Can you use scratch paper on the GMAT? What does it look like, and how do you use it? Questions about the GMAT scratch pad are common for students preparing for the exam.

In this article, I’ll go over the details of the GMAT scratch paper, how to use your GMAT noteboard effectively, and how to simulate the official notepad at home as you prepare to take the test.

GMAT Scratch Paper: The Logistics

First off, the good news: Yes, you are given a notepad and marker to take notes on during the GMAT. It’s specifically created for use by GMAT test takers.

The GMAT scratch paper is a laminated scratch pad with five yellow grid double-sided pages. The pages are about the size of those on a legal pad (that is, significantly bigger than a typical sheet of paper). It looks like a cross between a dry erase board and a flip pad or sketchbook.

Here’s what it looks like:

^Source

The surface of the GMAT scratch pad is plastic, which will feel different from writing with pen on paper:

The GMAT notepad is accompanied by a non-permanent wet erase marker, not a pen. The marker is around the size and shape of a regular Sharpie or a thin dry erase marker. While the GMAT noteboard looks a lot like a dry erase board, you cannot erase anything on it. So use your space wisely.

However, if you do start running out of room, that’s ok. If you need more scratch paper during the test, raise your hand and a proctor will replace it for you. There are no limitations on how much scratch paper you can use during the GMAT. Taking notes can take up precious time, however, so make sure that what you do write is directly useful to you.

Try to plan ahead so you don’t run out of room on the scratch pad before a section of the GMAT ends. The best time to ask the proctor for a new scratch pad is between sections, so you don’t have to interrupt your thought process or waste time during a section.

How to Use Your GMAT Noteboard Effectively

Remember, you can’t bring your own scratch paper or writing utensils to the GMAT. In fact, no personal items are allowed in the room except for pre-approved ‘comfort items’ like cough drops or a jacket. So you’ll want to learn how to use this specific tool comfortably so you won’t feel blindsided by it on exam day. Let’s go over some ways that you can make the GMAT scratch paper work most effectively for you.

General Tips for Using the GMAT Scratch Paper

Here are some general tips to help you use your GMAT notepad to your best advantage:

• Divide each page up into sections. Before you start each section, some students find it helpful to divide a scratch pad page (or two, or three) into squares corresponding to the number of questions. For example, the Integrated Reasoning section consists of 12 questions, so you’d divide a notepad page into 12 squares and label them 1-12. You’d write your notes or calculations for each question in its corresponding square. This can help you stay organized and focused during the test, or go back to a previous difficult question.

• If you have it, use extra time in another section to set up the next set of scratch pad pages. If you finish your Analytical Writing Assessment early, for example, you can use that extra time to set up your squares for the Integrated Reasoning section. You can also use a few minutes of your break time or a few minutes at the beginning of the allotted section time to ‘customize’ your scratch paper.

• Some students also find it helpful to keep track of their time using the scratch pad, especially if they struggle with timing. In each square, you can write the approximate time you should use for that question in a ‘countdown’ format. For example, you have around two minutes for each question in the Quant section and 62 minutes to finish the section. So your first question square would read “:62” at the top, and the second would read “:60,” and so on. This helps some students stay on top of things and confuses others, so don’t worry about it if this wouldn’t work for you.

• Don’t overuse your GMAT scratch paper. As much as you can, practice doing calculations and picking out main ideas from readings in your head at home. Using the GMAT scratch pad can be very helpful, but it can also take up time and energy that you’ll need for the test.

• Practice writing small at home when you take notes. Taking up too much space for each problem will make things more difficult and visually confusing.

• Some students prefer using the GMAT scratch pad horizontally rather than vertically. Try it at home and see what works for you. Experiment with various ways of setting up the pages. Remember, this is your space!

Quant Section Tips

• The GMAT scratch pad is especially important for the Quant section because the Quant section doesn’t have an onscreen calculator. Any calculations you do will have to be by hand on the laminated scratch pad.

• It can be helpful to jot down the ‘given’ information for each problem and clearly mark it as ‘given’ (with a line next to it or a circle around it, for example) before you start your calculations for that problem.

• For the Data Sufficiency questions, using the process of elimination and physically crossing out incorrect answers on your scratch pad can be especially helpful.

Analytical Writing Assessment Tips

Since you’ll write your essay for the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) in an onscreen text editor, you can keep your notes there if you want to save your GMAT scratch pad for other sections.

However, I recommend using the scratch pad to create an outline before actually writing your essay. Having a plan will make writing go faster, and it will be much easier to refer back to on your notepad.

Verbal Section Tips

Sometimes it can be difficult to know what to take notes on for the Verbal section. Your scratch pad can be used in two ways here:

• You can pull out major points, such as main ideas, evidence, and counterarguments, from each reading and jot them down for each reading. This is especially helpful for the longer Reading Comprehension passages, which are accompanied by several questions each. If you don’t find taking notes helpful, though, don’t feel like you have to.

• For all Verbal GMAT questions, you can use the notepad for process of elimination. You can write down “ABCDE” in each question square and cross out the answer choices you know are incorrect as you read.

Integrated Reasoning (IR) Tips

You’ll have a calculator onscreen for the IR section, but you can use your GMAT notepad and marker to keep track of your calculations or to eliminate answer choices. For example, many IR questions have several parts (I, II, and III, for example) and ask you to determine whether I is “True,” II is “False,” III cannot be determined, or any combination thereof. You can also use this space to create a visual diagram of those choices and keep track of them as you go along.

How to Simulate the GMAT Noteboard

In preparation for the GMAT, it’s helpful to simulate as many aspects of the test as possible. This will help you feel confident, do your best, and avoid wasting time and energy on exam day. There are two ways you can simulate the experience of using the GMAT scratch paper at home in preparation for the test:

Manhattan Prep has created a GMAT test simulation booklet that is nearly identical to the one you’ll receive at the GMAT. It also includes a corresponding marker. You can purchase the simulation booklet here. This will give you the most realistic experience and writing feel.

To create a DIY version of the GMAT notepad, just purchase a yellow grid legal pad and a slender Sharpie-sized marker. It won’t be exactly the same, but you’ll get the feel for the size and shape of the scratch paper.

It will be most effective to use your simulated GMAT scratch pad alongside the free GMAT prep software at MBA.com. This will help you simulate as many aspects of test day as possible.

What’s Next?

For a more detailed breakdown of each GMAT question type, check out our article on the GMAT format.

For practice questions to use alongside your simulated test booklet, check out our complete collection of GMAT sample questions.

If you’re ready to register for the GMAT,  our guide to GMAT registration will walk you through the process.

The post GMAT Scratch Paper: 13 Expert Tips to Use It Effectively appeared first on Online GMAT Prep Blog by PrepScholar.

Trying to prepare for the GMAT, but don’t have a lot of time left before the exam? Whether you’re in the final stage of a long GMAT prep plan or hoping to cram all your studying into just a few weeks, I have some last-minute GMAT tips to help you ace the exam.

In this article, I’ll go over everything you need to know about getting the most out of your final study sessions, from last-minute GMAT prep tips to high-impact test-taking tips.

Can You Cram for the GMAT?

First off, it’s important to note that there’s no real way to cram for the GMAT. Preparing for the GMAT effectively takes time. You have to take practice tests to see where you’re starting from, hone in on your weaknesses, review the fundamental skills where you have knowledge gaps, and complete more practice questions to get used to the GMAT format and improve your score.

There’s no “quick fix” when it comes to the GMAT. If your test date is soon and you’re truly entirely unprepared, it’s best to reschedule your exam, which is still possible up to 24 hours before your scheduled test date.

However, if you’ve prepared somewhat and are looking for some high-impact strategies to prep in your final weeks or days before the GMAT, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll go over the best GMAT cram strategies as well as last-minute GMAT tips for the actual exam day.

4 GMAT Cram Strategies

If you’re studying for the GMAT at the last minute, you’ll need to do so effectively, making the most efficient use of your time. Let’s go over the four best last-minute GMAT prep tips to make the most of your GMAT cram sessions.

#1: Take a Practice Test

The most effective way to prepare for the GMAT is to take practice tests with questions written by the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) in computerized adaptive format (which uses an algorithm in real time to adjust to your skill level as you move through the exam). Use the free official GMATPrep Software to take a practice test as soon as possible. The answer explanations will help you determine your weak spots in terms of skill sets, question types, and sections you’ll need to focus on in your prep.

If you’re worried about the essay portion, use GMATWrite to practice with real GMAC-authored Analytical Writing Assessment prompts.

#2: Review the Format

Familiarizing yourself with the format of the GMAT is as important as preparing for the content of the questions themselves. You may be a math whiz, but the GMAT tests quant skills in very particular ways. You’ll also want to get used to the rhythm, pacing, and visuals of the test so nothing is a surprise on exam day. You can do this, of course, by taking practice tests, but you should also review resources like the Official Guide for GMAT Review 2017 to remind yourself of the number of questions in each section and what question types you’ll see on each section of the GMAT.

#3: Review Math and Grammar Rules

While the GMAT is not an easy test, basic math and grammar skills are key to your success on the exam. Use the overview of basic math concepts in the official GMATPrep Software to review significant skills and concepts (like algebra, statistics, probability, and geometry) for the quant section. For a review of important grammar concepts like parts of speech and common errors you’ll see on sentence correction questions, try our guide to the six key GMAT grammar rules.

#4: Go Over Past Practice Problems

If you’ve done sets of practice problems or completed practice tests, look over the answer explanations for the ones you did incorrectly or question types that you tend to struggle with. Try to see where your thinking is falling apart or where you’re making careless mistakes so you can hone in on those weak spots and avoid making similar errors on the actual GMAT.

5 GMAT Test-Taking Strategies

Let’s go over several last-minute GMAT tips you can use during the exam itself to maximize your performance, get through the questions in time, and hopefully hit your target score.

#1: Don’t Be Afraid to Guess

It’s important to move quickly through the test and not get hung up on any one question. It might be frustrating to have to guess, but the GMAT is designed so that you aren’t expected to get every single question right. The way the scores are scaled means that you can still get a high score and a high percentile ranking without answering every question correctly.

If you’re not sure how to answer a question, first try to eliminate one or more answer choices. But even if you can’t, don’t hesitate to take a guess. You’ll risk more in terms of time and brainpower by obsessing over a single question than by guessing.

#2: Choose the Shortest Sentence Correction Answer Choice

If you’re stuck on a sentence correction question and need to guess, choose the shortest one. When in doubt, it’s best to go with the most concise answer choice. The GMAT generally prefers concise options over longer ones, so it’s a good bet (though of course not 100%).

#3: Work Backwards On Math Problems

For GMAT problem solving questions on the quant section in which you’re asked to solve for an unknown variable, you can often work backwards to save time. You might have heard of this strategy as “plug and chug.” Use one of the given answer choices to plug into the equation; if you choose one in the middle of the given numerical range, you can use the process of elimination to get rid of one or more of the other answers as well. For example, if answer choice C is 35 and it’s too low, you can eliminate answer choices A and B if they’re, say, 17 and 21.

#4: Use the Provided Scratch Pad

At the test, you’ll be provided with a double-sided laminated scratch pad to write on with a marker. Sometimes, students try to remember important details from reading comprehension passages or figures in math problems in their heads. While this may seem like it’s saving you time, it actually saps your time and energy.

Remember, you’ll be stressed and under time pressure, which might make you more prone to forget small details. For example, in three-part reading comprehension passages, you’ll have to flip through various pages with different kinds of information, which can take up a lot of precious time if you don’t take notes during your initial read. Use the scratch pad as needed to move smoothly through each question.

#5: Outline Your Essay

It may seem like you should start writing your 30-minute Analytical Writing Assessment essay right away, but outlining beforehand actually saves you time and will produce better results. It will help you organize your ideas and to express them more cogently and effectively, and you can refer back to it as you write, so you won’t forget any initial thoughts you had while reading. Using the text editor on the screen or your scratch pad, create an outline that addresses the main argument in the given passage and the major flaws in its reasoning that you plan to discuss. If you use the text editor to create your outline, just make sure to erase it before you “turn in” your essay.

6 Last-Minute GMAT Tips for Test Day

It’s important to be prepared for test day emotionally and mentally as well as physically, so you make the absolute most of your time at the testing location. Here are six last-minute GMAT tips to help you do your best on test day.

