Generally speaking, I agree with FF. I agree with his conclusion that it may not be worth retaking the GMAT at this point if you are going to apply in R1 and your verbal subscore is above the 80th percentile.
However, the AWA is an important component of the GMAT review process and should not be taken lightly. For example, some people may think that they can get away with not following the "rules" and hiring professional writers to write their essays (forget the bigger issues of the morals of this approach and the likely setup for failure in the classroom if such an applicant were somehow to get admitted). A discrepancy between the quality of the writing in an applicant's essays and their AWA score and verbal academic history may lead to some questions and further scrutiny.
So, what does this all mean? If you have other evidence of strong writing and verbal ability and can write good essays, don't bother retaking the GMAT. If you are lacking in those dimensions, however, and have the time, money, and will to retake the GMAT, you can consider doing so if you are confident you will only improve your AWA score and not hurt your verbal and quantitative subscores in the process.
Hope this helps.
-Victor
WG '11