MBA · Entrance Exams

GMAT Syllabus

Three sections, and the Focus Edition removed content the older format tested. Make sure your material matches the current test.

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GMAT · checked 19 September 2026

GMAT at a glance, from the official notices

The dates, vacancies and rules below are read on the conducting body’s own site and rewritten as each notice appears. The guide beneath carries the full pattern, syllabus, cut-offs and free mock tests.

Free GMAT mock testGMAT syllabusToday’s current affairs
19September 2026

Checked 19 September 2026

GMAT: the facts that matter now

  1. 01

    Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), at test centres and online, year-round

    Administered by

  2. 02

    Business schools worldwide, and Indian executive and international programmes

    Used by

  3. 03

    Three 45-minute sections — Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, Data Insights — 2 hours 15 minutes plus an optional 10-minute break; section…

    Format

  4. 04

    Total 205–805 in ten-point steps; sections 60–90; question-adaptive with a review-and-edit allowance

    Scoring

Syllabus

GMAT — What the syllabus covers

Quantitative Reasoning
Problem solving across arithmetic — properties of integers, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio and proportion, rates, statistics and probability — and algebra covering expressions, equations, inequalities, functions and exponents. Geometry is not tested in the Focus Edition, which is a significant change from the earlier format.
Verbal Reasoning
Reading comprehension of passages from business, science and the humanities, with questions on main idea, inference, tone and detail; and critical reasoning covering argument structure, assumptions, strengthening and weakening, evaluation, paradox resolution and conclusion drawing. Sentence correction is not tested in the Focus Edition.
Data Insights
Data sufficiency, in which you judge whether given statements suffice to answer a question rather than solving it; multi-source reasoning, drawing on several tabs of related information; table analysis; graphics interpretation; and two-part analysis. The section tests the ability to synthesise information presented in different formats, which is closer to actual managerial work than any other part of the test.

Critical reasoning deserves particular emphasis for Indian candidates, because it is tested more rigorously here than in most domestic entrances. GMAT critical reasoning questions turn on the precise logical structure of an argument — what exactly is assumed, what would weaken it, what does not follow — and the discipline of reading for structure rather than for content is the skill that most improves a verbal score.

What the Focus Edition removed, and why it matters

  • Geometry is gone from Quantitative Reasoning — which means older preparation material devotes weeks to content the current test does not ask. Check the publication date of anything you buy.
  • Sentence correction is gone from Verbal Reasoning — leaving reading comprehension and critical reasoning. For many Indian candidates this removes the section they found most tractable and increases the weight of the one they find hardest.
  • Data Insights is now a scored section in its own right — rather than a supplementary component. Data sufficiency lives here, alongside the integrated reasoning question types.
  • The essay component is gone — which shortens the test and removes a component candidates used to prepare separately.

Critical reasoning deserves the emphasis it gets, because it is where the GMAT is least like anything in the Indian entrance ecosystem. The questions turn on the precise logical relationship between a premise and a conclusion — what would weaken it, what it assumes, what would have to be true — and the wrong options are constructed to be attractive to approximate reasoning. Candidates who arrive from CAT preparation typically find the mathematics easy and this section genuinely difficult.

Match your material to the current edition

A large quantity of GMAT preparation material predates the Focus Edition, and it is not obviously labelled. Working through geometry chapters and sentence correction drills for the current test is not merely inefficient; it displaces the Data Insights preparation that the current format actually rewards.

Exam resources

Everything for GMAT

Six resource pages, each kept in step with the latest official notification.

GMAT SyllabusGMAT syllabus — Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning and Data Insights content under the Focus Edition.GMAT Exam PatternGMAT exam pattern — Focus Edition sections, adaptive scoring, the review and edit facility and section order choice.GMAT Previous PapersGMAT practice material — why official questions matter more than past papers, and how to use them.GMAT Mock TestsGMAT mock tests — adaptive practice tests, section order rehearsal and review-and-edit strategy.GMAT PreparationGMAT preparation strategy — building logical precision, mastering Data Insights and planning retakes.GMAT Study MaterialGMAT study material — guidance on official guides, quantitative fundamentals and critical reasoning practice.

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