of the
  argument. That means four paragraphs
  introduction (3 sentences) one side (7
  sentences), the other side (7 sentences) and the
  conclusion (3 sentences).????????????,??????3773??
  ,??????????????,?????,???,??????
• Step 5 Choose a major layout
• You may choose 3773 or 35553 layout.
• (5)???????3773?35553???

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• 3773 layout
• Use the 3773 layout if you are giving both
  sides of the argument or situation. In the second
  and the third prgs, you can give examples and
  reasons. In the conclusion, just sum up your main
  idea, or paraphrase your introduction.
• 3773?????????????,???,?????????????,????????,??
  ?????????,???????

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• 35553 layout
• Its best to say if you agree or not right at
  the beginning. a five-paragraph essay with three
  sentences in the introduction, five sentences in
  the second, third and fourth paragraphs, and
  three in the conclusion. In the three body
  paragraphs, you give examples and supporting
  information.
• 35553????????????????????????????,????,????,????
  ???,????????????????????????????????
• (???http//www.writefix.com/argument/)

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IV. 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/2007/02/gre-issue.h
  tml

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• 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.

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• 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