GMAT Focus Edition Syllabus 2024 - What Is It & How To Prepare For It?

The Graduate Management Admission Test, or GMAT is a common test for admission to Master of Business Administration (MBA) schools and other graduate business degrees like MIM, or PhD in business and management. The GMAT evaluates your critical thinking and reasoning skills by assessing you across four sections - analytical reasoning, integrated reasoning, data insights, and verbal reasoning. An alternative to the original GMAT exam, the GMAT Focus Edition is a newer version released by the Graduate Management Council (GMAC), on November 7, 2023. To gain admission to the top business schools abroad, you must aim to score 700+ on the exam. The GMAT Focus Edition is significantly shorter than the standard GMAT, clocking in at 2 hours and 15 minutes compared to 3 hours and 7 minutes. 

Are you planning to take the GMAT Focus Edition,? You have landed on the right page! This blog will give you a thorough understanding of the GMAT Focus Edition syllabus, emphasizing the key changes to the sections and question patterns. Moreover, we will provide some tips and prep materials for scoring well on the GMAT Focus exam.

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Table of Contents

What Is The GMAT Focus Edition Syllabus 2024? 1. GMAT Focus Verbal Syllabus 2. GMAT Focus Quant Syllabus (Quantitative Reasoning Section) 3. GMAT Focus Data Insights Section (New) How to Study for GMAT Focus Edition? GMAT Focus Preparation Materials Conclusion

What Is The GMAT Focus Edition Syllabus 2024?

The GMAT Focus Edition has a different syllabus compared to the classic GMAT. It focuses on three main areas which last for 45 minutes each. The total duration of the test is 2 hrs 15 minutes. Below is a synopsis of every section:

• Verbal Reasoning (23 questions): This section assesses critical reasoning and reading comprehension skills. It no longer includes Sentence Correction questions.
• Quantitative Reasoning (21 questions): This section focuses on problem-solving using Arithmetic and Algebra concepts. Geometry and Data Sufficiency questions are excluded.
• Data Insights (20 questions):  This new section assesses your ability to analyze data from various sources (tables, graphs, etc.) and conclude. Questions in this area can be classified as data-sufficient, two-part, multi-source, graphic, or table analysis.

Let us discuss each of these sections and their subsections in depth.

1. GMAT Focus Verbal Syllabus

The verbal reasoning section lasts 45 minutes and requires the candidate to answer 23 questions. This section analyses your ability to comprehend written passages and evaluate arguments. It examines your skills in two areas - critical reasoning and reading comprehension.

In detail:

Critical Reasoning

The questions under this category test your abilities to formulate and evaluate arguments and create and assess action plans. These questions are based on brief excerpts typically less than 100 words. They challenge you to select an answer that supports, weakens, or evaluates an argument. No specific subject knowledge is required for this.

The GMAT Critical Reasoning tests comprised four reasoning skill categories: Analysis, Construction, Critique, and Plan.

Analysis

Here, you need to analyze an argument. This entails comprehending the argument's logical reasoning, structure, and relationships between its components.

Construction

This is when your capacity to formulate strong arguments is tested. For instance, determine what can be deduced or concluded logically or what additional data would be required to support the case to declare it as true.

Critique

Here, you are tested on your skills to challenge the validity of arguments, understand how to strengthen or weaken the arguments, pinpoint their weakness, and more.

Plan

The questions here assess your capacity to formulate and evaluate justifications for a course of action. For instance, you might be asked to identify a plan's weakness or the underlying factor that will allow a plan to be successful. From a conceptual perspective, plan questions are classified as either construction or critique questions.

Reading Comprehension

The questions under this category measure your capacity to interpret the text, comprehend the progression of quantitative ideas, form conclusions, and grasp the logical relationships between key elements. The skills primarily tested in the section include recognizing the main idea and its supporting ideas, drawing conclusions, using information, comprehending logical structure, and evaluating style.

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Different question types are used to assess the skills related to reading comprehension on the GMAT. The kinds of questions that fall into this category include:

Primary Question Types 

• Main point
• Detail/Supporting idea
• Inference

Secondary Question Types

• Function
• Application
• Style and Tone

Refer below to learn the skills tested through these subsections.

2. GMAT Focus Quant Syllabus (Quantitative Reasoning Section)

The Quant part of the GMAT Focus Edition assesses how well you can comprehend the principles of algebra and arithmetic and how you can use this knowledge to solve problems. The GMAT Focus Edition's Quant Section has undergone two significant updates:

• The Quant section no longer includes geometry questions.
• Questions about data sufficiency will now be asked in the Data Insights section.

Here is the GMAT Focus Quant Syllabus (Problem-Solving Questions):

GMAT Score for MBA in the USA

3. GMAT Focus Data Insights Section (New)

The Data Insights section is an essential component of the test, not a supplementary one. The growing significance of analytics and data literacy in the corporate sector is reflected in the addition of this section to GMAT Focus. This section has equal weightage in the total GMAT score.

The GMAT exam's New Data Insights section assesses a test-taker's capacity for in-depth data analysis and drawing meaningful insights. This component evaluates verbal thinking, math, and data analysis skills to make wise decisions in business management.

The GMAT Focus Data Insights section tests a variety of skills:

• Data Interpretation and Analysis.

• Information Synthesis.

• Analytical Reasoning.

• Quantitative Reasoning.

• Critical Thinking.

• Decision Making.

• Comprehension.

The GMAT Focus Data Insights curriculum includes five different kinds of questions explained below.

Data Sufficiency

Questions about data sufficiency measure a candidate’s ability to decide if the information provided is enough to address a specific problem. Examinees must assess the available data and determine whether it is sufficient to arrive at a decision.

Graphical Representations

Here, you will be shown graphical representations, like graphs or charts. You will be asked questions regarding the trends and patterns depicted in them. You must evaluate and understand the data visualizations.

Table Analysis

These questions require test takers to comprehend and analyze data presented in tables. The questions may involve sorting data, recognizing trends, or make comparisons using the available information.

Two-Part Analysis

These question types evaluate the test taker's ability to solve a problem, apply relevant concepts, and determine the right response by considering several variables.

Multiple Source Reasoning

Examinees must assess data from various sources, including text, graphics, and numbers, to answer this question type. It evaluates the capacity to recognize connections between diverse data and make inferences from them.

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