Kaplan’s Essay Review Service for the GRE
Kaplan offers an essay review service to help GRE test takers analyze their writing sample essays and improve their scores on the Analytical Writing section. The Analytical Writing section consists of two essay tasks – an Issue Task and an Argument Task – that must be completed within 30 minutes each. Given how crucial writing skills are for graduate study and careers that require strong communication abilities, acing the Analytical Writing section through targeted practice and feedback is key for GRE success. Kaplan’s essay review is designed to provide test takers with just that.
What Does Kaplan’s Essay Review Involve?
When you sign up for Kaplan’s essay review service, you will submit up to two essays from either the Issue or Argument tasks for expert evaluation. Kaplan uses a team of experienced writing instructors and GRE scoring experts to thoroughly assess your responses based on the official GRE scoring rubric. Some of the elements they will evaluate include:
Position/Claim – Does the essay take a clear position on the issue or make a clear claim about the argument’s conclusion?
Reasoning/Support – Does the essay use clear, relevant, and sufficient reasoning and evidence to support the position or evaluation of the argument?
Organization – Is the essay well structured with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion? Does the flow and progression make logical sense?
Persuasiveness – Is the essay persuasive for the intended academic audience? Does it convince the reader of the validity of the position or evaluation?
Grammar/Usage/Mechanics – How would errors or lack of control of grammar, usage, and mechanics affect the reader’s understanding or perspectives of the argument/position?
After reviewing your submissions, Kaplan’s evaluators will provide you with a detailed, multi-page analysis of each essay’s strengths and weaknesses based on the official scoring criteria. They will assign practice essay scores and include detailed explanations to justify those scores. The feedback will also pinpoint specific areas for improvement and include recommendations for achieving higher scores. Their goal is to help decode where you may currently be losing points and how to adapt your approach for the actual GRE.
In addition to the evaluations, Kaplan will provide supplemental lesson materials, such as skill-building exercises and writing templates/outlines tailored to your individual needs. The comprehensive feedback aims to equip you with a plan to enhance your overall writing abilities and maximize your Analytical Writing score.
Cost and Turnaround Time
Kaplan’s essay review service costs $49 per submission. You can choose to submit either one or two essays for evaluation. Kaplan guarantees a turnaround time of 5-7 business days once your submissions are received. Given the level of detail and customization provided, this rapid yet thorough evaluation timeline allows you to implement feedback and refine your approach in time for your actual GRE test date.
When placing your order online, you will need to upload your essays as Word documents and indicate the type of task (Issue or Argument). Kaplan will then match your responses with an evaluator and provide tracking updates until the completed analyses are made available to you through your online student portal.
Benefits of Kaplan’s GRE Essay Review
Some of the key benefits of utilizing Kaplan’s GRE essay review service include:
Individualized Feedback – Rather than generic lessons, you receive custom assessments precisely addressing the strengths and weaknesses demonstrated in your actual written work.
Practice Scoring Accuracy – Being scored by an official GRE scoring rubric and levels of experience help reveal how well your writing may translate on test day.
Alignment with GRE Expectations – Evaluators provide guidance on refining your approach based on what top scoring responses tend to include to meet GRE Analytical Writing standards.
Improvement Plan – A review not only diagnoses issues but provides targeted suggestions and outlines to enhance your ability to craft higher scoring responses.
Timely Turnaround – Rapid yet complete evaluations leave adequate time to incorporate feedback into your GRE prep study schedule before your exam.
Supplemental Help – Additional lesson materials support further developing your analytical and persuasive writing proficiency.
Convenience – You can submit essays from any location via the online order process.
While self-evaluating and getting peer feedback can be helpful too, working directly with highly qualified GRE experts exposes you to a deeper level of review better simulating the actual scoring process. Kaplan’s essay assessment tackles weaknesses head-on in a constructive manner aimed at improving your GRE score.
Sample Analysis and Materials
Here is a sample of the level of detail and feedback quality provided in Kaplan’s GRE essay evaluation service:
Issue Task Essay 1 Analysis:
Your response clearly takes a stance that society should accept and be more understanding of different perspectives on moral issues, which is a defensible position for this task. Your introduction sets up this position well through the discussion of how differing life experiences shape moral viewpoints.
In the body paragraphs, you use relevant examples like views on abortion and same-sex marriage to support your stance. You could be more persuasive by providing clearer logical reasoning for why society needs to accept disagreements in these areas despite their controversial nature. Consider discussing how shutting down discussion leads to further conflict rather than progress, or how a diversity of ideas fosters innovation and progress.
Your conclusion adequately restates your position that society must embrace moral pluralism. Still, adding a call to action for readers could make the conclusion more impactful. Something like suggesting open-mindedness and compromise are keys to societal harmony.
Some minor errors in word choice and comma usage dotted the response but would likely not detract from the intended message for a GRE reader. Overall, this essay demonstrates an adequate ability to support a position. With refinement of the reasoning and conclusion as suggested, this response could potentially score a 4 out of 6.
In addition to the full analysis, Kaplan provides a sample outline addressing the feedback as well as further exercises targeting persuasive reasoning skills. These supplemental materials allow test takers to apply the lessons from the review productively.
With its rigorous yet personalized evaluation process and supporting materials, Kaplan’s essay review service provides a valuable opportunity for GRE writers to take their analytical and persuasive abilities to the next level. The targeted feedback decodes scorers’ perspectives and pinpoints an action plan to maximize Analytical Writing section results.
Andrew Stroud