#1: Get Your Documents Ready in Advance

You’ll need identifying documents such as a driver’s license or passport to present to the testing location staff on the day of your GMAT. Check what these are at the MBA website and make sure you’ve gathered them well in advance of the exam. The last thing you want is to be scrambling around looking for an ID on the morning of your test!

#2: Take the Day Off From Studying

While it may be tempting to cram, don’t study at all the day or night before the GMAT. Instead, take this time to rest and relax so that you can be at your highest performance level on exam day. Your brain will thank you.

#3: Lay Out Your Items the Night Before

Lay out the outfit you’re going to wear and any personal items you’re planning to bring to the exam (check the testing location guidelines for what’s allowed at the center, including snacks, water, and medications) the night before. This might seem like a small thing, but it will help you feel prepared and ready for the next day and will help you rest a little easier before the exam.

#4: Prepare Yourself Physically

Being at your emotional and physical best during the GMAT is more important than you think. You can’t control everything about the test, but you can control how physically prepared you are. Get a good night’s sleep on the night before your exam so you’re well rested during the test. Eat a good breakfast before you take the GMAT.

You should be well rested and well fed during the test so you’re not distracted by anything!

#5: Plan Your Route

Get organized for your transportation to the GMAT. If you’re driving, make sure there’s gas in your car, that you’ve checked any potential traffic or obstacles on the way to your exam, and that you leave more than enough time to get to the testing location and settle in. If you’re taking public transit, make sure that you know the bus or subway route you’ll be taking to the testing center. You don’t want to be rushing and frazzled on the way to your exam and end up being off your game.

#6: Take Your Breaks

The GMAT is a lengthy and draining test; all in all, you’ll spend about four hours at the testing location. You’ll have chances for eight-minute breaks after the integrated reasoning section and before the quant section, and between the quant and verbal sections. Take them! Use them to stretch, use the bathroom, have a snack, or just give your mind a break. Those brief respites are important to maintain your stamina and focus throughout the GMAT.

A final reminder: It’s best to take your time to study for the GMAT. However, with the tips we’ve gone over, you can maximize your prep productivity and function at your optimal level on exam day.

What’s Next?

For more help planning your GMAT prep, check out our GMAT study plans (coming soon).

Still unsure about the timing of your GMAT prep? Check out our GMAT study timeline (coming soon) for a detailed look at how to structure your prep each month before your exam date.

Our GMAT study guide (coming soon) is a more comprehensive guide to the resources and strategies you’ll need to do your best on test day.

The post Last Minute GMAT Tips: 15 Strategies to Rock Test Day appeared first on Online GMAT Prep Blog by PrepScholar.

GMAT apps are an undeniably appealing way to study for the GMAT: they’re convenient, fun, and a great excuse to play with your phone. Good ones can be a great addition to your study plan, but they aren’t enough on their own.

This article is a complete guide to GMAT apps that will help you lean how to use GMAT apps effectively, rather than letting them become a time-wasting distraction. I’ll go over the qualities that make a GMAT app worth using, the seven best GMAT apps available, and the best ways to incorporate apps into your GMAT prep.

GMAT Apps: An Overview

You can use apps for almost anything, and GMAT prep is no exception. GMAT prep apps may include practice tests, additional practice questions, drills targeting particular skills, lessons, and other content to help you prepare for the exam and track your progress.

GMAT apps that you download to your tablet or phone can help you get ready for the test in an interactive and even fun way. They aren’t enough as a comprehensive source of GMAT prep, but they can be a great addition to your other practice materials. If you’re looking for an affordable, comprehensive online prep program, check out PrepScholar GMAT. The course includes access to over 1,000 practice questions and 30 lessons covering all the essential GMAT skills.

Why GMAT Apps Are Not Enough

GMAT apps can be a great resource, but they’re not enough for adequate GMAT prep or to achieve your target score. You’ll need to use more comprehensive GMAT study resources like practice tests and books if you want to improve.

Firstly, most apps aren’t catered to your particular weaknesses and strengths. A few apps track your progress, but not in in-depth ways.

Secondly, most of the GMAT apps don’t have enough realistic practice questions to be effective as your primary or only GMAT prep resource. Many of them only have a few, or the practice questions aren’t organized by question type, so it’s difficult to target specific skills or concepts.

Finally, GMAT apps don’t tend to include detailed answer explanations for practice questions, meaning you may not be able to pinpoint why you missed the questions and determine how to improve for the future.

What Makes a Good GMAT App?

Let’s take a look at the qualities that make a GMAT app effective for use as part of your overall prep.

#1: Realistic Practice Questions

If a GMAT app features practice questions, they should be similar in content, tone, difficulty, and length to those on the actual GMAT. The more realistic, the better the questions are for your GMAT prep.

#2: In-Depth Lessons and Content

If a GMAT prep app contains skill-building lessons, they should be detailed, breaking down each question type or necessary skill in depth. You should be able to come away from a lesson with an understanding of a topic you previously didn’t know much about.

#3: User-Friendly

Any GMAT prep app you choose to download should be easy to understand, use, and navigate. It should be clear how to find information you need, and easy to select answers on practice questions. Some apps are difficult to read due to issues with the text or visuals.

The Top 7 GMAT Apps

Let’s go over some of the best GMAT apps available for download. For each GMAT prep app, I’ll go over its cost, its content, and its advantages and disadvantages.

Manhattan Prep GMAT

The Manhattan Prep GMAT app has lots of quality, varied content, including 1,110 quantitative and verbal practice questions; 1,556 quantitative, vocab, idioms, and sentence correction drills and quizzes; strategies for each question type; general GMAT study tips; math and verbal glossaries; MBA tips; and a section that tracks your progress, including your average timing on each practice question.

You can try out the Manhattan Prep GMAT app for free for 24 hours. After that, if you want to upgrade to premium, it will cost you $29.99. Otherwise, you can stay at the ‘basic’ level, which contains fewer customization options and fewer practice questions.

The Manhattan Prep GMAT app is the most comprehensive one out there, with high quality practice questions and lots of drills in both basic and advanced quant (hard to find). The idiom and vocabulary drills are also helpful for non-native English speakers. Questions are divided by difficulty as well as skill type, so the app will help you hone in on your weaknesses effectively.

Ready4 GMAT (Prep 4 GMAT)

The basic version of Ready4 GMAT is free with an account, while the premium version (which includes over 1,000 practice questions, 500 flashcards, GMAT prep and vocab quizzes, and an in-depth prep course, including a full GMAT practice test) costs $19.99.

The free version has a great deal of content, though, including an assessment test with 10 practice GMAT questions and an in-app GMAT prep course, with lessons on each GMAT section, fundamental skills like grammar, quizzes, and drills on specific question types. The only downside is that you can’t access a lesson without completing the one before it.

Ready4 GMAT also has some unique features, such as a “school matcher” that lets you customize your list of prospective business schools according to your personal demographics, preferences, academic background, GMAT score, and goals. If you complete it, you can enter to win a $1,000 Ready4 scholarship to business school.

GMAT Math Flashcards and GMAT Idiom Flashcards (Magoosh)

Both of these helpful, targeted apps from Magoosh are free. They don’t contain full-length practice questions; instead, they allow you to test fundamental skills that will help you on the quant and verbal sections.

The GMAT Math Flashcards ask about basic math concepts or simple calculations (such as determining 20% of a given number in your head). They can help you practice estimation, which is important for the quant section since you won’t have access to a calculator. The set contains 19 algebra practice questions; 38 questions on fractions, ratios, and percents; 51 geometry questions; two sections of 33 and 32 questions, respectively on number properties; 24 statistics and probability questions; and six sets of miscellaneous practice, containing 36-37 questions each.

Each GMAT Idiom Flashcard contains two versions of a sentence with variations on an idiom; you select which one is correct. After you virtually ‘flip’ the card, you’ll see the correct answer and will be asked whether you were familiar with the correct idiom. The cards are divided into two basic and two advanced sections; they track your mastery and will test you on unfamiliar idioms as you continue to practice.

These are helpful flashcards on the go, or to target a particular math skill. The idiom list will be especially helpful for non-native English speakers. However, they don’t contain actual GMAT practice questions, so they won’t be enough for substantial GMAT prep.

GMAT Prep Course (Veritas Prep)

With a free GMAT On Demand trial account, you can access over 24 hours of instructional videos (a ‘self-guided course’) from Veritas Prep that take you through every section of the GMAT and every skill you’ll need to master. With your trial account, you can also access various online Veritas Prep practice materials, including a computer-adaptive GMAT practice test and GMAT practice questions, for seven days.

Veritas Prep lessons are high-quality and informative, with instructors guiding you through each GMAT question type and concept in detail. Each lesson (such as ‘arithmetic calculations,’ the first section of the arithmetic lesson) is around 20-30 minutes.

While you’ll need to purchase the full course to get permanent access to the Veritas Prep resources, you can use this app for an overview of the test and the skills you’ll need to learn, especially at the beginning of your prep process.

Economist GMAT Tutor

You’ll have to create an account to access a free trial Economist GMAT Tutor app, which includes one free tutor session, opportunities to ask questions of tutors trained by The Economist, and a simulated GMAT test, as well as lessons that delve into specific GMAT skills.

The biggest advantage of this app are the in-depth lessons. Each lesson breaks down the various aspects of a particular section or question type in more detail than the majority of app-based GMAT lessons. One disadvantage, besides the obvious drawback of most of the materials only being available for purchase, is that you’ll have to complete one lesson before moving on to the next. So if you’re looking to quickly target a specific skill, this isn’t the best app for your GMAT prep.

GMAT: Practice, Prep, Flashcards (Varsity Tutors)

The Varsity Tutors GMAT: Practice, Prep, Flashcards app is completely free. You can find flashcards organized by concept, diagnostic tests, and GMAT practice tests and quizzes.

The Varsity Tutors app’s primary strength is its organization. While many apps organize questions according to general categories, like ‘quant section’ or ‘advanced quant,’ Varsity Tutors’ concept categories are hyper-specific and usually include several subcategories. This means you can target your weaknesses much more effectively using Varsity Tutors than on many other apps.

The quant practice questions in the diagnostic tests are a little on the easy side, and the app itself can be a little confusing to navigate. Other than that, this is a comprehensive and effective app to switch up your method of GMAT prep.

GMAT Exam Prep (Pocket Prep, Inc.)

The GMAT Exam Prep app from Pocket Prep offers flashcards, practice questions, and personal statistics on your progress. You can also use the app to challenge other users in GMAT practice question duels.

The app’s benefits are its variety (flashcards on everything from analytical writing-specific vocabulary to advanced quant) and its ability to track your progress over time. The app schedules you for reviews of certain GMAT concepts and skills based on your weaknesses. The downsides? There are some distracting typos in questions and headings, and the ads can be annoying as well.

You can access this app free with an account or upgrade it for a fee. The Basic version (with no ads and offline study available) is $4.99, while the Premium version (which will store all the app’s data in the Cloud) is $9.99.

How to Use GMAT Apps

There are a few ways to use GMAT apps that will maximize their usefulness for your exam prep.

#1: To Focus On Your Weaknesses

The drills in GMAT prep apps can sometimes help you get an extra boost in particularly weak areas. Apps with short quizzes or mini-lessons centered around certain question types or foundational skills can be helpful as an extra resource for your trouble spots.

#2: To Add Practice Questions

Additional GMAT practice questions, especially free ones, are always a big plus during prep. As long as the questions in the apps you choose are realistic and high-quality, more practice is always better.

#3: On the Go

Since GMAT apps can be downloaded to a phone or tablet, they can be a great resource for extra practice while you’re out and about or if you only have a short time.

Also, it can be useful to study in a variety of ways. Prepping using a different form of technology can motivate you and allow you to engage with the material in a new way.

Wrap-Up: Using GMAT Apps

GMAT apps can be a great addition to your overall prep. They can help you switch it up and learn or practice using a new interface and in a new way.

While they’re not enough as a comprehensive source of practice, you should consider adding a GMAT prep app (or two!) to your study plan.

What’s Next?

Find additional practice questions in our extensive collection of GMAT sample questions.

In How to Prepare for the GMAT, you can find a more comprehensive guide to GMAT prep.

If you’re a non-native English speaker or looking to improve your verbal score, our guide to GMAT idioms will help you prepare for sentence correction and critical reasoning questions on the GMAT.

