SUMMING IT UP • The GMAT contains three parts: the AWA section, a Quantitative section, and a Verbal section. The total testing time (excluding breaks) is 3 hours, 30 minutes. • You receive four scores for the GMAT exam: a scaled Quantitative score on a 0–60 scale, a scaled Verbal score on a 0–60 scale, a total score on a 200–800 scale (based on your Quantitative and Verbal scores), and an AWA score on a 0–6 scale, which averages (to the nearest one-half point) the final scores for each of your two GMAT essays. • Every business school has its own policies for evaluating GMAT scores. Pearson VUE reports your three most recent GMAT scores to each business school receiving your scores and transcripts. • The GMAT is a computer-adaptive exam, meaning that the testing system tailors its difficulty level to your level of ability. When you respond correctly to questions, it steps up to more difficult questions; if you respond incorrectly, it steps down to less difficult ones. • You cannot skip questions or return to already answered questions on the GMAT CAT. • During the two essay sections, you must use the simple word processor built into the CAT system, which includes some (but not all) standard features included in programs like Word and WordPerfect. • A good way to minimize test anxiety is to know what to expect on exam day. Review the description of a typical testing environment in this chapter to become familiar with your physical surroundings on exam day. Chapter 1: All About the GMAT 23 www.petersons.com GMAT Questions: A First Look OVERVIEW • Analytical writing assessment (AWA) • The quantitative section • The verbal section • Summing it up In Chapter 1, you learned that the GMAT consists of three parts and that test questions come in seven different formats. Here’s a recap: Test Section Question Formats Analytical Writing Assessment (Sections 1 and 2) Analysis of an Issue Analysis of an Argument Quantitative Section (Section 3) Problem Solving Data Sufficiency Verbal Section (Section 4) Critical Reasoning Sentence Correction Reading Comprehension In this chapter, you’ll examine each format in detail. Specifically, you’ll: • Learn what abilities and content areas the format covers • Examine the test directions • Look at one or two example questions • Review the formats’ key features ANALYTICAL WRITING ASSESSMENT (AWA) In Chapter 1, you learned that the GMAT Analytical Writing Assessment consists of two separate timed sections: (1) Analysis of an Issue and (2) Analysis of an Argument. These two sections have a lot in common. For each section: chapter 2 25 • You compose an essay response using the test’s built-in word processor. • Your time limit is 30 minutes. • Your essay topic, or “prompt,” is drawn randomly from a large pool. • Your essay will be evaluated based on four broad areas: content, organization, writing style, and mechanics (grammar, syntax, word usage, etc.). Here, you’ll take a closer look at each of the two AWA sections. Analysis of an Issue (1 Writing Task, 30 Minutes) For the Issue Analysis section, your task is to compose an essay in which you respond to a brief (one to two sentences) opinion about an issue of general intellectual interest. You should consider various perspectives, take a position on the issue, and argue that position. In scoring your Issue essay, readers will consider how effectively you do the following: • Recognize and deal with the complexities and implications of the issue • Organize, develop, and express your ideas • Support your ideas (with reasons and examples) • Control the elements of Standard Written English TEST DIRECTIONS In the pre-test tutorial, as well as at the start of your timed Issue Analysis section, the GMAT will present one screen with directions and guidelines specific to the Issue Analysis writing task. The screen will describe the task generally and indicate the four general scoring criteria. Here’s essentially what you’ll see on this screen: This writing task is designed to test your ability to present a position on an issue effectively and persuasively. Your task is to analyze the issue presented, considering various perspectives, and to develop your own position on the issue. In scoring your Issue essay, readers will consider how effectively you: • Recognize and deal with the complexities and implications of the issue • Organize, develop, and express your ideas • Support your ideas (with reasons and examples) • Control the elements of Standard Written English 26 PART I: GMAT Basics www.petersons.com The screen will also indicate rules and guidelines for the Issue writing task. Here’s essentially what you’ll see farther down the screen: • Your time limit is 30 minutes. • Writing on any topic other than the one presented is unacceptable. • The topic will appear as a brief statement on an issue of general interest. • You are free to accept, reject, or qualify the statement. • You should support your perspective with reasons and/or examples from such sources as your experience, observation, reading, and academic studies. • You should take a few minutes to plan your response before you begin typing. • You should leave time to reread your response and make any revisions you think are needed. WHAT ISSUE ANALYSIS QUESTIONS LOOK LIKE Each Issue Analysis topic in the official pool consists of a statement of opinion, which appears in quotes, followed by a brief directive (statement of your task). Here’s an example, which is similar to some of the topics in the official pool—although you won’t see this one on your exam (the directive follows the quoted statement): “People often complain that the introduction of new labor-saving machines costs work- ers their jobs. However, most new technologies create more jobs than they destroy.” Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the foregoing statement. Support your perspective using reasons and/or examples from your experience, observation, reading, or academic studies. Although each statement in the official GMAT pool is distinct, many of them cover similar thematic ground. Here are the different themes to look for (understandably, more topics involve business issues than any other type): • Business—organizational structure/behavior, management • Culture and social mores, attitudes, values • Business productivity, efficiency, and teamwork • Business—labor and employment issues • Education—its overall role and objectives • Government’s role in ensuring the welfare of its citizens • Technology and its impact on business and society • Keys to individual success • Business—its overall role and objectives in society • Business ethics • Personal qualities and values NOTE You can access the directions and guidelines at any time during the Issue Analysis section by clicking on the HELP button. NOTE These categories are not mutually exclusive; in other words, many Issues could fall into more than one category. Chapter 2: GMAT Questions: A First Look 27 www.petersons.com • Government’s role in regulating business, commerce, speech • “Global village” issues • Bureaucracy and “the system” • Business—advertising and marketing • Learning lessons from history • Individual power and influence KEY FACTS ABOUT GMAT ISSUE ANALYSIS Here are some key facts about the Issue Analysis section (most of these are review): • The CAT will select your topic randomly from a large pool. You won’t be able to choose among topics. • All directives in the official pool are not identical. Your directive might differ slightly from the one in the preceding example. For example, your directive might ask you: “In your opinion, how accurate is the foregoing statement?” Regardless of how the directive is framed, your essential task is always the same: adopt a position on the issue and then support it with sound reasons and relevant examples. • There is no “correct” answer. What’s important is how effectively you present and support your position, not what your position is. • The Issue Analysis section is not intended to test your technical knowledge of any topic. Of course, you’ll need some familiarity with the topic at hand. But don’t worry if you’re not an expert on the subject. The test makers are far more interested in your ability to assemble a well-organized, cohesive essay under time pressure than in your knowledge of any specific subject. • GMAT readers appreciate your time constraint and focus less on minutia than on the big picture. In evaluating and scoring your essay, the readers will focus primarily on substance and organization. Your writing “style” and your mechanics (grammar, syntax, word usage, etc.) are secondary factors, which will come into play only if problems in these areas interfere with the reader’s understanding of the ideas you’re intending to convey in your essay. You won’t be penalized for errors in spelling and punctuation—unless these errors are frequent and egregious. (The CAT word processor does not include a grammar- or spell-checker.) Analysis of an Argument (1 Writing Task, 30 Minutes) During the Argument Analysis section, your task is to compose an essay in which you critique a paragraph-length argument based on the strength of the evidence presented in support of it and on the argument’s logic (line of reasoning). You can also indicate what additional evidence would help you evaluate the argument and how the argument could be improved. The 28 PART I: GMAT Basics www.petersons.com Argument Analysis section is designed to test your critical reasoning and analytical writing skills. In scoring your Argument essay, the reader will consider how effectively you: • Identify and analyze the key elements of the argument • Organize, develop, and express your critique • Support your ideas (with reasons and examples) • Control the elements of Standard Written English TEST DIRECTIONS During the pre-test tutorial, as well as at the start of your timed Argument Analysis section, the GMAT will present two screens of directions and guidelines specific to the Argument Analysis writing task. The first screen will describe the task generally and indicate the four general scoring criteria. Here’s essentially what you’ll see on the first screen: This writing task is designed to test your critical-reasoning skills as well as your writing skills. Your task is to critique the stated argument in terms of its logical soundness and in terms of the strength of the evidence offered in support of the argument. In scoring your Argument essay, the reader will consider how effectively you: • Identify and analyze the key elements of the argument • Organize, develop, and express your critique • Support your ideas (with reasons and examples) • Control the elements of Standard Written English The screen will then indicate additional rules and guidelines. Here’s essentially what you’ll see farther down the screen: • Your time limit is 30 minutes. • You must critique the logical soundness of the argument presented. • A critique of any other argument is unacceptable. • You should take a few minutes to plan your response before you begin typing. • You should develop your ideas fully and organize them in a coherent manner. • You should leave time to reread your response and make any revisions you think are needed. Chapter 2: GMAT Questions: A First Look 29 www.petersons.com The second screen will indicate specific guidelines for critiquing the Argument. Here’s essentially what you’ll see on the second screen: • You are not being asked to agree or disagree with any of the statements in the argument. • You should analyze the argument’s line of reasoning. • You should consider questionable assumptions underlying the argument. • You should consider the extent to which the evidence presented supports