General

What are the benefits of the GRE ScoreItNow!^™ Online Writing Practice service?

The ScoreItNow! Online Writing Practice service allows you to practice your analytical writing skills on Analytical Writing tasks used in the GRE^® General Test. The responses you write in the service are scored by e-rater^®, the automated essay scoring system developed by ETS researchers.

What is the price of the ScoreItNow! service?

The service costs US$20, which entitles you to write two essay responses. At the time of purchase, you can select either to write your responses in the Practice Option or in the Test Experience Option. In the Practice Option, you will receive a score for each response submitted. In the Test Experience Option, you will receive a score for each response and a total score.

Plus, FREE bonus topics are now available: after you have submitted two essay responses for scoring, you will have the additional option to write and submit essay responses on six FREE bonus topics (three for the Analyze an Issue task and three for the Analyze an Argument task) for more practice. You will receive a score on each essay response that you submit on these bonus topics.

How can the ScoreItNow! service help me prepare for the GRE^® General Test?

With the ScoreItNow! service, you can write two responses on authentic Analytical Writing topics for the GRE General Test. Your essay responses are scored by e-rater, the automated essay scoring technology developed at ETS. The e-rater scoring engine has been trained on actual responses that GRE essay readers evaluated. The scores you receive using the ScoreItNow! service will provide an indication of how you might do when writing an essay response on the Analytical Writing section during an actual administration of the GRE General Test.

IMPORTANT: Please note that there is no guarantee that the score you receive on the Analytical Writing section of the GRE General Test will be the same as the scores you receive from ScoreItNow!. Each Analytical Writing response on the computer-delivered GRE General Test is scored by at least one human reader using a six-point holistic scale. The essay is then scored by e-rater. If the human and e-rater scores closely agree, the average of the two scores is used as the final score. If they disagree, a second human score is obtained, and the final score is the average of the two human scores.

How does ScoreItNow! Online Writing Practice service differ from the Analytical Writing section of the actual GRE General Test?

There are several differences between the ScoreItNow! service and the Analytical Writing section of the GRE General Test. See the chart below:

What are the technical requirements to use the ScoreItNow! service?

ScoreItNow! Online Writing Practice version 2.5 has been verified to be compatible with the following browsers on Windows^® and Macintosh^® devices.

• Chrome^® version 56
• FireFox^® version 51
• Edge^® version 38
• Internet Explorer^® version 11
• Safari^® version 10

The list above is based on the current stable versions available for quality review prior to product launch. Newer versions of these browsers may be compatible but have not undergone a quality review with this product.

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Using ScoreItNow! Online Writing Practice

How do I access ScoreItNow! service?

Visit www.ets.org/gre/scoreitnow then either click on the Sign In button and log in, or click the Buy Now button to purchase the service.

How do I purchase the ScoreItNow! service?

The ScoreItNow! service can be purchased with the following credit cards: American Express, JCB, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa.

Why doesn't my voucher code work?

Please make sure you copied and pasted the voucher code correctly from the source. Be especially careful that you do not leave an extra blank space before or after the voucher code. Voucher codes begin with "EA", "DR", or "FW".

Contact Customer Support if you continue to experience difficulty with your voucher code.

What is the difference between the Practice Option and the Test Experience Option?

The Practice Option allows you to:

• Submit responses to essay topics in any combination (i.e. one Analyze an Issue topic and one Analyze an Argument topic, or two topics of the same task type).
• Write essay responses online or offline. The topics will be timed in online mode, however you can pause the timer by choosing to Save and Return Later.
• Receive a score for each essay response submitted.
• Receive additional feedback.

The Test Experience Option allows you to:

• Submit responses to one Analyze an Issue topic and one Analyze an Argument topic (simulates a GRE Analytical Writing section).
• Respond to an Issue topic and Argument topic as you would during an actual test administration. The service will deliver one Issue topic and you will have 30 minutes to write and submit your essay response. The test will then deliver one Argument topic and you will have 30 minutes to write and submit your essay response.
• Write your essay responses online using the same word processing features as are available in the computer-delivered GRE General Test.
• Receive a score for each essay response submitted, as well as an Analytical Writing Total score.
• Receive additional feedback.