The post How the 7 Best GMAT Apps Can Improve Your Score appeared first on Online GMAT Prep Blog by PrepScholar.

Taking timed practice tests is an integral part of preparing for the GMAT. Fortunately, there’s a lot of free material online that will give you the full test-taking experience.

This guide features the top 12 resources for free GMAT practice tests, along with a full review of each test’s strengths and weaknesses. Plus, you’ll find some tips on how to use GMAT practice tests in the most effective way possible.

Before getting to the free GMAT practice tests, let’s consider what you should look for in a practice test.

What Makes a Good GMAT Practice Test?

The best GMAT practice tests look the same as the real GMAT. They are computer-based and adaptive. They share the same structure, instructions, and question types as the real test. They are also timed in the same way, with two 30-minute sections and two 75-minute sections.

The best GMAT practice tests come directly from the test makers, the Graduate Management Admission Council, or GMAC. Official practice tests are the most realistic version of the real test, plus they’re the only ones that use GMAC’s top secret algorithm for scoring and adaptive testing.

Makers of unofficial GMAT practice tests can only guess at the algorithm, so none can give you a perfect sense of your current scoring level. That being said, there are several realistic unofficial practice tests that can be very useful for your prep (click here to go straight to them!). A few even come with video explanations, an online tutor, or the option to attend a live event with other prospective students at a university.

You should note that no free GMAT test offers essay-scoring. You can get a prompt and write the 30-minute essay, but you’ll have to evaluate it on your own using the AWA rubric.

When you take a practice test, make sure that it has the same computerized format, structure, and question types as the real GMAT. Below you’ll find suggestions for the top 11 unofficial free GMAT practice tests, but first, let’s look at the official GMAT practice tests that you can access for free at MBA.com.

Official Free GMAT Practice Tests

GMAC offers two full-length GMAT practice tests on its free GMAT Prep Software. After creating an account and downloading the software, you can access the two tests. You’ll also get 90 free GMAT practice questions — 30 Quantitative, 45 Verbal, and 15 Integrated Reasoning.

The two free GMAT practice tests are almost identical to what you’ll see on test day. They feature all four sections of the test — Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA), Integrated Reasoning (IR), Quantitative, and Verbal — and have realistic instruction screens between each section.

Because the questions are made by the test makers themselves, they are the most realistic representation of GMAT questions. Your exam will also be scored in the same way that the real GMAT will be.

Just keep in mind that there’s a certain margin of error. Total scores within 30 to 40 points of each other are considered to fall in the same range.

There are a few differences between the free GMAT practice tests and the real exam. The practice tests allow you to pause time and take as much time as you want reading instructions. On the real GMAT, you’ll have 10 minutes to read the AWA tutorial and only one minute for all of the other instruction screens.

You can also pause the practice tests at any time, flag questions that you’re not sure about, and reveal a question’s answer whenever you like. None of these options, of course, will be available to you when you take the real test, but they’re helpful study tools.

There’s one other useful feature of these two official GMAT practice tests. Because they draw on a huge pool of practice questions, you can actually take each one more than once. You might see a few repeat questions, but most will be new the second and even third time. In essence, you have four to six free practice tests at your disposal thanks to the GMAT Prep Software.

So, how can you use these practice tests in the most effective way to get ready for the GMAT? Read on for some tips for taking official GMAT practice tests.

Tips for Taking Official GMAT Practice Tests

How can you use the official GMAT practice tests in the most effective way? When should you take them, and how can they inform your study plan? Consider the following five tips as you move forward.

#1: Take One Near the Beginning, One Near the End

Since there are just two free official practice tests, you should be strategic about when you take them. We recommend taking the first near the beginning of your prep and the second near the end. You can take some time to familiarize yourself with the format and structure of the GMAT and then review key concepts.

After learning about the test, you could take the first official free GMAT practice test to get a sense of the testing experience and establish your baseline scoring level. This practice test helps you diagnose your current scoring level and identify your strengths and weaknesses.

You can retake this test as you continue to study, but you’ll likely see some repeat questions, so it won’t be as realistic as the actual GMAT. We recommend saving the second official practice test for somewhere near the end of your prep. Once you’ve done a lot of review and answered sample questions, you can take this test to measure all the progress you’ve made.

In between these official GMAT practice tests, you can also take unofficial practice tests to measure your progress. Since the official ones are the most realistic version of the GMAT, it can be useful to use one as a diagnostic practice test and the second after you’ve spent a significant amount of time studying.

#2: Simulate Real Testing Conditions

Official practice tests give you a very realistic experience of taking the GMAT. The only thing you’re missing is the test center.

To make the experience as real as possible, you should find a quiet space free of distractions. Follow the same timing as the test, and take the optional eight-minute breaks after the Integrated Reasoning (IR) and Quantitative sections. Don’t use your own calculator, but rather get used to using the on-screen calculator (this only applies to the Integrated Reasoning section).

Essentially, you should do everything you can to make the testing experience as close to the real thing as possible.

#3: Use Them to Practice Test Taking, Not to Learn Concepts

Practice tests help you become a better test taker. You can practice your time management, develop a rhythm, and apply your understanding to practice problems.

Full-length practice tests are not so useful for concept review. You shouldn’t rely just on practice tests to learn all of the math, grammar, or data interpretation skills you need for the GMAT.

Instead, you can use the tests to figure out what you don’t know, and then consult other prep materials to fill in any gaps in knowledge.

#4: Keep an Error Log

To help you figure out what you don’t know, you should keep an error log and write down any questions that you got wrong or felt confused about. Go over the answer explanations, and figure out what it was that tripped you up.

Did you read the question wrong? Do you not understand the concept? Did you run out of time? By rooting out the source of your mistake, you can take specific steps to fix it. Practice tests help you discover your weak spots, so you can build them up for next time.

#5: Set Goals for Where to Go Next

Once you’ve taken a practice test, reviewed your performance, and uncovered your weak areas, you should set specific goals for what to do next. The GMAT practice test gives insight into your current scoring level. It’s up to you to take this feedback and use it to inform a targeted, customized study plan that will help you improve.

Most of these tips are useful as you take unofficial practice tests, as well. Just keep in mind that these tests won’t be the best experience of the GMAT, and the scores don’t come from GMAC’s secret scoring algorithm.

Now that we’ve covered the official tests, read on for a full evaluation of the best unofficial free GMAT practice tests, ranked from best to worst.

11 Free GMAT Practice Tests, Ranked

Below are the 11 best free GMAT tests available online, ranked from most realistic to least.

#1: Kaplan

Kaplan’s free GMAT practice test tops the list for its realistic format and high-quality practice questions. Not only does the test closely resemble the real GMAT, but it also comes with detailed video answer explanations.

You can take the test online at any time, or you can sign up for a live, instructor-proctored test. If you go the proctored route, then you’ll see live explanations from Kaplan faculty, a mini lesson from an instructor, and a live chat window where you can ask questions.

Like the real GMAT, the Quantitative and Verbal sections are adaptive. You can also opt for 50% or 100% additional time if you’ll be getting accommodations. Just make sure that you don’t accidentally hit “End Test,” or you will exit the exam and won’t be able to restart it!

You can access the Kaplan practice test by creating an account on its website and then choosing the self-proctored or instructor-proctored practice test. If you don’t want promotional emails from Kaplan, then make sure to uncheck the appropriate box.

#2: Veritas

Veritas is a close second for best free GMAT practice test. The exam is realistic and presents high-quality practice questions. You can take the exam in full or just choose certain sections.

Like the official GMAT practice tests, you can pause the test at any time. It’s recommended, however, that you take the test in full and follow the real GMAT timing to build up your stamina for test day.

You can also choose 50% or 100% extra time if you need accommodations. To access the test, head to VeritasPrep.com and create an account. The company also offers six additional computer-adaptive GMAT practice tests for $49.

#3: Manhattan Prep

For your third unofficial free GMAT practice test, head to ManhattanPrep.com. You’ll just need to create an account to access the test.

The questions on the Manhattan Prep test are high quality, but the visuals of the test don’t match the real GMAT. While it’s recommended that you follow the same timing as the GMAT, you do have the option here of manually adjusting time settings.

You could extend the time limits by section, or take the test completely untimed. You also have the option of setting a time limit on yourself for each question. If you go with this option, then you’ll have to move on to the next question when time runs out whether you’ve answered the question or not.

Unanswered GMAT questions can really drag down your score, but this option can be useful as you develop a test taking rhythm. At the same time, it’s not always the best practice to spend the exact same amount of time on every question in a section.

For instance, problem solving questions may take longer than data sufficiency questions in math, and reading comprehension questions may take longer than sentence corrections in verbal. This option can be useful to solidify your time management skills, but it’s also not the most realistic experience of taking the GMAT.

#4: Princeton Review

When you create an account with Princeton Review, you can access one free GMAT practice test. You can either self-proctor the exam and take it online, or you can sign up for a practice test event.

The events in the Boston area, for example, take place at local colleges, like Northeastern and Brandeis University. These events give you a realistic, testing center experience, but they’re mostly offered to promote Princeton Review classes and tutoring.

The questions are realistic and match the format of the GMAT. Some users may have trouble accessing the practice test without the right version of Java. You also must make sure that any ad-blocking software is turned off.

#5: 800 Score Test

To take the 800 Score free GMAT test, all you have to do is enter a username and password and start testing. You’ll see five practice tests, but just the first one is free. The remaining four tests are available for $24.95.

The format and visuals of these practice tests don’t closely mirror the actual GMAT exam. That being said, the questions are relatively realistic and both the math and verbal sections have the adaptive format.

At the end of your 800 Score free GMAT test, you can look over your answers, read answer explanations, and see how much time you spent on each question. If you choose not to take the test all at once, you can also save your results, return to it later, and pick up where you left off.

#6: McGraw-Hill

Head to McGraw Hill Education for six free GMAT tests, each with three of the four GMAT sections. The tests are missing the AWA section, but otherwise include all of the question types you’ll get on the GMAT.

The visuals don’t closely resemble the real GMAT exam, but the questions are decent. The Verbal and Integrated Reasoning questions are especially strong, while the Quantitative questions seem easier than what you’ll get on the real test.

You can take McGraw-Hill’s free GMAT tests timed or untimed, and you can log out and save your progress at any time. The score reports will tell you how many questions you got right in each section, and you’ll be able to review answer explanations.

Since the score reports show you your percentage of correct answers, the tests are most useful as extra practice, rather than for getting a realistic sense of your GMAT scoring level.

#7: Prep Adviser Test

The Prep Adviser test includes the Integrated Reasoning, Quantitative, and Verbal sections. Since it added the IR section recently, you’ll need to take this section separately and then navigate to the Quantitative and Verbal sections, rather than getting all sections together.

The test features decent free GMAT practice questions, but they are easier overall than what you’ll get on the real GMAT. As you take the test, you’ll see a timer and question tracker. You can also exit the test and return back to it at a later time.

The Prep Adviser free GMAT exam does not include the AWA section. You would have to add this in on your own, which you could easily do by choosing one of the official AWA prompts and giving yourself 30 minutes to write an essay.

#8: Babson (or London Business School) Practice Test

Both Babson’s FW Olin Graduate School of Business and London Business School offer the same GMAT practice resources on their websites. The tests include realistic, timed math and verbal sections. However, they are missing AWA and Integrated Reasoning.

You can also take a micro test and a mini test for shorter experiences of GMAT testing. To access the test, you’ll need to create an account.

You should note a discrepancy in the LBS instructions. It says you’re entitled to a 10-minute break between the Quantitative and Verbal sections, but on the actual GMAT, your break can only go up to eight minutes.

#9: GMAT Club Test Practice

GMAT Club offers two GMAT sections, one computer-adaptive Quantitative section and one computer-adaptive Verbal section. Both are 75 minutes long and feature realistic questions and visuals. You’ll also have access to independent sets of critical reasoning, reading comprehension, sentence correction, and math questions.

To access these free GMAT practice questions, you need to sign up for an account and respond to the activation email. When you sign up, you’ll also get to choose a few nice perks, like access to two free practice tests from Veritas Prep or one month of free trial access to a Magoosh GMAT lesson.

#10: Manhattan Review Practice Test

After you sign up for an account with Manhattan Review, check your email for your account password. Once you’ve signed in, you can access a free diagnostic practice GMAT test.

