The GMAT exam’s three sections feature content relevant to today’s business challenges and opportunities, ensuring you are prepared for graduate business school and beyond.
Explore this page to learn:
Quantitative ReasoningThis section measures your algebraic and arithmetic foundational knowledge and how you apply this knowledge to solve problems. It is composed of 21 Problem Solving questions.
These types of questions require some knowledge of arithmetic and elementary algebra. Answering these questions correctly relies on logic and analytical skills, not the underlying math skills. You cannot use a calculator while working on this section.
Verbal ReasoningThis section measures your ability to read and comprehend written material and to reason and evaluate arguments. It is composed of 23 Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning questions.
Reading Comprehension questions measure your ability to understand words and statements, understand logical relationships between significant points, draw inferences, and follow the development of quantitative concepts. Specifically, the following reading skills will be tested: main idea, supporting idea, inference, application, logical structure, and style.
Critical Reasoning questions measure your ability to make arguments, evaluate arguments, and formulate or evaluate a plan of action. Critical Reasoning questions are based on a short reading passage, usually fewer than 100 words. Typically, the short text comes with a question that asks you which of the five answer options strengthens or weakens an argument, tells why the argument is flawed, or strongly supports or damages the argument. You will not need specialized knowledge of the subject matter to answer the questions.
Data InsightsThe Data Insights section measures candidates’ ability to analyze and interpret data and apply it to real-world business scenarios. It also measures digital and data literacy—one of the most relevant and in-demand skills in business today.
It is composed of 20 questions that ask you to assess how multiple sources and types of information – including graphic, numeric, and verbal – relate to one another and can be leveraged to make informed decisions. Questions may require math, data analysis, verbal reasoning, or all three. You can use an on-screen calculator while working on this section.
The question types you'll find on this section are:
Data Sufficiency: Measures your ability to analyze a quantitative problem, recognize which data is relevant, and determine at what point there is enough data to solve the problem.
Multi-Source Reasoning: Measures your ability to examine data from multiple sources including text passages, tables, graphics, or some combination of the three—and to analyze each source of data carefully to answer multiple questions. Some questions will require you to recognize discrepancies among different sources of data, while others will ask you to draw inferences, or require you to determine whether data is relevant.
Table Analysis: Measures your ability to sort and analyze a table of data, similar to a spreadsheet, in order to determine what information is relevant or meets certain conditions.
Graphics Interpretation: Measures your ability to interpret the information presented in a graph or other graphical image (scatter plot, x/y graph, bar chart, pie chart, or statistical curve distribution) to discern relationships, and make inferences.
Two-Part Analysis: Measures your ability to solve complex problems. They could be quantitative, verbal, or some combination of both. The format is intentionally versatile to cover a wide range of content. Your ability to evaluate trade-offs, solve simultaneous equations, and discern relationships between two entities is measured.