What are Bonus Analytical Writing topics?

Bonus Analytical Writing topics are free topics that ETS has made available to you to provide you with more practice writing Analytical Writing essay responses. After you have submitted two essay responses for scoring, you will have the additional option to write and submit essay responses to FREE Bonus Analytical Writing topics. You will receive a score on each essay response that you submit on the Bonus topics.

Essay responses to the Bonus topics may be used in ETS materials to train scorers, in analysis samples and in research studies. In each instance, all identifying information will be removed.

How many essay submissions can I purchase?

You may purchase essay credits in multiples of two. With two credits you may complete a two-essay Test Experience or two separate Practice essays.

NOTE: There are currently 3 topics for the Analyze an Issue task and 3 topics for the Analyze an Argument task in the ScoreItNow! system. In addition, there are 3 free bonus topics for the Analyze an Issue task and 3 bonus topics for the Analyze an Argument task.

If I purchase multiple Test Experience sessions, will I receive different topics at each session?

Yes. ScoreItNow! will keep a log of essays you purchase to avoid duplication. It is possible, however, that the number of sessions you purchase may exhaust the number of essay topics in the ScoreItNow! pool. Currently, the ScoreItNow! Service for the GRE General Test has 6 essay topics, 3 for the Issue task and 3 for the Argument task, and 6 free bonus topics (3 for the Issue task and 3 for the Argument task). Please note that while your score on a particular ScoreItNow! topic may well improve after multiple submissions, these improved scores will be a less reliable indicator of your performance on the actual test than your performance on a new topic.

How do I submit an essay response for scoring?

Go to the Welcome Page. Click on the Sign In button and type your user name and password. Then choose your mode: Test Experience or Practice. If you have purchased the Practice Option, select a topic on which you wish to submit an essay. Read the directions provided on the screen. When you are ready to write your response online, enter your essay response into the text box and click Submit. Or, you can copy and paste a response you wrote offline and click on Submit. If you are using the Test Experience Option, your essay responses must be composed online and will go to e-rater for scoring when you click on Submit or when the allotted time has expired.

How do I write my essay responses using a word processor?

Select the topic you wish to write on and type it using a word processing program. Save your response. Then, enter the ScoreItNow! Online Writing Practice for the GRE General Test. Leave the word processor and response open, then use the following instructions for cutting and pasting your response from the word processing program into the ScoreItNow! response window.

Windows

• Highlight the response text in the word processor program.
• Click Edit in the top menu bar.
• Select Copy.
• Switch to the ScoreItNow! window.
• Proceed to the Write Response Off-line section.
• Click inside the GRE ScoreItNow! text box.
• Press Control-V on your keyboard to paste the text into the text box.

Mac

• Highlight the response text in the word processor program.
• Click Edit in the top menu bar.
• Select Copy.
• Switch to the ScoreItNow! window.
• Proceed to the Write Response Off-line section.
• Click in the response window.
• Click inside the GRE ScoreItNow! text box.
• Press Command-V on your keyboard to paste the text into the text box.

Can I write my essay responses in untimed mode?

You are able to write your essay responses in untimed mode in the Practice Option only. Remember that your essay responses will be scored based on standards associated with a response written in the recommended time. To simulate the GRE test environment, we suggest you write your essay response within the recommended 30 minutes allowed for the Analyze an Issue task and 30 minutes allowed for the Analyze an Argument task.

Can I use a spell-checker?

Because a spell-checker will not be available during the actual GRE General Test administration, ScoreItNow! Online Writing Practice does not provide a spell-checker. If you use a word processing program to draft your practice essay response, we recommend against using the spell-checker in order to more accurately reflect the conditions under which you will test.

When will my ScoreItNow! user name and password expire?

Your user name and password will expire 6 months from date of the most recent purchase. Your essay responses and related scores will be saved in the ScoreItNow! system for six months after the date you submitted the response so that duplicate topics will not be presented to you at a future session.