The test is timed and features AWA, Integrated Reasoning, Quantitative, and Verbal sections. The AWA section is outdated, featuring two prompts instead of one.

The questions aren’t especially high-quality, with many appearing easier than what you’ll get on the actual test. While this test is OK if you need some extra free practice, it won’t do as much to help you prepare or get an accurate understanding of your scoring level.

#11: Test Prep Practice

Your final option for free GMAT practice tests comes from Test Prep Practice. Rather than full practice tests, it offers practice sections by question type for the Quantitative and Verbal section.

You’ll find sample GMAT questions for reading comprehension, sentence correction, critical reasoning, data sufficiency, and problem solving questions. None of these sections appear to be adaptive, and they don’t resemble the format of the test.

These questions are most useful for drilling skills and getting extra practice answering GMAT-type questions. However, they won’t help much in the way of pacing or getting a realistic experience of the test.

As you can see, there are some great full-length, computer-adaptive GMAT practice tests available for free, and then there are some that, while still useful, are not quite as high quality.

While you read some tips for using official GMAT practice tests above, what do you need to know about making the most of these unofficial GMAT practice tests?

How to Make the Most of Unofficial Free GMAT Practice Tests

How can you use these practice tests effectively to get ready for the GMAT? When should you take them, and how can they inform your study plan? Consider these five tips below as you design your approach to GMAT prep.

#1: Use Practice Tests to Measure Progress

Practice tests are a great way to check in and measure your progress. After you use an official GMAT test to diagnose your beginning scoring level, you can stagger unofficial practice tests throughout the weeks to gauge your score improvement.

You’ll see whether you’re meeting your goals and if not, what you can do to make your studying more effective. If you’ve stalled in a particular section, then you know you need to pay more attention there.

There’s no magic number of practice tests to take before the real exam, but many test takers swear by taking a practice test every two to three weeks. You don’t want to take so many that you burn out, but they can be very useful to see how you’re improving and gain experience taking the test.

Maybe you’ll get so familiar with the exam that the actual GMAT will seem like just one more practice test!

#2: Take Time to Reflect on Your Performance

You won’t get a ton out of a practice test if you just take it and move on. As discussed above, you should take time to note any mistakes, figure out the source of your mistakes, and figure out what you need to do to fix them.

Think carefully about your performance in each section and on each question type. Consider your pacing and whether you need to speed up or slow down. Be thoughtful about your strengths and weaknesses, and use this feedback to adjust your study plan as needed.

#3: If Missing, Add and Score Your Own AWA Section

As you saw, some of the free GMAT tests don’t include the AWA section. None of the practice tests score this section. To get the most realistic experience of the test, you should add in your own AWA section before Integrated Reasoning.

Choose a prompt from the full list, and give yourself 30 minutes to plan and type your response. You may also try to grade your essay with the AWA rubric, or perhaps you can swap essays with a fellow test taker and grade each other’s.

#4: Focus on Pacing and Time Management

Practice tests can help reinforce skills and concepts, but they’re also hugely useful for improving your time management. To do well on the GMAT, you need to get to all of the questions before time is up. On average, you have just two minutes per question.

Some of the practice GMAT exams allow you to set a time limit per question if you need to get really strict with your timing. Many also show you how much time you spent per question at the end.

You might set certain benchmarks, like you’ll have a little over half of the questions answered in a section when you’re halfway through the time. As you take practice tests, see if you’re meeting those benchmarks throughout the section, not just when you reach the end.

#5: Consider Supplementing Tests With Purchased Material

Finally, you might consider supplementing these free GMAT practice tests with purchased material. You can buy two more full-length practice tests from GMAC for $49.99, as well as 404 additional GMAT questions and answer explanations for $29.99.

As you know, official tests and questions are the most realistic, plus they get scored in the same way as the GMAT. Above any other free practice test, official GMAT questions most closely resemble what you’ll see on test day.

Many of the test prep companies mentioned above also offer additional computer-adaptive practice tests for a fee. If you want to stick to a certain format, rather than jumping between websites, you might consider purchasing these practice tests.

Overall, you want to make sure you get enough testing experience to drill skills, find a test taking rhythm, and feel confident for test day. As we close up, let’s go over some final thoughts about free GMAT practice tests.

Free GMAT Practice Tests: Final Thoughts

The GMAT is expensive, but GMAT practice tests don’t have to be. In fact, there are a bunch of high-quality, free options for computer-adaptive free GMAT practice tests scattered around the internet.

Your first stop should be GMAC’s free GMAT Prep Software, which features two practice tests and 90 practice questions. You can even take these tests several times, though you may see a few repeat questions.

To measure your progress as you study, you should take unofficial GMAT practice tests every few weeks. These tests can give you useful feedback, but just remember that they’re not using the same scoring algorithm as the official GMAT test. The scores can give you a sense of your current scoring range, but they’re not 100% accurate.

Taking practice GMAT tests is a great way to have the GMAT experience before you sit for the official test. By timing yourself and analyzing your results, you can work toward mastery of this challenging business school exam.

What’s Next?

What’s the best way to study for the GMAT? Check out these tips for designing your GMAT study plan on this full GMAT syllabus.

Are you familiar with the format and question types on the GMAT? This guide goes over the full GMAT exam pattern and has samples of each and every question type.

How is each section of the GMAT scored, and where do your section scores come from? Check out this guide to GMAT scoring for everything you need to know.

The post The 12 Best Free GMAT Practice Tests appeared first on Online GMAT Prep Blog by PrepScholar.

So you’re ready to study for the GMAT. But where should you start? The demands of prepping for the exam can be overwhelming, but if you know how to begin, you’ll set yourself up for success.

In this article, I’ll go over everything you need to know about how to start preparing for GMAT test day, including when to start studying, how to make a prep plan, and what to focus on first.

When Should You Start Preparing for the GMAT?

Before we get into how to start studying for the GMAT, let’s establish when to start GMAT preparations. I recommend you start studying around five months before your earliest business school application deadline. This will give you about three months to study and prepare before the GMAT, and plenty of time for your official score reports to be sent out to your MBA programs of choice.

A gap between your GMAT test date and your MBA application deadlines is important, because your official score report will be sent to the business schools you’ve selected (you can choose up to five at the time of your exam) 20 days after you take the exam. Any additional score reports you order after that will take about a week to arrive at your chosen programs. To be safe, then, you should take the GMAT at least six to eight weeks before the application deadlines. An exception is if you want to leave time to retake the test if you don’t do as well as you hoped, in which case you should leave several more months for additional preparation.

Three months of regular prep is the gold standard for an ideal GMAT study timeline, as it’s long enough to allow you to hone in on your weaknesses, complete regular drills, and take several full-length practice tests.

In those three months, you should allot at least 10 hours a week to studying, over at least three days a week. It takes time to get organized, become familiar with the test, and develop the GMAT test-taking strategies that work for you. Trying to cram for the GMAT usually doesn’t result in substantial score improvements, and one or two long study sessions a week won’t do you nearly as much good as three or more shorter weekly sessions. Building a routine around GMAT prep will allow the skills you build to become second nature.

At the same time, starting to prepare too early isn’t optimal either. Spreading your studying out over more than six months may cause you to plateau, and will become tedious. Targeted, organized prep is the key to your GMAT success, and that starts with a study plan.

Making a GMAT Study Plan

The very first step in your GMAT preparation is to make a study plan. Studying methodically and effectively requires organization; starting to prepare blindly or in a disjointed way won’t maximize your score increase.

As you formulate your study plan, you should take a diagnostic test (full-length, timed, and in computerized adaptive format) through the official GMATPrep software. This will help you to know your starting point in terms of your GMAT score. Knowing where you’re starting out will also help you set a target GMAT score using the average scores of admitted students at your prospective MBA programs. With your initial score, you’ll know how far you are from your goals, which will help you know when and how to start preparing for the GMAT based on how much time you need to prep in terms of months before the exam and hours per week.

A diagnostic test will also help you learn more about your weaknesses. Which sections were hardest for you, and which question types? Did you have trouble with timing and pacing? This information will help you decide exactly how to prep and what to focus on as you tailor a study plan to your needs.

Create a detailed schedule to complete your study plan before the test date. Instead of simply allotting a certain number of hours a week, each study session should have a particular goal, i.e., “Use the GMATPrep Software to complete a 20-question reading comprehension quiz.” Keeping track of what you will practice each week will help you track your progress and make specific goals as you work to eliminate your weaknesses. It will also help you adjust your study plan if necessary to accommodate how you’re progressing in your GMAT prep.

How to Start Preparing for the GMAT: 4 Important Steps

So, once you’ve created your study schedule, what are your first steps? Let’s go over four strategies for how to start preparing for the GMAT.

#1: Learn the Format

Use your early prep time to become as familiar as possible with the format of the exam. This seems simple enough, but knowing you won’t be seeing any surprises on test day is a major factor in reducing your stress and feeling like an expert rather than overwhelmed when faced with the official GMAT.

Become familiar with the individual sections, the question types in each section, and what each question type is asking of you. This will help you as you decide on strategies for tackling each kind of question.

#2: Analyze Your Strengths and Weaknesses

When you take your first practice test, start to notice your error patterns. What was your weakest section? Within that section, what question types did you struggle most with?

To analyze your weaknesses, read the answer explanations of the questions you struggled with on your diagnostic test. Figure out where you went wrong. Organize your GMAT prep around your weakest links, and schedule accordingly. You should allot more time to drilling your weaknesses and reviewing the relevant skills than on anything else.

#3: Work On Fundamental Skills

Once you know your weaknesses, decide what fundamental skills you need to review. Have you forgotten how remainders work? Do you need to practice reading and analyzing short texts?

If you have trouble with getting through reading comprehension passages quickly enough or in gleaning the necessary details from them, for example, you might need to regularly practice reading newspaper articles or other high-level materials. The New York Times, Science, The New Yorker, and The Economist are good places to start.

Alternatively, you might need to review the fundamental math skills tested on the GMAT, such as algebraic equations or statistics and probability. Our guides to GMAT fractions and decimals, GMAT percentages, and GMAT statistics questions are helpful starting points for your math review.

Grammar basics, such as parts of speech and sentence structure, is another common area that test-takers need to review. Learning or reviewing grammar terms and rules will help you recognize sentence correction errors more quickly. Our guide to the most important GMAT grammar rules will help you learn to recognize the most common grammar errors that are tested on the exam.

Your GMAT prep plan should reflect any gaps in your knowledge or background, incorporating not just practice questions and tests but drills and outside readings (such as a grammar guide or math quizzes in the areas you find most difficult). Using practice questions and familiarizing yourself with the format of the exam is important, but building the underlying skills necessary to answer the questions is just as, if not more, significant to your performance on the GMAT. With those skills as your foundation, you can tackle any curveballs that are thrown at you on the exam.

#4: Edit Your Study Plan as Needed

Once you’ve taken your weaknesses into account, edit your initial study plan to reflect them. For example, if you find you’re having trouble with timing, set a goal to finish a certain number of questions in a given time limit, and lower the time limit as you get closer to your exam date. If you realize you’re having trouble with GMAT vocabulary words, make time to use flashcards to test yourself on words that show up frequently on the test. While sticking to the basics of your original plan, make sure to update it based on your progress as you continue.

Review: How to Start Preparing for GMAT Test Day

Remember, the keys to beginning your GMAT prep are giving yourself enough time and staying organized. Using these tips will help you get rolling on your GMAT study plan with confidence.

What’s Next?

Still not sure when to start GMAT preparations? For more information about creating a detailed study plan, our guide to the ideal GMAT study timeline will help you make a prep schedule that works for you.

Our guide to taking and using a GMAT diagnostic test as part of your study plan will help you learn how to analyze those test results and tailor your prep plan to your unique needs.

Use our comprehensive guide to GMAT preparation to help you along from registration to test day.

The post How to Start Preparing for the GMAT: 4 First Steps appeared first on Online GMAT Prep Blog by PrepScholar.

For many students, there’s an air of mystery surrounding the GMAT Integrated Reasoning section.  Designed to test real-world skills, the IR section can seem more complicated to study for than the other sections of the exam. In this guide, I’ll help you find the best tools for GMAT integrated reasoning practice.