the argument’s conclusion. • You may discuss what additional evidence would help strengthen or refute the argument. • You may discuss what additional information, if any, would help you to evaluate the argument’s conclusion. WHAT ARGUMENT ANALYSIS QUESTIONS LOOK LIKE The Argument on your exam will be drawn randomly from a large pool. Each Argument in the official pool consists of a paragraph-length passage, which presents the argument itself, followed by a directive (statement of your task). The directive is the same for every Argument in the official pool. The Argument will appear as a quotation from a specified fictitious source. Here’s an example similar to the ones in the official pool—although you won’t see this one on your exam (the directive follows the Argument): The following recommendation appeared in a memo from the Hillsville City Council to the city’s mayor: “The private firm Trashco provides refuse pickup and disposal as well as recycling services for the town of Plattsburg. Trashco’s total fees for these services are about two thirds what Hillsville pays Ridco for the same services. In order to save enough money to construct a refuse transfer station within our city limits, Hillsville should discontinue using Ridco’s services and use Trashco’s services instead.” Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. In your discussion, be sure to analyze the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion. You can also discuss what sort of evidence would strengthen or refute the argument, what changes in the argument would make it more logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you to better evaluate its conclusion. 30 PART I: GMAT Basics NOTE You can access the two screens of directions and guidelines any time during the Argument Analysis section by clicking on the HELP button. www.petersons.com KEY FACTS ABOUT GMAT ARGUMENT ANALYSIS Here are some key facts about the Argument Analysis section (most are review): • The CAT will randomly select your Argument Analysis prompt from a large pool. As in the Issue Analysis section, you won’t be able to choose among topics. • All Arguments in the official pool contain the same directive. Learn the directive that follows the quoted Argument before the exam, and you won’t need to read it during the exam. • The Argument Analysis task is different from the Issue Analysis task. There’s no “correct” answer to any Issue Analysis question. But the Argument Analysis task is a different story. The argument that you critique will contain at least three major problems in the use of evidence, reasoning, and logic. To score high on your Argument Analysis essay, you must identify and discuss each major problem. • You don’t need technical knowledge or special training in logic to score high. GMAT arguments are designed so that you can analyze them by applying general reasoning skills and common sense. • GMAT readers appreciate your time constraint and focus less on minutia than on the big picture. Just as with the Issue Analysis section, the readers will focus primarily on substance and organization. You writing “style” and your mechanics (grammar, syntax, word usage, etc.) are secondary factors, and you won’t be penalized for errors in spelling and punctuation unless these errors are frequent and egregious. THE QUANTITATIVE SECTION (37 QUESTIONS, 75 MINUTES) Before examining the two question formats—Problem Solving and Data Sufficiency—that the test makers use for Quantitative Section questions, let’s first cover what’s common to both formats. Both types of questions—Problem Solving and Data Sufficiency—are designed to measure the following general skills: • Your proficiency in arithmetical operations • Your proficiency at solving algebraic equations • Your ability to convert verbal information to mathematical terms • Your ability to visualize geometric shapes and numerical relationships • Your ability to devise intuitive and unconventional solutions to conventional mathematical problems Chapter 2: GMAT Questions: A First Look 31 www.petersons.com Here’s a breakdown of the specific areas covered on the Quantitative section, along with their frequency of appearance: Properties of Numbers and Arithmetical Operations (13–17 Questions) • Linear ordering (positive and negative numbers, absolute value) • Properties of integers (factors, multiples, prime numbers) • Arithmetical operations • Laws of arithmetic • Fractions, decimals, and percentages • Ratio and proportion • Exponents (powers) and roots • Average (arithmetic mean), mode, and median • Basic probability Algebraic Equations and Inequalities (11–15 Questions) • Simplifying linear and quadratic algebraic expressions • Solving equations with one variable (unknown) • Solving equations with two variables (unknowns) • Solving factorable quadratic equations • Inequalities Geometry, Including Coordinate Geometry (5–8 Questions) • Intersecting lines and angles • Perpendicular and parallel lines • Triangles • Quadrilaterals (four-sided polygons) • Circles • Rectangular solids (three-dimensional figures) • Cylinders • Pyramids • Coordinate geometry Interpreting Statistical Charts, Graphs, and Tables (2–4 Questions) • Pie charts • Tables • Bar graphs • Line charts 32 PART I: GMAT Basics www.petersons.com . GMAT contains three parts: the AWA section, a Quantitative section, and a Verbal section. The total testing time (excluding breaks) is 3 hours, 30 minutes. • You receive four scores for the GMAT. final scores for each of your two GMAT essays. • Every business school has its own policies for evaluating GMAT scores. Pearson VUE reports your three most recent GMAT scores to each business school. familiar with your physical surroundings on exam day. Chapter 1: All About the GMAT 23 www.petersons.com GMAT Questions: A First Look OVERVIEW • Analytical writing assessment (AWA) • The