GMAT is the entrance examination conducted by Graduate Management Admission Council or GMAC to check the different areas and skills of the candidates. Candidates need to work really very hard to prepare themselves for the GMAT Exam. But, it is necessary for the candidates to know and understand the latest GMAT Exam Syllabus and patterns to boost their preparation and score higher in the test. The candidates are required to know the latest and updated GMAT Exam 2017 Pattern and start their preparation accordingly.
GMAT Exam Syllabus and Pattern:
Initially, GMAT was a paper and pencil examination, but now it is upgraded to computer adaptive test where the candidates are required to give their test on computer at selected test centers. Since it is a computer adaptive test, the questions are quite difficult to understand. There were only three sections in the test prior to 2012 because a new reasoning section has been added to the GMAT Exam Pattern.
The Sections Included in GMAT Exam
GMAT Exam comprises of four differently timed sections including:
- Analytical Writing Assessment or AWA Essay – 30 minutes
- Integrated Reasoning or IR Section – 30 minutes
- Quantitative Section – 75 minutes
- Verbal Section – 75 minutes
There are two optional breaks between the tests of 10 minutes each and hence the total time for the test is 210 minutes excluding the break timings.
1.) Analytical Writing Assessment
This test comprises of a 30-minute writing task of Analysis of an Argument. This test is to evaluate the ability of the candidates to think critically, communicate their ideas, and formulate constructive and apt critique.
2.) Integrated Reasoning Section
This section evaluates the ability of the candidate to understand and assess multiple types and sources of verbal, numeric and graphic. Candidates are required to use both verbal and quantitative reasoning to solve multiple and complex problems that are associated with each other. Types of questions used in this section are:
- Table Analysis
- Multi-Source Reasoning
- Two-Part Analysis
- Graphics Interpretation
According to GMAT New Pattern 2017, candidates are allows to use the online calculator with basic functions for this reasoning section. But, use of calculator is strictly prohibited for quantitative section.
3.) Verbal Section
This section evaluates the ability of the candidate to read and comprehend written English material, evaluate and reason argument, correct written materials. Since the verbal section involves reading of written materials from different content areas, candidates need to be familiar with some common materials that are related to the GMAT 2017 Syllabus. There are three multiple-choice questions used in verbal section including:
- Sentence correction
- Critical reasoning
- Reading comprehension
4.) Quantitative Section
This section evaluates the ability of the candidate to reason quantitatively, interpret graphic data and solve quantitative problems. According to GMAT Syllabus, there are two multiple choice questions used for this section.
- Problem solving
- Data sufficiency