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Essay Responses and Topics

Does the ScoreItNow! service contain authentic General Test Analytical Writing topics?

Yes. The ScoreItNow! topics are GRE topics that have been field tested in actual GRE General Test administrations.

On how many topics may I write responses?

The US$20 fee allows you to write two essay responses in the Practice Option or to simulate an actual GRE General Test Analytical Writing experience in the Test Experience Option. In addition, after you have submitted two essay responses for scoring, you will have the additional option to write and submit essay responses for up to 6 FREE Bonus topics (3 for the Issue task and 3 for the Argument task) and receive immediate scores.

For additional essay submissions that also provide scored sample essays and reader commentary, you will need to purchase the service again. Please note that the ScoreItNow! service has 3 topics for the Issue task and 3 topics for the Argument task.

Can I see the topics before I decide to buy the ScoreItNow! service?

No. You can preview the list of topics after you have purchased and signed on to the ScoreItNow! Service.

Can I pick the topics on which I want to write?

You can in the Practice Option only. Read all available topics and select the two on which you wish to write.

NOTE: In the actual Analytical Writing section of the GRE General Test, you do not select the topics on which you will write your response. The topics are assigned to you.

Can I write my two essay responses on different days?

Yes. You can choose to write the essays on two different days or you can choose to write both essays on the same day.

Can I retake an essay on a particular topic to see if my score improves?

You can choose to write an essay response on a particular topic, submit it for scoring, and then review your score and feedback. After doing so, you are able to choose to write another essay on the same topic to see if your score improves. However, we would recommend writing on a different essay topic. Note that while your score on a particular ScoreItNow! topic may well improve after multiple submissions, these improved scores may be a less reliable indicator of your performance on the actual test than your performance on a new topic.

Remember, if you choose to write another essay on the same topic, it will count as your second essay.

Does anyone see my essay responses and scores?

No one sees your essay responses or scores in the Practice Option and Test Experience Option except you. Your essay responses will be scored by the e-rater automated scoring system and your responses and scores are accessible to you for six months from the date you submitted your responses for scoring. Access to this information is user name and password protected.

Your essay responses on the bonus essays may be used in research studies. In each instance, all identifying information will be removed.

How can I show my essay responses to others?

Access to your essay responses and scores is entirely under your control. We strongly recommend that you print your responses and scores rather than giving your user name and password to others so they can access your reports online. It should be noted, however, that responses and scores cannot be submitted to anyone in lieu of official GRE General Test scores.

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Scoring and Feedback

How are my essay responses scored?

Your essay responses are scored using e-rater automated scoring technology. Note that trained GRE readers do not score your responses in the ScoreItNow! service. If you want additional feedback, you can print your responses and give them to a teacher or instructor for evaluation.

For the Analytical Writing section of the GRE General Test, your essay responses will be scored by at least one human reader and reviewed by e-rater.

What is the e-rater automated scoring engine?

The e-rater engine is an automated essay scoring system developed by researchers at ETS. The e-rater engine is trained on many different essay topics through an analysis of thousands of essay responses that trained GRE readers have scored according to GRE scoring standards. These e-rater models are used to score essays submitted through the ScoreItNow! Online Writing Practice service.

When will I see the score on my essay response?

You will receive your score within approximately 30 seconds after clicking on the Submit button after writing your essay response.

What scores will I receive in the Test Experience Option?

You will receive three scores; a score for each essay response and a total score.

What are the standards for scoring my essay response?

The ScoreItNow! Online Writing Practice service uses e-rater models that emulate the performance of trained ETS essay readers. GRE essay responses are scored on a 6-point holistic scale. The response is rated for its overall quality and receives a score from 1 (lowest) to 6 (highest). If your essay response is too brief to evaluate (fewer than 50 words) or too long (more than 1,000 words), you will receive an Advisory notice indicating that no score will be assigned.

