Analytical Writing Assessment for the GMAT Exam

Common failure modes

These are the patterns that cause most candidates to lose marks on this topic. Recognising them in advance is half the work.

• !Agreeing or disagreeing with the conclusion instead of critiquing the argument's reasoning
• !Identifying only one or two flaws instead of the typical 3–4 expected for a 5+ score
• !Writing a personal opinion essay instead of a logical critique

Study tips

• 1Learn the eight GMAT argument flaw types: unrepresentative sample, false cause, false analogy, ad hominem, circular reasoning, scope shift, weak analogy, either/or fallacy.
• 2Use the 5-paragraph template: intro (restate the argument and state it has flaws), three body paragraphs (one flaw each), conclusion.
• 3Practice identifying flaws in 10 arguments without writing — rapid flaw detection is the core skill.

Sample GMAT Analytical Writing Assessment questions

These sample items mirror the format and difficulty of real GMAT questions. Practice with thousands more on the free Koydo question bank.

1. 1

   Argument: "Last year, the town of Greenfield added a recycling program and its citizen satisfaction scores rose 15%. Therefore, recycling programs improve citizen satisfaction." The primary flaw is:

   • AThe sample is too small
   • BThe argument assumes correlation implies causationCorrect
   • CThe argument uses circular reasoning
   • DThe argument contains an ad hominem attack
   Why this answer?

   The argument assumes that because the recycling program and satisfaction increase occurred together, the program caused the increase. Many other factors (e.g., improved local economy, new parks) could have caused the satisfaction rise. This is a false-cause (correlation/causation) fallacy.