First, I’ll talk about what the IR section tests and the types of questions you’ll see on it. Next, I’ll talk about what you need to prepare for the IR and what you should look for in your IR practice materials. Then, I’ll review both official and unofficial practice materials so that you have a good starting place to begin your practice. Finally, I’ll give you some tips for making the most out of your Integrated Reasoning GMAT practice.

What’s on the GMAT Integrated Reasoning Section?

The GMAT Integrated Reasoning section is non-adaptive (meaning the difficulty level of questions doesn’t vary depending on how you do), contains 12 questions, and lasts for 30 minutes. The IR section is scored from 1 to 8, in single-digit increments. Like the Analytical Writing Assessment, your IR score is separate from your Quantitative and Verbal scores and doesn’t factor into your total GMAT score.

IR questions a more open-ended than normal multiple choice questions. Instead of simply selecting the one right answer of five options, you may choose one, two, three, four, or even all five answers as correct. IR questions ask you to use both your Verbal and Quantitative skills together. You’ll have to analyze data in a number of forms (words, charts, tables, etc) and pull out insights from each.

There are four types of GMAT IR questions:

• Two-part analysis: these questions are often wordy and have small tables attached to them. You’ll be asked to choose two correct answers out of five or six options.

• Multi-source reasoning: these questions present information from, you guessed it, multiple sources. You’ll navigate through and analyze multiple sources of data.

• Graphic interpretation: these questions require you to analyze the information presented in a graph or a chart. You’ll have two questions, with answer choices presented in drop down menu format.

• Table analysis: data in these questions is presented in a sortable table along with three questions. To answer these questions correctly, you’ll need to differentiate between essential and nonessential information.

What Should I Look for in GMAT Integrated Reasoning Practice?

As a test-taker, it can be hard to figure out which GMAT integrated reasoning practice questions are right for you. Here are some questions to ask yourself when considering which materials to use.

#1: Do the Questions Have the Same Format as Real GMAT IR Questions?

GMAT IR questions have unique formats that are unfamiliar for most students and can be confusing. The only way to ensure you know how to approach the questions on test day is to practice with questions that look like those you’ll see on the real GMAT IR section until you’re comfortable with with their style. As such, it’s vital that your GMAT IR practice questions are the same four types and closely resemble those you’ll see on the test.

#2: Is the Resource Computerized?

You’ll take the GMAT on a computer, so it makes sense to practice on a computer as much as possible before test day. This is especially important for IR practice, since the questions require you manipulate data and interact with answers in ways that aren’t possible on paper.

#3: Does the Difficulty Level of the Practice Questions Match the Real GMAT?

While the Integrated Reasoning section isn’t adaptive, you will see questions at different difficulty levels (easy, medium, and hard). When practicing, you’ll want to make sure that your GMAT IR practice questions cover all difficulty levels so you’re prepared to solve whatever questions you see on test day.

You should also beware that unofficial questions can sometimes be much easier or harder than the questions you’ll actually see on the GMAT. If you notice that you’re doing much better or worse than usual on a specific set of practice questions, consider that they may not be very accurate.

#4: Are Practice Questions Grouped by Skill or Difficulty Level?

Targeted practice, when you focus your practice session on one specific skill or question type, is one of the most effective ways to prepare for the GMAT. If you decide to focus on solving only graphic interpretation questions for one hour-long session, you’ll learn more than if you break that same one-hour session into shorter, 15-minute sections for all four question types. You might also want target your practice by difficulty level, for instance working at solving easy questions in a shorter amount of time.

Resources that allow you to sort questions by difficulty level or skill are extremely valuable, since they make creating targeted practice sets much simpler.

Official GMAT Integrated Reasoning Practice

Using official GMAT integrated reasoning practice questions is a great way to ensure that you’re preparing with high-quality practice questions. The questions in GMAT official resources are actual, retired GMAT questions, written by the same people who write the real GMAT.

The Official Guide for GMAT Review 2017 ($28.89)

This print guide, written by GMAC, is an official study guide that covers all sections of the GMAT. The guide comes with a chapter dedicated to the Integrated Reasoning section, which reviews the question types and discusses strategies for solving problems. The guide also comes with access to an online Integrated Reasoning companion, which includes more information about the IR section as well as 50 online IR practice problems.

Overall, it’s a great place to start with your GMAT prep, including for IR.

GMATPrep (Free)

This online software gives you access to two full-length practice computer-based tests, with the option of purchasing up to six total CATs. Each of the practice tests includes one IR section, with 12 questions.

Beyond the CATs, GMATPrep includes an additional 15 free IR practice questions.

IR Prep Tool ($19.99)

This online software includes 48 IR questions, answer explanations, and customizable question sets. This resource is great because it lets you create your own sets of GMAT IR practice questions, sorting by question type and difficulty. It also lets you practice questions in either study mode (untimed) or exam mode (timed).

If you really want to focus on GMAT IR practice, this is one of the best tools available, but it’s fairly expensive for just a few dozen questions, especially compared to the full official guide.

Unofficial GMAT Integrated Reasoning Practice

Because the Integrated Reasoning section is the newest section on the GMAT, there are relatively few resources out there, especially if you compare the few GMAT Integrated Reasoning practice questions to the numerous Quant or Verbal questions. Even so, there are some high-quality GMAT IR practice materials out there that you can use to supplement the official resources in your prep.

Veritas Prep Integrated Reasoning Sample Questions

Veritas Prep has developed a number of Integrated Reasoning practice questions, and offers 14 of them free-of-charge on their website. Veritas Prep is known for having high-quality practice questions and this resource gives you realistic examples of all four types of questions that you’ll find on the IR section. The questions are also accompanied by in-depth explanations that explain why each answer is correct or incorrect.

GMAT Club’s E-Book Bundle

GMAT Club, an online forum that provides support and advice for GMAT test takers, has compiled a list of all free e-books and practice question sets that address the IR section. This resource is great for test takers who are looking for materials that include both instruction and practice questions. Note that these downloadable resources are available as PDFs, so you won’t be able to solve questions online.

GMAT Pill’s Integrated Reasoning Sample Questions

GMATPill has compiled nearly 200 IR sample questions that you can practice online. These questions are broken down into question type, with specific information on skills tested and solve rate, so you can see how hard each question is.

The online format is useful, because you’ll get used to solving the questions on a computer, but the web-based interface doesn’t look anything at all like the interface on the real GMAT. Keep that in mind as you’re practicing.

800score.com’s Integrated Reasoning Sample Questions

800score.com offers demos of the four question types in an online format that has a very similar interface to the actual GMAT. The site also offers instructional videos and other resources you can use in your prep.

Unfortunately, there are only four GMAT integrated reasoning practice questions here, but they’re of high quality and worthwhile for their similarity to actual GMAT IR questions.

4 Tips for Making the Most of Your GMAT Integrated Reasoning Practice

It’s important to make sure that you’re making the most out of your GMAT test prep by practicing smart. Here are some tips for how to make sure you’re making your GMAT IR prep valuable.

#1: Practice Your Pacing

The GMAT IR section is short – only 30 minutes to solve 12 complex, multi-step questions. It’s important to consider timing when you’re practicing. You’ll want to pay attention to how long it takes you to solve problems, particularly during practice tests, when you’ll be answering all 12 questions in one sitting. As you practice, place time limits on yourself and work to see how quickly you can solve problems.

#2: Put Away the Calculator

The IR section doesn’t let you use your own calculator, though you’ll have access to an online calculator with basic functions. Practice using the online calculator with your sample questions, or using a simple four-function calculator on your phone that mimics the simple calculator you’ll use on the test. By only using the resources you’ll actually have on the GMAT, you’ll ensure you’re comfortable and prepared on test day.

#3: Dedicate Time to IR Practice

Many test takers skip preparing for the IR section in favor of spending more time on the Quant and Verbal sections, since they’re considered more important. But as the IR section becomes more seasoned, business schools are considering IR scores more. Especially since the IR section is designed to simulate skills you’ll need in the real world, it’s important to make sure you do well on it!

While you’ll likely spend more time prepping for the Quant and Verbal sections, build in time to focus on IR. Make sure you take the IR section on every practice test you do and spend a few dedicated study sessions on IR questions.

#4: Familiarize Yourself With the Questions

The IR questions look different from every other question type on the GMAT. Spend time with the practice questions so that you familiarize yourself with the visual nature of these questions, as well as with the practice of choosing multiple right answers. Doing so will help you feel more confident on test day. It will also save you time, as you’ll be able to easily recognize question types and know what to when you take the actual exam.

What’s Next?

Learn more about the other sections of that GMAT by reading our guides on GMAT Quant and GMAT Verbal.

Is the GMAT Total score the only one that matters? Read our guide to find out how the total score is calculated and how business schools weight the different scores.

Take a look at our massive collection of GMAT sample questions to start your prep with a huge selection of practice questions for all four sections,

The post The Best GMAT IR Practice: 200+ Questions for Your Prep appeared first on Online GMAT Prep Blog by PrepScholar.

If you don’t have regular access to a computer or another web-enabled device, or if you simply like using pen and paper, studying with a GMAT PDF can be another way to prepare on your GMAT preparation journey.

There aren’t many high quality GMAT PDF resources out there, but in this guide, I’ll give you links to some of the best ones across a number of categories. I’ll also talk about the pros and cons of using a GMAT PDF as you’re preparing to take the GMAT.

GMAT PDFs Overview

There aren’t many GMAT study guide PDF  resources out there, and for good reason. The GMAT is a computer-adaptive test, which means that you’ll take the official GMAT on a computer at a testing center. For this reason, most GMAT prep resources are found online or have heavy online components.

While there aren’t many GMAT PDF resources out there, there are a handful of good ones that you can use in your prep. Before I talk to you about what those are, let’s learn a little bit more about using GMAT PDFs.

What Are the Pros and Cons of Using a GMAT PDF?

I’ll be honest – the cons of using a GMAT PDF vastly outweigh the pros. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t use one, however. Just keep these pros and cons in mind as you’re thinking about whether or not to use a GMAT PDF. Here are a few of the pros and cons of using PDFs in your GMAT study plans.

Pros of Using a GMAT PDF

There aren’t many pros to using a PDF to study for the GMAT, as I discussed before. Here are a couple that may, however, convince you to use them in your prep.

#1: You Can Use a GMAT PDF Any Time, Any Place

GMAT PDFs are highly portable. Simply print them out, and you can pack them easily in your backpack or purse. It’s easier to pull out a few pages of paper than it is to lug around a computer, so if you’re often on the go and want some easy review materials, PDFs are a great supplement to carry with you.

#2: You Don’t Need a Computer to Use a GMAT PDF

If you don’t have reliable access to a computer or Internet, using a PDF will help you continue to practice without the web. If you’re a test-taker who can’t get to a computer while you’re studying, print out a few PDFs to work on. You’ll have access to practice questions and test strategies that will help you improve.

Cons of Using a GMAT PDF

There are many cons to using PDFs to study for the GMAT. Here are the three biggest.

#1: GMAT PDFs Don’t Prepare You for the Computerized Aspect of the GMAT

Perhaps the biggest con of using PDFs to prepare for the GMAT is that PDFs don’t prepare you for the computerized aspect of the GMAT. As I mentioned before, you’ll have to take the GMAT on a computer, so practicing on a computer is key to increasing your comfort and understanding of the test before test day. It’s a good idea to take at least a few practice tests on a computer before test day, or you’ll waste a lot of time trying to familiarize yourself with the mechanics of working the computer.

#2: There’s Not A Great Range of PDF Resources Available

While there are many different books and online resources available to help you prepare for the GMAT, there aren’t many GMAT PDF resources around. You’re mainly limited to short GMAT Ebook free downloads, brief content reviews (like math formula lists), or flashcards. It’s hard to find a comprehensive review for the GMAT available in PDF form and you certainly won’t get into a lot of depth on any single GMAT topic by only using PDFs.

#3: There Are Not Many High Quality GMAT PDF Resources Available

Building off of my previous point, while there aren’t many GMAT PDFs out there to begin with, there are even fewer high quality GMAT PDF resources available. Most of the reputable prep companies offer resources in print or online – not as PDFs. The vast majority of PDF resources that you’ll find from prep companies are mainly advertisements for their print or online services. A lot of other PDFs come from unknown sources, which mean it’s hard to assess their quality.

What Makes a Helpful GMAT PDF?

