Before you open a prep book or book a test date, it helps to know exactly what the GMAT question paper looks like: how many sections there are, how many questions each one has, what types of questions appear and how much time you get. This guide covers the current GMAT format section by section, explains how the adaptive test works, and shows how to practise with the right materials.
A quick note if you are reading older guides: the exam was redesigned in 2023 (the version was called GMAT Focus Edition at launch). The Analytical Writing essay, Sentence Correction and geometry are gone, and Integrated Reasoning was replaced by the Data Insights section. Everything below describes the current exam.
The GMAT has three sections, 64 multiple-choice questions and a total testing time of 2 hours 15 minutes. All three sections count equally towards your total score.
You can take the sections in any order and have one optional 10-minute break, so the full appointment lasts about 2 hours 25 minutes. The total score ranges from 205 to 805; each section is scored from 60 to 90.
Quant tests arithmetic, algebra and word problems. Every question is Problem Solving: you solve the problem and pick one of five answers. Data Sufficiency used to live here but has moved to Data Insights, and geometry is no longer tested. There is no calculator, so fast mental maths and clean notes matter.
What to focus on: number properties, percentages and ratios, equations and inequalities, rates and work, and basic statistics and probability. Our Quantitative Reasoning guide walks through each topic with practice questions.
Verbal now tests reasoning rather than grammar. It has two question types:
Sentence Correction has been removed. See the Verbal Reasoning guide for strategies for both question types.
Data Insights combines maths, logic and data literacy. It is the only section with an on-screen calculator. There are five question types:
Some Data Insights questions have several parts, and you get credit only if every part is correct. The Data Insights guide shows a worked example of each type.
The GMAT adapts to you question by question. Answer correctly and the next question tends to be harder; answer incorrectly and it tends to be easier. Your score depends on the difficulty of the questions you answer correctly, not just on how many you get right, so an early run of hard questions is usually a good sign.
Before you start, you pick the order of the three sections. Many test-takers start with their strongest section to build momentum; others start with the section that needs the most concentration while they are fresh. Try both orders in mock exams before you decide.
Within each section you can bookmark questions and, if time is left at the end, review them and change up to three answers. Use it for questions you flagged, not to second-guess everything.
There is no fixed deduction for a wrong answer, but leaving questions unanswered at the end of a section lowers your score significantly. If time is running out, make an educated guess on every remaining question. Practising a steady pace of about two minutes per question is the simplest way to avoid this.
Total scores run from 205 to 805 in 10-point steps, and every score ends in 5. Because the scale changed, the same number means something different than on the old exam: GMAC’s concordance table puts a 700 on the classic GMAT at about 645 on the current scale. To see how section scores add up to a total and a percentile, use our GMAT score calculator.
GMAC, the organisation that runs the GMAT, offers two free full-length official practice exams on mba.com. They use the real scoring algorithm, so take one early to get a baseline and save the second for later in your preparation.
Many students search for a “GMAT question paper PDF” or “previous year papers”. GMAC does not publish past exams, so files with that name are either official practice material or unofficial collections of varying quality. Older material is still useful for core maths and reading skills, but skip Sentence Correction and geometry questions, which no longer appear on the test. Printed questions are fine for daily drills; just remember that the real exam is on screen, adaptive and timed.
The closer your practice is to test day, the fewer surprises you get. On Examero you can build practice sessions by section, question type and difficulty from 4,250+ questions, take full-length adaptive mock exams with the real section structure, and see which question types cost you the most time and points.
64: 21 in Quantitative Reasoning, 23 in Verbal Reasoning and 20 in Data Insights.
There is no fixed penalty per wrong answer, but unanswered questions lower your score significantly, so answer every question.
Only in Data Insights, where an on-screen calculator is provided. Quantitative Reasoning must be done without one.
No. The Analytical Writing Assessment was removed, and every question is now multiple-choice.
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