The GRE Issue Essay is a section in which a candidate would have to state their opinion. The opinion regarding a prompt should have relevant arguments for or against the same in a well structured written format. The GRE Issue Essay analyses the level of critical and rational thinking of the candidates. It also examines their capability to express their logical reasoning and opinion in writing. The topic for GRE Analyse an Issue is ‘In Any Situation Progress Requires Discussion Among People who have Contrasting Points of View’. A model answer for the same has been given below.

For writing GRE Issue Essay, the candidates must divide their entire essay into five paragraphs. This is the standard form of writing the essay. Candidates also has the liberty to choose from 4-6 paragraphs. The standard structure for writing a GRE Issue Essay has been mentioned in the following points:

Introduction: Here, the candidates must first mention the issue given to them and also state their position regarding the same. The candidates could also provide a brief explanation on the different reasons and examples that this essay would focus on.
Body Paragraph 1: In this paragraph, the candidates must write the strongest reason for their opinion on this issue. The candidates must make sure to support the reason with suitable examples, preferably from the real world, and analyze the same in a logical manner. This paragraph should be written in such a way that it completely supports the opinion of the candidate on the given issue in GRE AWA essay.
Body Paragraph 2: The second paragraph also has a similar structure to body paragraph 1. It should contain another reason with suitable real-world examples. The candidates must analyse these reasons in a logical manner. The candidates must be careful not to sway away from the given issue and mention only those points that are relevant to the topic.
Final Paragraph: In this paragraph, the candidates must provide a counter argument regarding the GRE Analyse an Issue essay. With this counterargument, the candidates must convince the readers that their perspective and opinion is correct and the counterargument is absolutely wrong.
Conclusion: Lastly, the candidates must make sure to remind the reader regarding the given topic and try to provide a summary of the entire essay in this paragraph.

On the basis of the above structure for writing the GRE Issue Essay, the candidates might consider to follow the strategies mentioned in the following points:

• The candidates should strictly choose a side and stick to it throughout the essay. They must not argue for both sides of the given issues in GRE Analyse an Argument.
• The candidates must make sure not sway away from the given issue. They must always give reasons and examples that are relevant to the given topic. It is advisable to provide relevant examples from the real-world.
• The candidates must make use of strong and declarative statements in order to avoid any form of misunderstanding or miscommunication.
• It is not advisable to write the given issue in the first person. The first person should only be used if the candidate is providing personal experiences as an example while writing the essay.
• In conclusion, it is important for the candidates to provide and identify a counter-argument and then refute the same with at least two-three sentences.

Read More GRE Issue Samples

Topic: In any situation progress requires discussion among people who have contrasting points of view.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.

Model Answer

The given statement claims “In any situation progress requires discussion among people who have contrasting points of view”. In some cases, having contrasting might lead to disagreement and stop societal progress. However, in most scenarios, having diverse points of view leads to progress. Depending upon the past experiences and outlook of an individual, a single situation can be dealt with and interpreted in numerous manners. An optimist might view a glass filled with water as being half full whereas a pessimist will view the same glass of water as being half empty. Depending on the perception, the mindset and the manner of interpretation of different individuals, it is possible to find different solutions to one problem. However, in order to arrive at the best possible solution to any problem, contrasting opinions need to be carefully examined. This would ensure progress. I would definitely opine for the given statement.

Different individuals have had different experiences in their lifetime. As a result, not all individuals view a particular situation in the same manner. They have different outlooks and hence, different solutions to the same situation. For example, the mayor of a city plans to build a fly over in the city in order to reduce the traffic congestion. In his opinion, building a flyover or a bridge is the perfect solution for reducing traffic congestion in the city. However, in the opinion of some of his analysts, this might not be a very good solution. This is because the construction of the fly over might not have the desired effect of reducing congestion in the city. This means a complete waste of the tax-payer’s money which could have been utilized in the development of other sectors such as health and education. Thus, the mayor needs to consider these contrasting opinions and discuss them with the other officials before coming to a decision. The examination of opposing views would ensure the best possible solution to the problem of traffic congestion in the city.

The biggest example of progress being a direct outcome of discussion among people with contrasting views is democracy. Democracy is the dominant form of governance in most of the countries across the globe. In a democratic nation, several political parties are present. Each of these parties have their own views and perspectives of running the administration and finding a solution to the problems occurring in the nation. However, all the important decisions of the nation are taken by the members of both the ruling party and the opposition party. The opposition party is responsible for providing contrasting views regarding a particular problem in the nation. Hence, the ruling part can get a different viewpoint of the same problem and might want to consider different solutions. This would help the ruling party to make a decision that would affect the people belonging to all sections of the society. Hence, it would help in bringing greater societal progress and consequent prosperity of the country.

Some would argue that having contrasting viewpoints would trigger disagreements and arguments among the people and thus, hamper the progress of the society as a whole. However, history has time and again proved the fact that the suppression of free speech and debate will have disastrous consequences on societal progress. For example, between 1930 and 1960, the Soviet scientist, Lysenko, along with his supporters in the Soviet Government had persecuted over 3000 scientists. These scientists opposed his theory of the ‘Inheritance of Acquired Characters’. This theory was proved to be false later. However, his absolute abuse of power had resulted in the stagnation of research in the field of biology for more than three decades.

In conclusion, it is of utmost importance to clearly examine contrasting viewpoints regarding a particular situation and discuss and debate regarding the same. This is the only way in which an individual will be able to gain an insight into the different aspects of a particular situation. As a result, the individual would be able to make better decisions and ensure greater societal progress.