As with any GMAT prep resource, you want to make sure that you’re using a high quality resource so that you’re well-prepared for the test. A helpful GMAT PDF should have accurate, high quality questions, clear instructions, and should easily fit into your GMAT prep plans. In the next few sections, I’ll offer some recommendations for helpful GMAT PDFs you can use.

Best GMAT Practice Test PDFs

Taking full-length practice tests is an important part of your GMAT prep. It builds your endurance for test day and helps you get used to seeing all the content on the GMAT in one sitting. Unfortunately, there aren’t many high-quality GMAT sample questions PDF resources, especially full-length tests, out there.

GMATClub’s Full-Length GMAT Practice Test PDF Set

There aren’t many full length GMAT practice PDFs available, and for good reason. Taking a computerized adaptive test (CAT) is an important part of preparing you for the test. While a full length PDF may test the same content and be the same length as a computerized GMAT, it’s important to get the full experience of taking the GMAT online.

However, you can use GMATClub’s full length GMAT practice test PDF set to practice a full-length test if you don’t have access to a computer or to build a question bank of questions to practice using pen and paper. This resource has compiled 10 full-length GMAT practice test PDFs into one document. GMATClub is known for aggregating high quality resources that are often peer-reviewed by members of the forum.

Best GMAT Study Guide PDFs

Study guides can help you focus on one specific area of the GMAT, such as quantitative formulas. GMAT PDF study guides are a good way to work on one skill or skill area without having to purchase a book.

PrepScholar GMAT Quant Math Formulas

Our math formulas GMAT study guide PDF (link coming soon!) takes you through all of the most important formulas you should memorize for the GMAT. You won’t get an equation cheat sheet on the GMAT, so it’s important to memorize these formulas ahead of time.

This resource only gives you the formulas; it doesn’t show you how to use them in the context of GMAT quant questions. You’ll need to supplement this PDF with other quant practice in order to prepare for the GMAT.

GMATClub GMAT Math Book

The GMATClub GMAT Free Math Ebook covers every important math concept that you’ll see on the GMAT. You’ll find explanations of the major content concepts the GMAT quant section will cover, as well as sample questions for each.

This GMAT study guide PDF doesn’t go into huge depth and the questions aren’t adaptive, but as I mentioned before, GMATClub is known for its high quality resources. You can also find a huge community of users in their online forum, which means that if you have questions about this resource, you can ask questions and get answers from the people who wrote it.

GMAC’S GMAT Handbook

GMAC’s GMAT Handbook is a GMAT ebook free download that takes you through everything you need to know about getting ready for the exam. It has helpful checklists of items to remember before and after the test, including registering, making a study plan, and sending your scores to schools.

If you’re unfamiliar with the basics of registering for the GMAT, crafting a study plan, and sharing your scores, this e-book will help you get started and give you useful suggestions of other resources to check out. If you’re already familiar with the mechanics of the GMAT, you can skip this one.

Best GMAT Flashcard PDFs

Flashcards are a great tool to help your prep. You can use flashcards anytime, anywhere, to review quick concepts, like math formulas or idioms.

Beat the GMAT’s Downloadable GMAT Flashcards

Beat the GMAT offers free, downloadable flashcards in PDF form for both the GMAT quant and GMAT verbal sections. You’ll have to register for an account to download these flashcards.

GMAT Club’s Downloadable GMAT Flashcards

GMATClub offers free, downloadable flashcards in PDF form for both the GMAT quant and GMAT verbal sections. You’ll have to register for an account to download these flashcards.

Review: Using GMAT PDFs for Your Prep

While PDFs aren’t a traditional resource to use when preparing for the GMAT, there are a handful of PDFs out there that can help supplement your prep if you don’t have easy access to a web-enabled device.

Make sure you’re using high quality PDFs when practicing, so that you’re well-prepared with accurate information.

What’s Next?

If PDFs aren’t your style, there are plenty of other resources out there to help you prepare for the GMAT, and we’ve reviewed them all! Check out our guides to the best GMAT books, the best free GMAT resources, and the best online GMAT resources (link coming soon!), just to name a few.

If the thought of using your GMAT flashcards PDF has you raring to go, make sure you check out our guide which explains the best way to use flashcards to boost your studying.

If cost is a concern, don’t worry. There are plenty of free GMAT prep resources that you can use as you prepare to take the test. Check out our guide to some of the best free GMAT prep resources for more information.

The post The 6 Best GMAT PDFs for Your Prep appeared first on Online GMAT Prep Blog by PrepScholar.

The essay portion of the GMAT, known as the Analytical Writing Assessment, probably doesn’t resemble the kinds of essays that you’ve written for college.  Luckily, the essay task itself and the prompts that you’ll encounter for it are fairly formulaic. This means that your approach to writing the essay can be boiled down into a template. A template is like a blueprint or a model: it gives you a predesigned, customized format and structure. You’ve likely written outlines for essays before—the GMAT essay template is similar but a bit more detailed, as anything that is standard can be pre-written out, so that all you have to do is fill in the specifics. 

If you’ve already done some research, you know that there are several variations of GMAT essay templates out there—both individual high scorers and a few test prep companies have offered up their own template styles, based on the approaches they like best. In this post, we’ll go over what the GMAT essay assignment is, how a template can help you nail it, and give you a few example templates that reflect different kinds of approaches you can take. Finally, we’ll discuss how to make your own template based on what works best for you.

What Is the GMAT Essay Assignment?

For the Analytical Writing Assessment, you will be given a single, one-paragraph prompt containing some kind of argument. The prompts often center on debates from the business or political worlds and are sourced from the editorial and op-ed sections of magazines and newspapers, annual company reports, memorandums, proposals and the like.

While this prompt changes from test to test, the directions are always the same, so you should memorize them in advance. I’ve reproduced them for you below:

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 better evaluate its conclusion.

In other words, you have only one task for the GMAT essay: to write a critique of the given argument. Invariably, every single GMAT argument will have flaws—faulty assumptions, inadequate evidence, sampling or statistical issues, vague words (such as “many” or “few”), unsuitable comparisons, information or considerations that have been overlooked, and so on.

Many GMAT essay prompts will contain more than one of these flaws. Your critique should consist of an in-depth analysis that exposes them, and (if applicable) suggestions of ways to fix the flaws or otherwise improve the argument.

The best approach is to pick apart the prompt bit-by-bit: point out each flaw the author makes, challenge it using your own reasoning and specific counterexamples that support your claims, and suggest ways the author could fix the flaw and thereby improve the validity of their conclusion.

Do not present your own views on the argument at hand. Regardless of the prompt, you should always make the case that the given argument is flawed—not whether or not you agree with it.

What Does a GMAT Essay Need to Get a Top Score?

In designing a functional GMAT AWA template, you should take into account how you’re graded on the essay, what the score range is, and what skill areas a top-scoring essay will demonstrate mastery over.

As you may already know, your GMAT AWA essay is graded on a scale of 0-6 in half-point increments, once by a human reader (usually an English or Communications professor) and once by a computerized grading program called E-Rater. If the two different scores differ by less than one point, the two scores will be averaged to get your final scaled score. If they differ by greater than one point, a second human reader will step in.

Both the human reader and E-Rater grade holistically, with four skill areas taken into account: content (relevant, persuasive ideas, reasoning, and examples); organization (using an organized and cohesive structure to present your argument); language use (diction and syntax), and grammar.

In other words, to get a 6, you’ll need:

• A targeted, accurate analysis of the given argument’s main flaws, with excellent reasoning and supporting examples, and suggestions for how to fix the flaws or otherwise improve the argument.
• A logical organization—introduction, conclusion, and body paragraphs in which the progression of your ideas makes sense, and skillful use of transition words and phrases.
• An excellent command of grammar.
• Varied sentence structures—avoid using any sentence stem (EG, “this is not true because”) over and over again.
• Sophisticated, precise vocabulary and some display of very basic economic terms (only when called for—this includes concepts like supply and demand, capital expenditure, and so on).

How a GMAT Essay Template Helps

While a GMAT writing template can’t really help with grammar, it can address all of the other considerations by providing a detailed blueprint for your essay. An effective GMAT essay template will include the following features:

• The structure of your essay, paragraph by paragraph
• The kind of content that should be in each paragraph
• Varied and sophisticated pre-written sentence stems (as in, the beginning part of a sentence) for the main kinds of flaws

You don’t have to (and shouldn’t) do anything very creative or innovative in your AWA response—the top-scoring essays are fairly standard, often sharing the same basic structure and similar kinds of analyses. Therefore, a GMAT AWA template is an incredibly useful tool for ensuring that you address every moving piece of the argument and successfully perform the written and analytical task required of you.

In short, a GMAT writing template gives you a proven plan of action to take with you on test day, so that you can write an essay that hits all the right notes while conserving mental energy for the sections that matter most: the Integrated Reasoning, Quant and Verbal sections.

Example GMAT Essay Templates

Slight variations aside, there are essentially two main styles of template for the GMAT essay: one that saves suggestions for improvement for the end, and one that includes them in each body paragraph (one for each “flaw”).

No matter which template you’re using, you should always spend about five minutes planning and outlining your essay before diving into the writing. This includes identifying the flaws that you’re going to discuss and the order in which you’re going to discuss them, so you don’t find yourself having to rewrite or reorganize halfway through.

Sample GMAT AWA Template 1: Flaw-by-Flaw

The first method is to dedicate each body paragraph, two to three in total, to analyzing a different flaw of the given argument. This analysis includes suggestions for improvement within each body paragraph. I’ve included some sample sentence stems that I myself have written, so you can see them in action.

• Intro Paragraph (2-3 sentences)
  • One sentence summarizing the argument
    • EG: “This argument makes the case that ____________ “
  • State your thesis, which is that the given argument is flawed
    • OPTIONAL: Acknowledge that the author’s case isn’t all bad
    • EG: “Though the argument is compelling at face value, its conclusion is ultimately untenable because it rests on ________ ”
      • [Introduce your examples in the blank space: insufficient evidence, assumptions that may not apply, etc.. Do this in the order in which you will discuss them.]

• 2-3 Body Paragraphs (5+ sentences)
  • Introduce one of the specific flaws
  • Explain why it is a flaw
    • EG, for insufficient evidence: “The fact that ______ does not necessarily support the claim that _______. In fact, this evidence could warrant numerous other conflicting claims, including that _______.
  • IF APPLICABLE: Give a counterexample, and explain why it works to undermine the argument.
    • EG: “____ is an example of a successful company in the same industry whose strategy is based on the opposite premise: that ______.”
  • IF APPLICABLE: Suggest ways to fix the flaw
    • EG: “Some additional evidence that would fix this issue and truly bolster the argument is _________ “

• Conclusion Paragraph (3-4 sentences)
  • Re-state that the argument is flawed
    • EG: “Overall, this plan of action rests on too many logical fallacies to be viable for _____ ” [company X]
    • OPTIONAL: Re-acknowledge that the author’s side has some merit
  • Briefly recapitulate your reasoning (using new words)

Sample GMAT AWA Template 2: Save Improvements for the End

You might find that not every flaw can be fixed, or that some of your suggestions for improvement cover more than one flaw. If this is often the case for you, consider starting with this second template instead, as it saves the suggestions for the end of the essay.

• Intro Paragraph (2-3 sentences)
  • One sentence summarizing the argument
    • EG: “This argument makes the case that ____________ “
  • State your thesis, which is that the given argument is flawed
    • OPTIONAL: Acknowledge that the author’s case isn’t all bad
    • EG: “Though the argument is compelling at face value, its conclusion is ultimately untenable because it rests on ________ ”
      • [Introduce your examples in the blank space: insufficient evidence, assumptions that may not apply, etc.. Do this in the order in which you will discuss them.]

• 2-3 Body Paragraphs (5+ sentences)
  • Introduce one of the specific flaws
  • Explain why it is a flaw
    • EG, for insufficient evidence: “The fact that ______ does not necessarily support the claim that _______. In fact, this evidence could warrant numerous other conflicting claims, including that _______.”
  • IF APPLICABLE: Give a counterexample, and explain why it works to undermine the argument.
    • EG: “Moreover, ____ is a prime example of a successful organization in the same industry whose strategy is based on the exact opposite premise: that ______.”

