Most students see meaningful improvement within 4-8 weeks of focused preparation. Score gains depend on your starting point and effort level, but personalized 1-on-1 instruction helps you identify specific weaknesses—whether that's thesis clarity, evidence selection, or logical analysis—and address them directly. Tutors can show you exactly what high-scoring essays look like and help you develop a consistent writing process that works under timed conditions.

The two most common struggles are managing time pressure (you have just 45 minutes for the Issue essay) and understanding what graders actually want to see. Many students write lengthy responses without strong organization, or they spend too long planning and run out of time. Others misunderstand the Argument task—it's not about agreeing or disagreeing, but about analyzing the logical structure of someone else's argument. A tutor can help you develop a repeatable template and practice under realistic timing constraints.

Varsity Tutors connects you with expert tutors who specialize in GRE preparation and can work with your schedule. Your tutor will assess your current writing level, teach you the specific strategies that earn high scores, and have you write practice essays under timed conditions. You'll receive detailed feedback on structure, argument strength, and clarity, then revise and practice until the approach becomes automatic. Most students benefit from 2-3 sessions per week over 4-8 weeks.

Aim for at least 15-20 practice essays total—roughly 10-12 Issue essays and 5-8 Argument essays—written under full timed conditions. This gives you enough repetition to internalize the structure and pacing while still having time to refine your approach based on feedback. Your tutor can guide you on which official GRE prompts to prioritize and help you identify patterns in your mistakes so you're not just writing more, but writing smarter.

The Issue essay asks you to take a position on a statement and defend it with examples and reasoning. The Argument essay asks you to analyze someone else's argument and identify logical weaknesses—you don't share your own opinion. Most students find the Argument essay harder because it requires you to think critically about flawed reasoning rather than draw on your own knowledge. A tutor can teach you specific techniques for each task, since the strategies are quite different.

Your tutor will start by understanding your background, timeline, and target score. You'll likely write a timed practice essay (or two) so your tutor can see your current strengths and weaknesses—things like how you organize ideas, manage time, and construct arguments. From there, your tutor will create a personalized plan that focuses on your specific gaps, whether that's brainstorming efficiency, thesis clarity, or logical analysis. This diagnostic approach ensures you're not wasting time on skills you already have.

Test anxiety often stems from uncertainty about what to expect or lack of confidence in your process. By writing 15+ practice essays under timed conditions with your tutor's feedback, you build genuine confidence—you know you can do this because you've done it many times. Your tutor can also teach you pacing strategies, breathing techniques, and how to quickly generate ideas so you're not staring at a blank screen. The more prepared and practiced you feel, the calmer you'll be on test day.