The GMAT is a computer-based, multiple-choice exam administered by the test maker GMAC. This exam offers business schools a uniform platform to evaluate the preparedness of applicants interested in pursuing graduate-level academic work. The admission committees of each school examine your GMAT score, work experience, academic record, and other supporting documents, to assess your readiness for the challenges of an MBA program.
In essence, the better your GMAT score, the higher your chances of getting that MBA program.
The GMAT Sections
Although the exam covers other quantitative aspects, it focuses majorly on an individual’s aptitude and critical thinking skills under limited time conditions. GMAT evaluates your skills in four major key areas: analytical thinking, integrated reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and verbal reasoning.
1. Analytical Reasoning:
Also known as the analytical writing assessment (AWA), it is the theoretical section of the exam. It tests your ability to analyze and critique an argument. You will be provided an argument up to a paragraph and you are tasked to critique the author’s perspective and evaluate the soundness of his reasoning based on the evidence available.
2. Integrated Reasoning:
The IR section assesses your ability to process complex information, synthesize data from multiple sources, and make informed decisions. It assesses both your quantitative and verbal skills uniquely.
It covers the same quantitative concepts as the QR section but presents them in different problem types that require a combination of quantitative and verbal abilities. There are four types of problems in the IR section:
- Multi-source reasoning (MSR) problems offer multiple sources of information, including text, tables, and visuals, and will require you to solve three separate problems based on this data.
- In Table Analysis, you’ll work with a table containing multiple columns and rows of data, and you’ll be required to solve a problem based on the table.
- Graphics Interpretation problems involve understanding and interpreting various types of visuals. Most times, the visuals come with questions presented as sentences with blanks to fill in using a drop-down menu.
- Two-Part Analysis: These problems resemble standard multiple-choice questions but require you to answer two related questions with a single set of answer choices, testing your ability to handle dual aspects of a problem.
3. Quantitative Reasoning:
The QR section evaluates your mathematical skills including arithmetic, geometry, data analysis, and statistics. Questions in the QR section are of two problem types: Data Sufficiency and Problem Solving.
- The Data Sufficiency questions are logics, you will be given a question stem and two statements of data, and you are required to determine if the data provided is sufficient to answer the question. You are not required to solve the question.
- The Problem-Solving Questions are standardized test problems. You will be provided with a problem stem and five possible answer choices. You are required to solve for a value or algebraic expression.
4. Verbal Reasoning:
The verbal section measures your reading comprehension skills, critical reasoning, and sentence correction abilities. It evaluates your proficiency in understanding written content and making logical inferences.
- The Reading Comprehension segment requires you to solve 3-4 questions about a passage on a topic. It tests how well you can read, analyze, summarize key concepts or ideas, articulate properly, and make deductions based on available text.
- The Critical Reasoning tests your capability to evaluate arguments and formulate action plans. You will be given a short argument and a series of statements, followed by a question about the texts. Your task may be to pinpoint assumptions or conclusions, fortify or undermine an argument, appraise a conclusion, or reconcile disparities.
- In the Sentence Correction section, you will be provided with lengthy sentences and questions that require you to find the best version of an underlined section of the original sentence from five options (the original sentence included). The SC section tests your ability to read critically, as the original question might be correct or contain a few errors.
Read: How To Pass The GMAT Exam
GMAT Grading
The GMAT is graded on a scale of 200 to 800. The exam is a CAT (Computer Adaptive Test) which means the difficulty of the questions you solve determines your score.
- For the QR and VR sections, the computer serves you a tougher or easier question, depending on whether you got the previous question correctly and how long you spent on it. Simply put, get an easy question right, the algorithm serves up a more difficult question. However, you cannot go back to a previous question.
- The integrated reasoning section is scored on a scale of 1 to 8, in single-digit increments, the questions are not adaptive, and you cannot go back to a previous question.
- Your combined scores from the quantitative and verbal sections determine your overall GMAT score. The algorithm takes the difficulty of the questions you answered correctly, the number of questions you answered correctly, and the time spent on each section into account while calculating your score.
- The AWA section is marked by a human and a computerized program scored separately on a scale of 0 to 6, in half-point increments. Your AWA score does not contribute to the 200-800 overall score but is an essential part of your GMAT report.
Conclusion
If you are contemplating your journey toward an MBA or business school program, it is important to recognize the significant role your GMAT test will play in the process.
The exam is a complete evaluation of your analytical, reasoning, quantitative, and verbal abilities, the skills needed to navigate the world of business. Furthermore, with the understanding of the GMAT grading system, and the importance of the AWA section, you now have a well-rounded grasp of the examination’s significance.