The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is a computer adaptive test conducted throughout the year at the designated test centers across the world to determine an applicant’s potential for management education.
On the exam day, applicants have three and a half hours to complete the four sections of the GMAT. The verbal and quantitative sections are scored individually as well as on a combined score of 800. The remaining two sections receive their individual scores only.
- Analytical Writing Assessment
- Integrated Reasoning Section
- Quantitative Section
- Verbal Section
| Test Section | No. of Questions | Question Types | Duration |
|
Analytical Writing Assessment |
1 Topic |
Analysis of Argument |
30 Minutes |
|
Integrated Reasoning Section |
12 Questions |
Multi-Source Reasoning
|
30 Minutes |
|
Quantitative Section |
37 Questions |
Data Sufficiency
|
75 Minutes |
|
Verbal Section |
|
75 Minutes |
|
|
Total Exam Duration |
3 Hours 30 minutes |
Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA)
The Analytical Writing Assessment consists of one writing task of Analysis of an Argument for 30-minutes. The AWA measures the candidate’s ability to think critically, communicate their ideas, and formulate an appropriate and constructive assessment. During the AWA, applicants are asked to analyze the reason behind the given argument and write a critique of the argument provided.
Integrated Reasoning Section (IR)
This is a relatively new section of the GMAT. Introduced in June 2012 this consists of 12 questions to be answered in thirty minutes. The score is on a scale of 1 to 8. The Integrated Reasoning section measures the applicant’s ability to understand and evaluate multiple sources and types of information – graphic, numeric, and verbal. Applicants have to use both quantitative and verbal reasoning to solve complex and inter-related problems. Four types of questions are used in the Integrated Reasoning section:
- Multi-Source Reasoning
- Table Analysis
- Graphics Interpretation
- Two-Part Analysis
Quantitative Section
This is the third section of the GMAT. Applicants have to attempt 37 questions in 75 minutes to complete this section. The questions are designed to put your math skills to test. They revolve around basic arithmetic, algebra and geometry. This section measures the ability to reason quantitatively, solve quantitative problems, and interpret graphic data. Two types of multiple-choice questions are used in the Quantitative section:
- Data Sufficiency Questions.
This type of questions is intended to test applicant’s ability to assess the given data systematically. Applicant would be given a question followed by two statements and five answer choices. These answer choices will always remain the same. Applicants should use their logical and analytical skills combined with quantitative knowledge to check whether data provided in the statements is sufficient to find the answer. - Problem Solving Questions.
This part is designed to test the applicant’s quantitative skills and ability to solve the problem using various mathematical concepts. Each of the above two category of questions would appear in random order throughout the entire section.
Both types of questions require basic knowledge of:
- Arithmetic
- Elementary algebra
- Commonly known concepts of geometry
Verbal Section
This is the last section of the GMAT. Applicant’s have 75 minutes to answer 41 multiple choice questions. Verbal section measures the ability to read and comprehend written material, to reason and evaluate arguments, and to correct written material to conform to the standard of written English. Verbal section includes reading sections from different content areas. While the applicant’s may be generally familiar with some of the material, neither the reading passages nor the questions assume detailed knowledge of the topics discussed. Three types of multiple-choice questions are used in the Verbal section:
- Reading comprehension
- Critical reasoning
- Sentence correction