The Official Guide for GMAT Review is now in its 13th edition. A necessary companion for any GMAT takers; this Guide has over 800 questions for the Verbal and Quant sections as well as AWA essays. Included in this edition is the online companion to help you prepare for the Integrated Reasoning section, which will be introduced from 1st June 2012.
According to mba.com, the Official Guide for GMAT Review, 13th Edition Online Integrated Reasoning Section features:
50 Integrated Reasoning practice questions and answer explanations
Comprehensive details about what the Integrated Reasoning section measures and how to understand each question type
Links to additional resources to prepare for the GMAT exam
The Online Integrated Reasoning Section is available separate from the Official Guide for GMATReview, 13th Edition until 5 June 2012. After then, it will only be available as a part of the book.
So, what has changed in the 13th Edition? ManhattanGMAT provided a detailed analysis of the 13th Edition.
You can get a copy from Amazon, mba.com or Kinokuniya Kuala Lumpur (for those in Malaysia).
Good luck in your preparation, from all of us at GMAT Malaysia.
GMAT Malaysia was created to share our GMAT, MBA applications and later MBA program experiences. While we did our best to share what we know, there are more out there whom can assist you too. I have given you www.topmba.com and www.businessbecause.com in my earlier posting. If you are seeking help how to prepare for GMAT or answer some of the tough Quant and Verbal questions, look no further than GMAT Club (www.gmatclub.com). Again, lots of questions and resources in their forum for you to tap on.
GMAT Club has also created iPhone/iPad/iPod mobile app "GMAT Toolkit" that you can download and use while on the go.
You need all the help you can get. I wish you good luck in your GMAT!
Starting from June 2012, GMAT takers will have to sit for a new section called "Integrated Reasoning". The Integrated Reasoning section is a 30-minute test which covers a combination of quantitative (interpreting graphs, spreadsheets, data) and verbal (critical reasoning, analyze information, draw conclusions and discern relationships between data points, etc.). The Integrated Reasoning questions may include multiple parts but they are non-adaptive, according to GMAC, the official GMAT provider.
Source: mba.com
Format of Integrated Reasoning section This section takes 30 minutes and will have 12 to 15 questions covering:
Multi-Source Reasoning. The questions are accompanied by two to three sources of information presented on tabbed pages. Test takers click on the tabs and examine all the relevant information─which may be a combination of text, charts, and tables─to answer questions.
Table Analysis. Test takers will be presented with a sortable table of information, similar to a spreadsheet, which has to be analyzed to find whether answer statements are accurate.
Graphics Interpretation. Test takers will be asked to interpret a graph or graphical image, and select the option from a drop-down list to make response statements accurate.
Two-Part Analysis. A question will involve two components for a solution. Possible answers will be given in a table format with a column for each component and rows with possible options; test takers will be asked to consider the options provided.
As you might get between 12 and 15 questions and finish within 30 minutes, you can only afford between 2 and 2.5 minutes per question (including reading, understanding and perform whatever calculations). I hope GMAT prep providers (those listed on the right sidebar) have developed Integrated Reasoning questions for practice.
Sample question Manhattan Review posted a sample table/graph and a set of questions. See for yourself how the questions will be structured and tested. In this case, the questions were TRUE/FALSE. Try answering these 5 questions in 10 minutes.
Between now and May 2012, inclusive The current GMAT structure - 60-min essays (2 essays), 75-min Quant (37 Qs) and 75-min Verbal (41 Qs) remains until May 2012, inclusive. Takers can opt-in to try the Integrated Reasoning section and will not be counted towards your GMAT score. GMAC is offering a monetary incentive for those who opt-in to take this Integrated Reasoning section.
From June 2012 onwards The Integrated Reasoning section will be part of your new GMAT score. The total test time will remained unchanged at 3 hours 30 minutes, excluding break time. Instead of 2 AWA essays, you will do 1 essay for 30 minutes and Integrated Reasoning for 30 minutes. The Quant and Verbal sections remained unchanged.
For more information: Next Gen GMAT press release, here. Next Gen GMAT more information, here. Integrated Reasoning format, here. Integrated Reasoning test, here.
