How the GMAT works

Which GMAT this course teaches

GMAC (the Graduate Management Admission Council) launched a redesigned GMAT under the name GMAT Focus Edition. Testing on it began in November 2023 (GMAC, GMAT – Everything You Need To Know), and since 1 February 2024 it has been the only version of the GMAT you can take (GMAC press release, 31 January 2024). GMAC's newer pages call it simply "the GMAT exam", and that is the test this course prepares you for.

If you find older study material, check it against the facts below. The previous GMAT had four sections, an essay, Sentence Correction questions and a 200–800 scale; none of those belong to today's test (GMAC, GMAT – Everything You Need To Know; press release, 28 March 2023; Evolving the Score Scale with the GMAT Focus Edition).

The test at a glance

The GMAT has three sections of 45 minutes each: 64 questions and 2 hours 15 minutes of testing in all, with no essay (GMAC, The GMAT Exam: Exam Structure, Content & Features).

Section	Questions	Minutes	Question types	Average time per question
Quantitative Reasoning	21	45	Problem Solving (five-choice multiple choice)	about 2 min 9 s
Verbal Reasoning	23	45	Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning	about 1 min 57 s
Data Insights	20	45	Data Sufficiency, Multi-Source Reasoning, Table Analysis, Graphics Interpretation, Two-Part Analysis	about 2 min 15 s

The averages in the last column are simple division ($45 \div 21$, $45 \div 23$ and $45 \div 20$ minutes); they are a planning tool, not an official figure.

What each section tests

Quantitative Reasoning measures "algebraic and arithmetic foundational knowledge" and how you apply it to solve problems (GMAC, GMAT Exam Scores). Every question is a Problem Solving question with five answer choices, the mathematics is about high-school level, and no calculator is allowed (GMAC, GMAT Quantitative Reasoning: How To Master The GMAT Math Questions). GMAC's list of content areas includes word problems, number properties, ratio and proportion, powers and roots, linear and quadratic equations, functions, inequalities, absolute value, statistics, sequences, overlapping sets, and probability and combinatorics. Units 2 and 3 of this course teach all of them.

Verbal Reasoning has two kinds of question, mixed through the section (GMAC, GMAT Exam Scores):

• Reading Comprehension: passages of up to 350 words, each followed by questions (GMAC, What is the GMAT exam and what should you know?). GMAC says these questions measure your ability to understand words and statements, follow the logical relationships between significant points, draw inferences, and follow the development of quantitative concepts.
• Critical Reasoning: questions built on short arguments. GMAC says they measure your ability to make arguments, evaluate arguments, and formulate or evaluate a plan of action.

Data Insights measures how well you analyse and interpret data and apply it to business situations. Its questions may need mathematics, data analysis, verbal reasoning or a combination (GMAC press release, 28 March 2023). An on-screen calculator is available in this section only (GMAC, GMAT Exam Scores). It has five formats (GMAC, GMAT Data Insights: How to nail the GMAT data questions; What is the GMAT exam and what should you know?):

Format	What you see	How you answer
Data Sufficiency	A question and two statements	Decide whether the statements give enough information to answer it, choosing one of five fixed options
Multi-Source Reasoning	Information under several tabs: text, tables, charts	Multiple-choice questions, or yes/no and true/false statements
Table Analysis	A sortable table of data	Judge each statement true or false (or yes or no) from the table
Graphics Interpretation	A graph or chart, with some text	Complete statements by choosing from drop-down menus
Two-Part Analysis	Two connected problems	Choose one answer in each of two columns; the same option may answer both

Multi-part questions are all or nothing. In Data Insights, some questions have several parts, and you earn credit for a question only if every part is right (GMAC, GMAT Exam Scores). In this course each part is marked separately, so you can see exactly what you missed, but on test day a single slip costs the whole question.

Before the first question: choosing the section order

After a short tutorial, the test shows a Select Section Order screen. You may take the three sections in whatever order you prefer. If you make no selection within two minutes, a default order is used (GMAC, What should I expect during the GMAT exam?). Decide your order in advance, from your own practice tests, so you do not spend those two minutes deliberating. Two sensible approaches:

• Strongest section first, to settle your nerves and bank a good performance.
• Hardest section first, while you are freshest.

Whatever you choose, practise it in at least one full-length practice exam so nothing about test day is new.

The optional break

You may take one optional 10-minute break, after either the first or the second section (GMAC, What should I expect during the GMAT exam?). At a test center you must stay in the designated areas (locker area, lobby, nearest restroom), and phones, notes and other testing aids remain off-limits even during the break. Most people benefit from the break; decide beforehand where you will take it, and rehearse that in practice.

