GMAT: GMAT Registration Information
GMAT Question Format

The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) has four sections, and each section contains several different types of questions. This article takes a comprehensive look at the areas these questions cover and how they are formatted. If you are preparing for this exam and want to know what to expect, or if you are just curious about how the GMAT work

GMAT Question Format

Question Formats for the GMAT

With such a broad range of subjects, it naturally follows that each section contains different formats of questions. While the contents of the actual questions will be unknown until you sit for the exam, familiarizing yourself with each different question format beforehand is a good way to prepare as it will save valuable test time later on!

Section 1: Analytical Writing Assessment

In this section, you will be asked to write a single essay in which you critique a given argument. You may strongly agree or disagree with the author's position, but your task is only to analyze the techniques employed by its author; how does the argument arrive at its conclusion? Does it make a strong case or a weak case, and why? Does it apply valid evidence? Could the argument be improved? Are there alternate conclusions one could draw from the same pool of evidence?

While you may feel very passionately towards the given subject, it is important to remember that the objective of this section is to test your skills of analysis and argument evaluation. It is not an opinion piece.

Section 2: Integrated Reasoning

This section of the GMAT will test your ability to logically interpret different types of data as presented in a visual format--think graphs, pie charts, scatter plots, spreadsheets and so on! Some of the questions are mathematical in nature, but the test will provide a basic calculator.

The Integrated Reasoning (IR) section always contains twelve questions, which come in four different formats:

Table Analysis: This entails working with an interactive table of data. Just like with any other database, you can sort the data by its different attributes. You will have to make use of the sorting function to best answer three to four related true-or-false questions.
Graph Interpretation: These questions have you examining data represented as some kind of graph, such as a line graph, bar graph or similar pictograph/plot. Accompanying each graph are a few statements that you complete by selecting the best multiple choice options.
Multi-Source Reasoning: In this section, you are asked to draw a yes-or-no conclusion from a few different sources of information. You will be working with typical means of business communication, like memos and emails. Not all of the information given to you will be relevant, so it's important to read each source very carefully!
Two-Part Solution: This type of question may be a bit tricky to understand at first. Here, you are given a question that requires a set of answers (pick one from each given column), both of which must be correct in order to satisfy the question.

Note that while most of these questions contain multiple parts, you will only receive credit if you answer all parts correctly.