This commentary is the first of two articles on the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA), a new component in the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). Here, we examine the AWA's historical significance and address questions regarding the relevance of the new writing test for management education. A comparison of what the AWA measures with GMAC's claims and business schools' expressed needs suggests that the AWA furnishes new information indicating MBA applicant's academic abilities, especially critical thinking and analytical writing abilities. However, as a writing test the AWA predicts students' performance in only one mode of writing required by MBA studies, and it is of little relevance to management writing in the workplace. Overall, we find the AWA to be a limited academic writing assessment that will meet only some of the expectations of management educators.
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