• Conclusion Paragraph (5+ sentences)
  • Re-state that the argument is flawed
    • EG: “In conclusion, while it may seem to make sense for ______, this plan of action as presented rests on too many logical fallacies to be viable for _____ ” [company/organization X]
    • OPTIONAL: Re-acknowledge that the author’s side has some merit
  • Briefly recapitulate your reasoning (using new words)
  • Give suggestions for how the author could fix these flaws and/or improve the argument
    • EG: “One way to fix the sampling issue is to ______ “

A slight variation on this: Sometimes you can’t find three different flaws in the prompt to discuss. In this case, feel free to use the conclusion outline from the first sample template, and make your third body paragraph devoted to improvements instead.

How to Make Your Own GMAT Essay Template

In writing your own essays, you may find that one of the templates given above works best for you, or you may find it more effective to combine different elements of each. The most important thing is to formulate and practice with a set GMAT essay template well before you take the real test.

Try each template out as is (excluding my sentence stems) on a different essay prompt. Afterward, take a stab at grading your own essay, and then jot down notes on what went well and what didn’t work for you as much. Does the essay seem to “flow” better when you leave the flaws for the conclusion? Alternatively, it easier to just go flaw-by-flaw, including a suggestion to mitigate each (if you can come up with one) in each body paragraph, and having a shorter conclusion instead? Are there any turns of phrases that were particularly clever, that you might want to reuse on other essays?

Once you’ve practiced writing two different essays and reviewed your post-essay notes, you should be able to come up with a template that works for you, including some clever canned sentences or sentence stems that you can reuse for the common flaws across prompts, like the ones I used above. Once you’ve formulated a template of your own, practice with it on two to three more essays to see how it holds up in action. Note that your template is never going to work 100% perfectly: a little flexibility should be baked in, so that you can vary your wording a bit from prompt to prompt.

Pre-Writing Your Essay and an Important Note on Avoiding Plagiarism

It’s totally okay to use a GMAT essay template, and it’s even okay to create those sentence stems for preemptively constructing your critique—what’s not okay is using the exact wording or specific ideas that were written by another person. For example, you can use the “summarize the issue, acknowledge the author’s point, and state your thesis about how the argument is flawed” template for your introduction, but you shouldn’t use the sentence that I gave you illustrating this thesis in action (“Though this argument is compelling at face value, its conclusion is ultimately untenable because it rests on ______ “).

The same goes for anything you’ve read online or in a test prep book: while it’s a great idea to Google and read other essays on the practice prompts that you find challenging during your prep, you shouldn’t use anyone else’s words if you encounter such a prompt on test day.

In short, everything you write has to be your own words, but they can be your own words that you yourself came up with beforehand. And there are some key advantages to doing a bit of pre-writing beforehand: that way, you can just plug in the specific details from the prompt. You can even plan your transition words ahead of time, as I did in some of the examples above.

However, as you’ll notice when you get going on your essay prep, the templates are not always one-size-fits-all. You may find an argument that doesn’t fit the mold, in which case you’ll have to improvise a bit.

For example, here’s a real GMAT essay prompt from the list of official prompts released by the GMAC:

The big problem with this argument, unlike other GMAT arguments, is that it doesn’t support its conclusion at all. It’s more or less just a conclusion—there’s very little specific flawed reasoning to work off of. So, in your essay, you might focus mostly on what else you would need to evaluate the argument—like all the different kinds of reasoning and evidence that the author would need to further support this conclusion.

The Bottom Line: Using a GMAT AWA Template

Ultimately, you should use the sample templates above as a jumping-off point to formulate your own GMAT AWA template. And you should be comfortable with your template (and the plan-of-attack baked into it) well before test day.

Still—it’s a good idea to expect the unexpected. Practice using your template on a wide array of GMAT prompts, not just ones that deal with plans-of-actions for corporate, which are the most common. Writing more than six essays is likely overkill, but going through four to five practice essays on a variety of different topics will help you test out your GMAT writing template and ensure a top score on the real thing.

What’s Next?

Now that you’re well-versed in GMAT writing templates, check our guide to the best GMAT writing prompts to get going on your AWA practice (coming soon).

We also have a more in-depth guide to format, scoring, and tips for the GMAT AWA.

Alternatively, if you’re just getting started with your overall GMAT prep, you may want to go over what to expect on the all the other sections of the GMAT.

Happy studying!

The post The Best GMAT Essay Template to Help You Ace the AWA appeared first on Online GMAT Prep Blog by PrepScholar.

If you’ve looked at any GMAT study plan or enrolled in any GMAT prep classes, you’ve probably noticed that the first thing either one will have you do is take a full-length GMAT sample test. That’s because taking GMAT practice tests is a great way to establish your baseline skills and monitor your progress as you move towards test day. But where can you find sample tests to incorporate in your GMAT prep?

In this guide, I’ll talk about how to use sample GMAT tests to get started with your studying. First, I’ll discuss why it’s so important to take sample tests in the first place. Next, I’ll discuss what makes a good sample GMAT (all sample GMATs are not created equal). Then, I’ll give you links to free official and unofficial sample tests you can use. Finally, I’ll talk about how you can use GMAT sample tests to further your studying and get you closer to achieving your GMAT goal score.

Why Is it Important to Take GMAT Sample Tests?

Every single GMAT study plan recommends that you take sample tests at regular intervals during your GMAT prep. But why? Why go through the pain of taking this long and arduous test more than once? In this section, I’ll talk about why it’s so important to take GMAT sample papers.

#1: To Establish Your Baseline Score

It’s important to know where you’re starting before you begin studying for the GMAT.

First of all, knowing your baseline score will help you determine how many points you’ll need to grow to reach your goal score. Similarly, knowing your baseline score can also tell you whether or not your goal score is way off. For instance, if you take a practice test and are ten points away from your goal score, you may want to set a higher goal. On the other hand, if you’re 300 points away from your goal score, you may need to adjust your expectations.

Secondly, taking a sample test will help identify what you’re good at and what you’re bad at. While you may have an idea of your strengths and weaknesses before starting to prep, a sample test will make them super apparent because you’ll be practicing the correct number of questions and correct skills for each section. Maybe you’re doing really well on the quant section, but you missed every geometry section. Or, you thought you were all set on verbal, but totally bombed sentence corrections. Taking a sample test will help you see where you need to grow so you can make a solid study plan that assesses those weaknesses.

#2: To Monitor Your Progress

Taking regularly scheduled GMAT sample tests during your prep is an important way to monitor your progress. It will help you see if you’re on track to meet your goals and where you can make adjustments in your study plan. For instance, if you’ve prepped for four weeks, take a sample test, and see that you’ve already gone up 100 points, you might be able to adjust the amount of time you need to study. On the other hand, if you take a sample test and see that you’re still really far away from your goal, you might want to increase your studying hours.

You can also track your progress on specific skills. Say you missed a bunch of reading comprehension questions during your first practice test. On your second one, you can check and see how you’re doing so that you know if your practice is working.

#3: Learn the Format and Timing of the Exam

The GMAT is an intense exam. It’s long, rigorous, and intimidating. By taking full-length GMAT sample tests before test day, you can prepare for the length of the test and build up your stamina. You’ll also become familiar with the GMAT’s unique formatting, so it won’t be new or confusing to you on test day.

What Makes a Good GMAT Sample Test?

All practice tests aren’t created equal. When choosing the sample GMAT test you’re going to take, look for the following qualities.

#1: Utilizes Same Question Format and Types as the Real GMAT

You want to make sure that your GMAT sample test has questions that are as close to what you’ll see on the real GMAT as possible. Of course, the simplest way to ensure your GMAT sample tests are accurate is to use official practice tests from GMAC. However, if you do use unofficial practice materials, you should make sure that both the style and content of the test are very close to those of the real test.

GMAT questions are written in a very specific style. Practicing that style will help you understand what the questions are asking and how to answer them correctly.

The test you choose should also assess the same content as the GMAT. Why waste your time practicing something that won’t appear on the actual test? Any unofficial practice tests should have an accurate breakdown of content and question types (e.g., there’s a variety of skills tested for each section that mimics the breakdown of skills on the actual GMAT).

#2: Mimics the Difficulty Level of the Real GMAT

Taking a test that mimics the difficulty level of the real GMAT will help you get a clearer picture of your performance range. If you take a test that’s too easy or too hard, you might have an unrealistic idea of how well you’re doing. You won’t be able to make informed decisions about how to adjust your study plan accordingly and could get unnecessarily discouraged or dangerously overconfident.

#3: Is Computerized and Adaptive

The GMAT is given on a computer and is adaptive, which means that questions on the quant and verbal sections will get harder or easier as you answer questions correctly or incorrectly. When practicing, try to take computerized, adaptive tests when possible. Taking a computerized test will help you feel comfortable with testing on a computer for test day. Taking an adaptive test will help you get used to the changing difficulty level of questions and learn to avoid second guessing yourself.

Best GMAT Sample Tests

In this section, I’ll walk you through some of the best GMAT sample papers that you can find to practice with. For each, I’ll tell you where to find it and discuss some of the positives and negatives of the resource.

Official GMAT Sample Tests

Taking official GMAT sample tests is one of the best things you can do for your prep. Official GMAT sample tests contain real, retired GMAT questions, so the questions are always accurate and the content breakdown is appropriate.

GMATPrep Software by GMAC

This free, downloadable software gives you access to two free practice tests that are built using actual, retired GMAT questions. If you’d like to purchase additional exam packs (each pack contains two extra CATs), you can do so for $50 from GMAC.

This software offers the best, most accurate GMAT sample tests you can get: these tests are almost indistinguishable from the real GMAT. Not only are the questions accurate, the interface and scoring algorithms are as well. If you’re only going to take one GMAT sample test, make it this one.

Unofficial GMAT Sample Tests

While sticking to official GMAT materials is the best way to make sure you’re taking an accurate GMAT sample test, there are a number of good unofficial resources out there that make solid sample tests as well.

Veritas Prep

Veritas Prep offers one free full-length GMAT practice test with explanations. You can take the full-length test with normal time, or you can add extra time. If you’d like, you can also purchase 6 more tests for $49.

Veritas Prep offers some of the best unofficial practice tests, with accurate GMAT-style questions and in-depth answer explanations that will help you decide what and how to study.

Manhattan Prep

Manhattan Prep offers access to one free full-length CAT, with the option of purchasing five additional CATs for $49. Alternatively, you can get access to all six CATs if you buy the bundle of Manhattan Prep guides.

Manhattan Prep’s tests have a good adaptive algorithm and solid, quality questions. However, the Manhattan Prep CATs are a bit harder than the actual test, so they’re not as helpful for students who are struggling or lack confidence.

GMAT CLUB

GMAT Club offers access to two free CATs, which include extensive analytics and detailed answer explanations to help you understand why you’re missing questions. You can also purchase a $79 subscription to access an additional 26 quant CATs and seven verbal CATs.

GMAT Club’ s questions are accurate but challenging, making them a helpful resource for those looking to really test their skills and practice with especially tricky problems. However, these tests are not full-length GMAT exams. None of GMAT Club’s CATs include the integrated reasoning or analytical writing assessment sections. Similarly, the tests are offered one section at a time, so you’ll take the verbal section and the quant section in isolation, not continuously.

Kaplan

Kaplan offers two types of free full-length online GMAT practice tests: self-proctored and instructor-proctored. For the self-proctored test, you’ll receive your scores and answer explanations to peruse at your leisure. For the instructor-proctored exam, you’ll get your scores, and then work with an instructor in real-time online to get answer explanations. Both the self-proctored and instructor-proctored exams are free, but you can purchase six additional CATs for $30.

Kaplan tests are generally fairly accurate, but they have some questions that are either a little different in format or content from the GMAT. For example, you may seem some questions that ask about math skills that aren’t tested on the real GMAT.

The Economist

The Economist offers one free full-length CAT if you sign up for a seven day free trial of the Economist’s GMAT tutoring.

This CAT has solid questions, accurate scoring, and adaptive questions. However, you can only access one CAT through the Economist, so you won’t be able to aggregate your test-taking data and analyze your improvement the way you can with many of the other options on this list.

How to Use GMAT Sample Tests to Further Your Prep

Now that you’ve learned where to take the best free GMAT sample tests, here are some tips for how to incorporate these practice tests into your studying.

#1: Take a Sample Test Before You Begin Studying

Taking a sample GMAT test before you start your prep will help you target the areas you need to work on and develop a baseline score from which you can grow. When you take your first sample test, you’ll see which kinds of questions you got wrong and which kinds of questions you got right. For instance, you may see that you do well on geometry questions, but struggle with algebra. Having a detailed analysis of your strengths and weaknesses will help you decide what to focus on when you start your prep.