Please note that long essays (more than 1,000 words) are rarely submitted on the operational test and thus the e-rater models which are built on operational essays scored by trained ETS essay readers may not provide as accurate a score for very long essays as they would for an essay that falls within the regular range. That is why the ScoreItNow! software will produce an Advisory Notice of a score for those essays. On the operational test, of course, essays are scored by human readers and can be any length.

NOTE: If your essay response does not receive a score because it is too brief, you are not entitled to a refund.

What is an Advisory notice?

In some cases, an essay response may result in an Advisory notice from the e-rater scoring engine. This means there is something unusual about the response that prevents e-rater from providing an accurate score. It may:

• be fewer than 50 words or more than 1,000 words
• be too repetitive
• be lacking in key concepts
• be a restatement of the essay topic
• not be relevant to the topic
• not resemble other responses written on that topic

How do I interpret an Advisory notice?

Read the Advisory notice to determine why it was provided. You may wish to make the necessary revisions to your essay response and resubmit it for scoring. Remember that the ScoreItNow! Online Writing Practice service allows you to write and submit two essay responses for scoring. If you revise and resubmit your first essay response, the resubmitted response will count as the second of the two essay submissions you purchased.

NOTE: If you receive an Advisory notice other than for a very long essay, you will not be entitled to a refund.

Why didn't my essay response receive a score?

The e-rater engine does not score essay responses that are too brief or too long to evaluate with confidence. If you submit a response for scoring that is too brief to evaluate (fewer than 50 words) or too long (more than 1,000 words), you will receive an Advisory notice indicating that no score will be provided.

NOTE: If you receive an Advisory notice because your essay response is too brief to evaluate, you are not entitled to a refund.

What if I disagree with my score?

The scores assigned by the e-rater scoring engine have been shown to have a high correlation with those assigned by readers who are trained to use the same scoring standards. You may print your essay response and show it to a teacher or instructor for additional feedback.

Can I get an individualized evaluation of my essay response?

The ScoreItNow! Online Writing Practice service only provides an e-rater score for essay responses you have submitted. The ScoreItNow! service does not offer individualized comments about or evaluation of your responses by staff from ETS. You may choose to show your essay responses to a teacher or instructor for evaluation.

Will I get the same score when I take the Analytical Writing section of the GRE General Test?

There is no guarantee that the score assigned to your essay response by the e-rater scoring engine using the ScoreItNow! Online Writing Practice service is the same score you would receive for the response you write during the Analytical Writing section of the GRE General Test.

What information do I get with my score?

In addition to receiving a holistic score for your essay response, you will receive descriptive information about the score point assigned. You may also view general advice on how to improve your writing.

If I try again, will my essay response score go up?

Whether your score goes up when you write another response depends on whether the quality of your essay response has improved.

Can I come back and see my essay responses and scores at a later date?

Yes. Your essay responses and associated scores will be stored in the ScoreItNow! Online Writing Practice system for six months from the date that you submitted your essay responses for scoring.

How do I print out my essay responses and scores?

Click on the Print button on your browser.

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Refund Policy

What is your refund policy?

If you have used your user name and password, refunds are not available, even if you have submitted only one essay response.

If you have never used your user name and password, a partial refund may be available if less than six months has elapsed since date of purchase.

If you have purchased a voucher code through the ETS Store, and you have never created an account, a partial refund may be available if less than six months have elapsed since the date of purchase.

How do I request a refund?

Click here to access the ScoreItNow! Online Writing Practice Contact Us form. Type "Refund" as the subject of your message, then complete all requested information and click on the Submit button.

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Information About the GRE General Test

Where can I get information about the GRE General Test or my official GRE scores?

Information about the GRE General Test and GRE scores can be accessed at www.ets.org/gre.

How can I find out what other test preparation materials and services for the GRE General Test are available from ETS?

Descriptions of all available GRE General Test preparation materials and services can be viewed at www.ets.org/gre/revised/prepare.

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Additional Help

How can I get additional help?

Access the ScoreItNow! Online Writing Practice Contact Us form. Complete all requested information and click on the Submit button. You will promptly receive an automated response to your question.