The Graduate Management Admission Test, popularly known as the GMAT Exam is a global level entrance test required for the admission to business programs like MBA. The test acts as a parameter to evaluate how prepared you are for your prospective MBA course. Hence it is imperative that you know all about this important examination, so that you can plan your preparations accordingly. 

GMAT Exam 

Conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), GMAT exam is one of the most important requirements for the MBA admission process. A good GMAT score helps you stand out during the admission process to MBA programs as it reflects your commitment and ability to work hard and succeed in your career and academics. Around 7,000 graduate programs at 2300 universities accept GMAT scores, and the perfect score for the exam is 800. 

GMAT Exam Structure

The GMAT paper comprises four sections — Quantitative Reasoning (QR), Integrated Reasoning (IR), Verbal Reasoning (VR), and Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA). A thorough understanding of these sections acquaints you with the types of questions asked and the skills you need to brush up on to solve them. 

1 . Analytical Writing Assessment – The Analytical Writing Assessment section or AWA presents one 30-minute writing task, where you have to critique a given argument and express your ideas through an English essay. The section is scored on a range of 0-6, with increments of 0.5. 

2 . Integrated Reasoning –  Integrated Reasoning section of GMAT assesses your skills to analyze the data presented in the form of graphs, tables or texts to derive meaningful conclusions from them. There are 12 questions in this section which you have to answer in 30 minutes. The questions are of four types:

• Multi-Source Reasoning – Your ability to examine data from multiple sources — such as passages, tables, graphics etc are measured in this type of questions. 
• Graphics Interpretation – In Graphical Representation questions, the information is presented in the form of scatter plot, bar chart, x/y graph, pie chart, or statistical curve distribution). The questions are structured to check how well you interpret these data and answer the questions.
• Table Analysis – The data is presented in a tabular format. You have to sort and analyze the data just like you do with the spreadsheet to answer the questions.
• Two-part Analysis – The Two-part Analysis questions measure your ability to solve complex problems that include solving simultaneous equations and discerning relationships between two entities.

This section is scored on a scale of 1-8, with a one-point increment.

3 . Quantitative Reasoning – The Quantitative section of the GMAT evaluates your ability quantitative problems using logical and analytical skills. You have to use your mathematical and logical reasoning skills to interpret data given, examine it and draw conclusions. The score range is 6-51, with 1 point increment. You get 62 minutes to complete 31 questions. The Quant questions are of two types:

• Problem-solving – Your ability to use your logical and analytical reasoning skills to solve quantitative problems is measured here. 
• Data sufficiency – A problem followed by a question and two statements will be given. You must determine whether this data is sufficient to solve the questions asked.  

4 . Verbal Reasoning – 36 multiple-choice questions will be given that you need to complete in 65 minutes. In the Verbal Reasoning Section, you are tested on your ability to read, understand and critically analyze an argument. The questions are of 3 types: 

• Reading Comprehension – Your ability to read a passage and how well you comprehend the words and statements is measured here. 
• Sentence Correction – Sentence Correction questions are structured in a way to test your abilities to identify grammatically correct sentences and correct them, if it has any errors. 
• Critical Reasoning – These types of questions assess your ability to create and examine the  arguments, and formulate a plan of action. 

The score range for the section is 6-51, with one-point increment.

If you are planning to take the GMAT Exam, this article will act as a guide to help you understand what is GMAT exam, its structure etc., which is an important step for your GMAT preparation. Hence, consider the information above and start your preparations soon!