#2: Schedule Sample Tests Into Your Prep

When creating your customized GMAT study plan, make time to schedule sample tests into your prep. You’ll want to take the tests regularly, but you don’t need to worry about taking them every single week. Depending on how long your study schedule is, you can take sample tests bi-weekly or monthly. Check out our GMAT study plan guide (coming soon) to learn more about how to build a study schedule.

#3: Mimic Test-Day Conditions

When you take a sample GMAT test, do your best to mimic test-day conditions. That means putting your phone away, finding a quiet place to work with no interruptions, and taking the test in one sitting, with only the scheduled breaks.

Mimicking test day conditions is important for a number of reasons. For one thing, it helps you feel prepared for test day. By working with no interruptions and taking the test in one sitting, you’ll be able to get a more accurate prediction of how you’ll do when you take the actual GMAT.

Taking the test in one sitting also helps you build your endurance. The GMAT is a long test, and you should practice paying attention and focusing for the duration of the exam, just the same way you would have practice long runs to build your strength before a marathon.

Finally, turning off your phone ensures that you’re not distracted and that you’re not tempted to look up tips or hints for anything that you’re struggling with. You won’t be able to look things up on test day, so don’t do so when you’re practicing.

#4: Supplement Practice Tests With Practice Question Sets and Drills

While taking practice tests is a great way to measure your skills, supplementing these practice tests with regular work on practice question sets and drills will help take your GMAT practice to the next level. By utilizing practice question sets and drills, you’ll be able to hone in on specific targeted practice areas that you can improve on.

#5: Familiarize Yourself With the GMAT’s Format

One of the best things about taking practice CATs is that you’ll be able to improve your familiarity with the GMAT. Make sure that you take time during and after each GMAT sample test to note different features on the test. What do you click to submit answers? Where can you find a calculator on the integrated reasoning section? What happens is you skip a question? Paying attention to these smaller details will help you feel prepared and comfortable on test day.

What’s Next?

Looking to make a killer GMAT study plan? Check out our in-depth guide to crafting your own GMAT study plan.

Want to learn more about the best online practice for the GMAT? Take a look at our review of the best online GMAT practice.

If you’re looking for more content review in your prep, check out our guide to the best GMAT books.

The post GMAT Sample Tests: The Best Way to Start Studying appeared first on Online GMAT Prep Blog by PrepScholar.

If you’re like me, you probably haven’t thought about remainders in over ten years, when you first learned about long division in elementary school. Remember those lessons on what we call the number that’s left over in a division problem? Yeah, that number’s called a remainder.

And guess what? Remainders show up a lot on the GMAT. Of course, the remainder problems you’ll encounter on the GMAT are much different than the ones you worked on when you were ten years old. GMAT remainder questions can often be quite tricky, but don’t worry! In this guide, I’ll give you a comprehensive overview of GMAT remainder problems so that you feel ready to solve them when you see them on test day.

First, I’ll walk you through a brief refresher course on remainders. Next, I’ll offer some tips for solving GMAT remainder questions. Finally, I’ll provide some sample GMAT remainder problems and explanations for you to study.

What Is A Remainder?

If you’re a bit fuzzy on what a remainder actually is, don’t sweat it. Many GMAT test takers haven’t worked with remainders in many years. Let’s start by going over the basics of what a remainder is and how you’ll see them tested on the GMAT.

Think back to that fourth grade math class you took a long time ago. Let’s review the specific terminology we use to talk about division:

• When you divide $x$ by $y$, it’s the same as the fraction “$x/y$.”
• If we were dividing 6 by 3 (or, $6/3$), 6, the term we’re dividing by something else, would be the “dividend.”
• 3, the number that’s doing the dividing, is the “divisor.”
• In the case of the simple division problem $6/3$, 2 is our answer, or our “quotient.”

But, as I’m sure you know, not all division problems are as nice and neat as $6/3$. That’s where remainders come in.

Simply put, the remainder is the fraction part (or what “remains”) when you divide two numbers that don’t result in a whole number quotient.

For instance, when you divide $8/3$, the remainder is 2. When you divide 8 by 3, you have two sets of 3, with 2 leftover.

An easy way to think about remainders is to think about them as mixed numbers. For instance, the fraction $8/3$ is the same thing as the mixed number $2 2/3$. $2/3$ represents our remainder. We express it as $2/3$ because we have 2 parts left out of the 3 parts we need to make a whole number. The denominator will always be the same as the divisor.

Now that we’ve reviewed the basics, let’s move on to some more complicated, GMAT-style remainder math. Let’s say that we’re dividing our dividend $a$ by our divisor $b$ to yield our whole number quotient $c$ and our remainder $d$. That translates into the following equation:

$$a/b=c+d/b$$

For instance, in the simple problem we worked through before:

• $a$: 8 (dividend)
• $b$: 3 (divisor)
• $c$: 2 (quotient)
• $d$: 2 (remainder)

It’s worth memorizing this basic remainder equation – it’ll come up fairly often on the GMAT.

Remember, remainders can also be expressed as decimals. For instance, the remainder $2/3$ could be represented as .66 (repeating). That’s what you’ll likely see when you’re using a calculator (e.g., $8/3=2.66666$).

GMAT remainder problems are obviously more complex than what we’ve gone over in this section. For the GMAT, you’ll be asked to apply your knowledge of the basic relationship between dividend, divisor, quotient, and remainder to solve moderate to advanced algebraic equations.

As with all GMAT quant questions, we’ll have to rely on more than just our basic remainders knowledge to get the right answer. In the next section, I’ll give you some tips on solving GMAT remainder questions and then walk you through solving four sample questions.

Tips for Solving GMAT Remainder Questions

While GMAT remainder problems can be quite complicated, there are some things you can to do to more easily solve the problems you encounter. Keep in mind these tips as you’re working on GMAT remainder problems.

#1: Memorize the Remainder Relationship Formula

In the previous section, I gave you the formula for finding the remainder of a division equation:

$a/b=c+d/b$, where $a$ = dividend; $b$ = divisor, $c$ = quotient, and $d$ = remainder.

Knowing this equation is the key to answering remainder questions on the GMAT. You should also be comfortable moving around the variables in the equation, so that you understand the other relationships this equation yields such as:

$$a=cb+d$$

Being able to quickly recall the remainder equation and manipulate it in different ways by moving the variables on either side of the equal sign will really help you on the GMAT. You’ll be able to correctly plug-in the different numbers and formulas the GMAT throws at you so that you can figure out exactly what you need to solve.

#2: Plug-In Numbers for Variables

A great way to work out tricky remainder questions is to plug-in numbers for variables into your GMAT remainders equation. While this strategy won’t work all the time, plugging in numbers can be helpful if you’re stuck and unsure how to get to an answer. Let’s look at a sample question to see how this works:

What is the remainder when $x$ is divided by $3$, if the sum of the digits of $x$ is 5?

E. 6

That means we can plug in a number for $x$ that has digits that add together to equal five. For instance, we can use the number 14, because $1 + 4 = 5$. If we divide $14/3$, we find out that the remainder is 2. Let’s keep testing this theory. If we plug in the number 50 for $x$ (because $5 + 0 = 5$), we get the equation $50/3$, which equals 16 remainder 2. We can test this one more time with $23$ ($2 + 3 = 5$). If we divide $23/3$, we get 7 remainder 2. That tells us that the answer is A: 2.

Plugging in numbers doesn’t always work, particularly if you’ve got a number of different unknown variables. However, if you’ve got a relatively small set of potential numbers (e.g., numbers whose digits add up to five), you can plug in numbers to test for the correct answer.

#3: Learn Remainder Shortcuts

There are several nifty remainder “shortcuts” that you should keep in mind when you’re working on GMAT remainder questions. These shortcuts will save you time so you don’t have to completely write out calculations.

The possible remainders when a number is divided by a divisor $b$ can range from 0 to one less than $b$. For example, if $b$ = 5, the possible remainders are then from 0 – 4 (which is one less than 5). If $b$ = 10, the possible remainders range from 0 – 9 (which is one less than 10).

If a number is divided by 10, its remainder is the last digit of that number. If you divide it by 100, its remainder is the last two digits of that number, and so on. For, example 49 divided by 10 equals 4 with a remainder of 9.

You can take the decimal portion of the quotient and multiply it by the divisor to get the remainder. For example, if we know $9/5=1.8$ we can multiply .8 by the divisor 5, which gives us the remainder, 4. Keep in mind that you won’t have a calculator on the GMAT, though, so this tip may or may not save you time.

GMAT Remainder Problem Examples

Now that we’ve learned some tips for solving remainder questions, let’s see them in action. In these GMAT remainder problems, I’ll walk you through how to solve each question using the equations, tips, and tricks we’ve discussed earlier in the article.

Problem Solving Remainder Sample Question

Let’s start with this question by plugging what we know into our remainder equation. In this case, we know the following:

$x$/$y$ = $q$ + 9, where $q$ is the quotient (which is unknown), $x$ is the dividend (unknown), and $y$ is the divisor (also unknown).

From the question, we also know that $x/y = 96.12$. Remember how we talked about decimals earlier? When we’re giving an answer to a division problem that has a decimal in it, the whole number (in this case, 96) is the quotient and the decimal is the remainder. So, in this case, we express our answer as 96 + 0.12, with 96 as the quotient and 0.12 is the remainder.

We can also express our remainder as $\remainder/\divisor$, which gives us the equation:

$$x/y = q + 9/y$$

Since we now have two values for $x/y$, we can set them equal to each other, which yields:

$$96 + 9/y = 96.12$$

We can solve this equation through by subtracting 96 from the left side of the equation so we get:

$$9/y = .12$$

That leaves us with $9/y = 0.12$, or $y = 75$.

Data Sufficiency Remainder Sample Question

When we approach data sufficiency questions, we always want to solve each statement alone before looking at them together. Keeping that in mind, let’s look at statement (1) first.

Remember, we’re trying to figure out if we can determine the tens digit of a positive integer.

Statement (1) tells us that, when our positive integer $x$ is divided by 100, it has a remainder of 30.

This statement is a good example of something that you can plug a number into. For this, I’m going to try dividing different numbers by 100. I’ll start with 100. When you divide 100 by 100, you don’t get a remainder. When you divide 110 by 100, you get a remainder of 10. When you divide 120 by 100, you get a remainder of 20. When you divide 130 by 100, you get a remainder of 30.

You can also use the remainder shortcut that, if any number is divided by 100, its remainder is the last two digits of that number. That tells us that tens digit of our number has to be 3. This statement is sufficient.

Now let’s try statement (2). Remember, we want to look at each statement by itself first.

We can try plugging in numbers for statement (2). Using the same method of plugging in every number from 100 to 300 counting by tens, I find that if I divide 140 by 110, my quotient is 1 remainder 30. However, if I divide 250 by 110, I get a quotient of 2 remainder 30.

In this case, I have two different numbers that both yield me a remainder of 30. That means statement (2) is not sufficient.

I can’t use statement (1) and statement (2) together because they are mutually exclusive. Therefore, my answer is A.

Review: GMAT Remainders

While remainders may seem like elementary math you haven’t touched in years and don’t need to remember, remainder questions will often appear on the GMAT.

The most important step in solving GMAT remainder problems is to memorize the remainders relationships equations. However, plugging-in numbers and recognizing patterns can also help you solve these tricky questions.

What’s Next?

Are you confident in solving remainders questions now? Looking to move onto a new GMAT quant challenge? We have in-depth guides on many of the math concepts you’ll see on the GMAT. Check out our guides to GMAT geometry and GMAT rate problems to boost your knowledge on two other commonly tested GMAT concepts.

If you’re looking for a more generalized overview of the GMAT quant section, our GMAT quant guide will give you a solid overview of the content of the GMAT quant section, while our GMAT quant practice guide will help you better understand how and what to practice to ace the quant section.

Looking to completely change it up? If you want to focus on verbal instead, our in-depth guide to the GMAT verbal section will give you a great overview of the GMAT verbal section, while also suggesting resources you can use to practice.

The post GMAT Remainder Problems: 3 Key Tips appeared first on Online GMAT Prep Blog by PrepScholar.