The GMAT Test Structure
The GMAT is divided into four sections: the Analytical Writing Assessment, the Integrated Reasoning Section, the Quantitative Section, and the Verbal Section.
The exam starts with the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA). You will have 30 minutes to write one Analysis of an Argument essay.
Then you move on to Integrated Reasoning. This section is also 30 minutes long and consists of 12 question prompts, each of which can have multiple questions to answer. The questions are verbal and quantitative.
The Quantitative Section starts after an optional ten-minute break and contains 37 multiple-choice questions. You have 75 minutes to complete this section. The questions are categorized into two groups: Problem Solving and Data Sufficiency. We will talk about both types of questions in more detail.
The Verbal Section starts after another optional ten-minute break, and contains 41 multiple-choice questions. You have 75 minutes to complete this section. The questions are categorized into three groups: Reading Comprehension, Critical Reasoning, and Sentence Correction. We’ll also talk about these questions in detail.
This section consists of two essays, an Analysis of an Issue and an Analysis of an Argument. You have 30 minutes to finish each essay, and you are marked on a scale from 0 to 6. Two readers read an essay and grade it in half-point (0.5) increments. If the two scores from the readers are within one point of each other, then the average of the two is used. If a more than one-point difference exists, then a third reader grades the essay.
Now, when we talk about readers, we are not only talking about humans. The first reader is Intellimetric, a computer program that analyzes your writing and syntax abilities. The second and, if needed, third readers are humans who evaluate the quality of your ideas, your organizational ability, and how you develop and express your ideas.
The evaluators understand that English is not always the first language for test takers, and minor errors and mistakes are often expected. There is no need to worry about your essay being grammatically perfect. You will also find that most of the business schools that you apply to do not care much about this portion of the test. For them, the verbal and quantitative sections are the most important. Therefore, focus the majority of your preparation time on these two sections.
Integrated Reasoning
The Integrated Reasoning section attempts to measure your skills related to the use of both quantitative and verbal information. The information in the questions is provided through text, tables, graphs, flowcharts, budgets, spreadsheets, and more. Some questions contain only one source of information and some contain multiple. And even though the test claims to only have 12 questions on the Integrated Reasoning section, many questions contain multiple parts, which means you really have to answer closer to 20 questions. The topics range from business applications to sociological studies to scientific research, and they may combine verbal and quantitative information within a single question. Although there may be subject matter with which you are unfamiliar, no external knowledge is needed to answer the questions. All questions can be answered with the information provided. Among the tasks you will have to complete are:
• Drawing conclusions, predicting trends, and making inferences
• Evaluating information for accuracy, consistency, and sufficient supporting evidence
• Calculating probabilities, rates, and basic statistics
• Identifying relationships and correlations among various sources of information
• Making strategic judgments and decisions about potential courses of action
The Integrated Reasoning section is scored on a scale of 1-8 in single digit intervals and is not factored into the overall 800 score.
Quantitative Section
This section contains 37 multiple-choice questions and you have 75 minutes to complete the entire section. You will find two types of questions: Problem Solving and Data Sufficiency. You can score between 0 and 60 points on this section, although scores outside the 7 – 50 range are extremely rare.
Problem Solving
This type of question measures your quantitative reasoning ability (arithmetic, algebra, and geometry) by presenting a series of multiple-choice problems in either plain math format form or more complex word / sentence form. Sometimes, the questions use diagrams, but be careful as they are not always drawn to scale.
Data Sufficiency
Data Sufficiency questions test your ability to analyze and identify the information required to solve a quantitative problem. It starts with a question and two statements that contain information related to the question. You have to decide whether the two statements are sufficient to solve the question. The answers to this type of question are always presented as follows.
• Statement (1) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (2) is not sufficient.
• Statement (2) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (1) is not sufficient.
• BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient.
• EACH statement ALONE is sufficient.
• Statements (1) and (2) TOGETHER are NOT sufficient.
Verbal Section
The verbal section contains 41 multiple-choice questions and you have 75 minutes to complete this section. You will find three types of questions: Reading Comprehension, Critical Reasoning, and Sentence Correction. You can score between 0 and 60 points in this section, although scores outside the 9 – 44 range are extremely rare.
Sentence Correction
This part of the test focuses on correct expression (grammar and structure) and effective expression (clarity and concision). The questions consist of a sentence and five associated answers. You choose the best way to restructure the sentence to express the same meaning, and you want to choose the answer that creates the clearest and most exact sentence without changing its meaning.
Critical Reasoning
Critical Reasoning questions test your reasoning skills. Understanding the logic behind the assumptions and conclusions is crucial for these questions, as is your skill in evaluating the strengths and weakness of the argument. For some of the questions, you may find that more than one answer is correct, and you need to select the “best” answer out of all of the “correct” answers.
Reading Comprehension
This section tests your ability to read critically and answer questions related to the passages presented. The passages are on a range of topics, from sociology and sciences to business. The questions test how well you understand not only the topic of the passage, but also the message that the author is trying to convey and the methods he uses to that end. No specific knowledge about the topics is required to answer the questions.
Typically, passages in this section are up to 350 words, with three or more questions based on their content. This section evaluates your ability to:
• Understand expressions, statements, and sometimes quantitative concepts in the passages;
• Understand the logic and arguments presented in the passages; and
• Infer facts and statements based on the information contained in the passages.
Your Score
Now we come to what really matters: your score. Your GMAT score is calculated from the quantitative and verbal sections, and does not include the Analytical Writing Assessment or the Integrated Reasoning sections. Your score will fall between 200 and 800.
Questions are dynamically selected as you take the test. The GMAT is called a computer-adaptive test, as it uses your answers to questions to determine the next questions to present to you, allowing you to obtain a score that reflects the level of difficulty of the questions that you answer correctly. If you answer a question correctly, the next question will be harder. If you answer a question incorrectly, the next question will be easier. The strategy here is to spend a little more time on the earlier questions so that the system places you at a higher rank, and continues to give you harder questions. This will, in the end, give you a better chance of getting higher scores.
REMEMBER TO SPEND MORE TIME ON THE EARLIER QUESTIONS!
An important thing to remember that cannot be stressed enough is:
LEAVING A QUESTION BLANK WILL HURT YOUR SCORE MORE THAN IF YOU ANSWER A QUESTION INCORRECTLY!
This is very important to remember. The GMAT is not like the SAT, which has a penalty for answering questions incorrectly. Always guess if you don’t know the answer to a question, or if you are pressed for time.
Retaking the Test
If you need to retake the GMAT, you may do so once every 31 calendar days and no more than five times within a 12-month period.
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