Commentary: I do not know how the actual Integrated Reasoning section is tested but judging for the above video clip, my take is it will be a good addition for future GMAT takers and potential MBA students. I don't see having 2 AWA essays actually beneficial since you are tested on your ability to write and analyze. You could easily score a 4/5 on the AWA if you know the trick. Furthermore, AWA score does not form part of your GMAT score. If you can't write well, you are unlikely to get pass the admissions committee anyway (the admissions essays are even tougher)
Based on what was shown in the video clip, I understand the benefits of having Integrated Reasoning. The charts, graphs and spreadsheets are common in case studies, the basis of many MBA learning and teaching. To be actually tested in GMAT for something that you will do in MBA raises a host of questions. Rightly or wrongly, I believe it is a refreshing move by GMAC and hope that future MBA students will benefit from the Integrated Reasoning section.
Don't delay your GMAT (after all the your score is valid for 5 years from date of test) or be ready for the next generation GMAT.
By now you would have heard a lot about GMAT. So, what's so great about GMAT besides it being the dreaded graduate test that everyone who wants to do MBA (or some MSc, MA even PhD. requires)?
Looking at the bigger picture of GMAT, it has taught me a few things: a. From Verbal (Sentence Correction), I learnt about the 3Cs - Correct Grammar, Clarity and Conciseness. My business writing has definitely improved tremendously after learning the 3Cs. Subject-verb agreement, parallelism, idioms, modifiers, etc. are emphasized in Sentence Correction; things we take for granted when we write but how power when you apply them correctly.
b. In Quant (Problem Solving), I learn to be quick in deriving answers. Those days in school, we take many steps to arrive at an answer. In GMAT, you use approximation/estimates, 2- or 4-steps to solve a problem and analyse the question from the right angle.
c. In Quant (Data Sufficiency), your mathematics/algebra principles and foundations are strengthened through how you tackle a question. Besides rephrasing the question, you look for variables that are important to answer the question and throw out red-herrings.
I must say I am pleased with what I have achieved through GMAT. I hope you too, will benefit greatly from GMAT than it just being a preparatory test for your MBA/Masters.
I found this great website and thought you would benefit from it too, especially for your AWA and Verbal. But, looking at a bigger picture, no harm fine-tuning your business writing skill too.
In addition to the free GMATPrep Test Preparation software, GMAC now offered 2 more new tools for you to prepare for the test.
GMAT Focus ™ Online Quantitative Diagonistic Tool Using real, retired, GMAT questions, the GMAT Focus™ diagnostic evaluates your performance in critical testing categories, provides you with a highly accurate score, and ranks you in relation to previous GMAT examinees.
GMAT Write ™ This web-based essay writing practice tool offers you real GMAT writing prompts along with feedback on how well your essays demonstrate your ability to think critically and communicate ideas. Each practice essay will be scored in real time with the same automated essay-scoring engine used by the official GMAT exam.
GMAT is an interesting yet complex test. It tests your academic ability in quantitative, verbal (not exactly verbal as this means speech) and writing skills. When it tests your ability, it adapts to your ability too. Difficulty or easy is a perception but the test will score you accordingly.
As you should know by now, GMAT starts with 2 Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) essays of 30mins each, 75mins Quantitative and 75mins Verbal. Between each major components, an optional 10-min break.
The 3 Components of GMAT
(Color scheme corresponds to color of the Official Guide book, except for AWA)
The above sub-components are self-explanatory and the respective books will elaborate more.
Many of you wonder how the components fit together. As far as Quant and Verbal as concerned, you are tested on different abilities. However, for Verbal and AWA, there is a relationship. This diagram explains the inter-relationship.
See the connections? As you prepare for Verbal (Sentence Correction, Critical Reasoning), take note of what you are learning, how each of the sub-topics relates and how you will apply them in AWA and Reading Comprehension. The above inter-relationship is just a guidance. Look into past questions in the Official Guide - Verbal or GMAT Review and observe the common themes and angle of questioning.
While AWA does not affect your Total Score, AWA is still important and should not be taken lightly. How you write and score in AWA tells about the other aspects of you not measured by Quant and Verbal tests. Adcomms can request for your AWA essays and compare with your application essays. Thus, your writing style is revealed and matched.
Sometime back, I blogged about the importance of GMAT and the average GMAT score of the Top 50 USA business schools. Today, as I revisited my GMAT strategy, I discovered that the Verbal section is too important for anyone to miss; especially non-English native students.
(Source: Manhattan GMAT)
To score above 700, your Verbal score must be at least 40/60 and/or your Quant hitting 50/60 to pull your overall score up. No joke! What a pressure to do well.
