1. Be sure to include brief introductory and concluding paragraphs, which are consistent with each other and with the paragraphs in the body of your essay. 2. Your essay must at least appear to be well organized. Use transition words and phrases to help the reader follow the flow of your discussion. For ideas, check out the transitional devices I've used in my sample Issue essays and sample Argument essays. 3. Compose your introductory paragraph last after you've completed the rest of your essay. Why? Because you essay might evolve somewhat from your initial plan; if you've composed your introduction. | GMAT Quick Tips Top Essay Tips 1. Be sure to include brief introductory and concluding paragraphs which are consistent with each other and with the paragraphs in the body of your essay. 2. Your essay must at least appear to be well organized. Use transition words and phrases to help the reader follow the flow of your discussion. For ideas check out the transitional devices I ve used in my sample Issue essays and sample Argument essays. 3. Compose your introductory paragraph last after you ve completed the rest of your essay. Why Because you essay might evolve somewhat from your initial plan if you ve composed your introduction first you might need to rewrite it. 4. For every point you make in a GMAT essay always provide a reason and or an example to support that point 5. Pay close attention to writing mechanics grammar sentence construction word usage and diction whether you ve used the right word for the right job . It doesn t matter if your essay contains brilliant ideas if you can t express them. In short It s form over substance 6. It s okay to refer to yourself in your essays at your option. Just don t overdo it. Phrases such as I think it is my opinion that and in my view are superfluous and a waste of your typing time. 7. Don t try to impress the reader with your vocabulary. There s nothing wrong with demonstrating a strong vocabulary. Just don t overdo it otherwise the readers will suspect that you re using big words as a smokescreen for poor content. GMAT QuickTips .Analysis of an Issue Spend at least 3-4 minutes jotting down some points both for and against the statement. In support of every point try to think of at least one reason or example. Go for breadth not depth. Try to cover both polar sides of the issue and various arguments on both sides. Don t dwell on one point This is the 1 essay blunder committed by GMAT test-takers. But don t try to cover everything either otherwise you might not have time to develop each of your ideas--with reasons and .