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The GMAT in Detail

Analytical Writing Section

The Analytical Writing Section has 2 essays: "Analysis of an Issue" and "Analysis of an Argument." The section is 60 minutes long (30 minutes per essay) and tests your ability to:

Clearly and concisely state a point
Support a point with written English
Analyze reasoning behind an argument
Write a critique of an argument
Master grammar usage and rules of written English when presenting an argument or analysis

Quantitative Section

The Quantitative Section has 2 types of multiple-choice questions: problem-solving and data sufficiency. There are 37 questions (including 9 experimental questions) and it lasts 75 minutes.

Skills Tested on Problem-Solving Questions Test:

Basic arithmetic, elementary algebra and basic geometry
Understanding of basic mathematical ideas and concepts
The ability to reason mathematically or quantitatively

Skills Tested On Data-Sufficiency Questions Test include the ability to :

Analyze a mathematical problem
Sort out and use relevant information
Determine when there is a sufficient amount of information to solve a problem

Verbal Section

The Verbal Section has 3 types of multiple-choice questions: reading comprehension, critical reasoning, and sentence correction. There are 41 questions (including 11 experimental questions), and the section lasts 75 minutes and tests your ability to:

Understand words and sentences in a passage
Understand relationships between points in a passage
Draw inferences based on given information
Construct or evaluate an argument
Identify grammatical or structural sentence errors
Identify an effective sentence