Computer-adaptive testing

Every section is computer adaptive: the program selects your next question based on your previous responses (GMAC, What should I expect during the GMAT exam?). GMAC describes it this way: you start with a question of average difficulty; answer correctly and the next tends to be harder, answer incorrectly and it tends to be easier (GMAC, What is the GMAT exam and what should you know?).

Three consequences for your strategy:

1. A question that feels hard is not a bad sign. Harder questions often mean you are doing well. Do not let difficulty rattle you.
2. Your score depends on more than a count of right answers. A section score depends on the number of questions you answer, whether they are right, and the difficulty and other parameters of those questions (GMAC, GMAT Exam Scores). You cannot work out your score by counting.
3. Do not burn time on one question. Each question is one of only about twenty. Spending six minutes on one leaves too little time for several others.

Bookmarking and Question Review & Edit

As you work through a section you can bookmark as many questions as you like. When you reach the end of the section, if time remains, a review screen lists the questions and marks the bookmarked ones. You may review any of them, but you may change at most three answers per section (GMAC, The GMAT Exam: Exam Structure, Content & Features; press release, 28 March 2023). The test remains computer adaptive even with this feature.

How to use it well:

• Answer every question when you first see it, even if you bookmark it. A bookmark is a reminder, not an answer.
• Bookmark only genuine doubts, such as two remaining choices you could not separate. With only three edits, a long list of bookmarks is wasted.
• Leave time for review only if your pacing allows it. The review happens inside the section's 45 minutes.

Running out of time

If the clock runs out, you still receive a score as long as you have attempted every section, but GMAC warns that your scores "will decrease significantly with each unanswered question" (GMAC, What should I expect during the GMAT exam?). The practical rule: never leave a question unanswered. If you are running out of time, choose answers for the remaining questions rather than leaving them blank, and plan your pacing so this never happens.

A simple pacing plan for each 45-minute section:

Checkpoint	Quantitative Reasoning (21)	Verbal Reasoning (23)	Data Insights (20)
15 minutes used	about 7 answered	about 8 answered	about 6–7 answered
30 minutes used	about 14 answered	about 15 answered	about 13 answered
45 minutes	all 21 answered	all 23 answered	all 20 answered

These checkpoints are this course's suggestion, worked out by dividing the time evenly. Reading Comprehension passages take longer on the first question of a passage and less on the others, and Multi-Source Reasoning works the same way, so treat the checkpoints as rough guides rather than exact targets.

Scores

Score	Range	Steps
Quantitative Reasoning	60–90	1 point
Verbal Reasoning	60–90	1 point
Data Insights	60–90	1 point
Total Score	205–805	10 points (every total ends in 5)

The three sections are weighted equally in the Total Score (GMAC, GMAT Exam Scores; Evolving the Score Scale with the GMAT Focus Edition). You also receive percentile rankings: a percentile shows the percentage of test takers who scored at or below a given score (GMAC, GMAT Exam Scores).

Do not compare with old GMAT scores directly. The previous GMAT was scored 200–800. The two scales are not the same, so GMAC recommends comparing percentile rankings instead (GMAC, Evolving the Score Scale with the GMAT Focus Edition). Scores are valid for five years (GMAC, What is the GMAT exam and what should you know?).

After the test. You see an unofficial score as soon as you finish. Your Official Score Report usually arrives by email within three to five days (occasionally up to 20), and you can send it free to up to five programs within 48 hours of receiving it (GMAC, What should I expect during the GMAT exam?).

Retakes and Superscore. You may take the GMAT up to five times in a rolling 12-month period, with no lifetime limit (GMAC, GMAT – Everything You Need To Know). In June 2026 GMAC announced GMAT Superscore, which combines your highest section scores across valid attempts of the current edition and is shown to programs as an additional data point; GMAC expected it to roll out in August 2026 (GMAC press release, 16 June 2026). Check mba.com for the current details before you plan a retake.

How to use this course

1. Work through the units in order, or start with your weakest section. Each lesson ends with practice questions and full explanations.
2. Keep an error log: for every miss, write the reason (concept, careless slip, misread, time) and what you will do differently.
3. Practise Quantitative Reasoning without a calculator, and Data Insights with only a basic on-screen-style calculator.
4. Take GMAC's free official practice exams (linked on the course page), plus this course's full-length practice exam, under timed conditions in your chosen section order.

Check yourself

• How many questions and minutes does each section have? (Quant 21 in 45; Verbal 23 in 45; Data Insights 20 in 45.)
• In which section may you use a calculator? (Data Insights only, on screen.)
• How many answers may you change in one section during Question Review & Edit? (Up to three.)
• When can you take the optional break? (After the first or the second section; it lasts 10 minutes.)
• A Two-Part Analysis question has two parts and you get one right. How much credit do you earn? (None: every part must be right.)
• What happens to your score if you leave questions unanswered? (It decreases significantly with each unanswered question; always answer every question.)