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How to Practise for the GMAT with Practice Quizzes (Focus Edition Format)

September 24, 20265 min readEmily Chen · Cognitive Psychology Writer & Study Skills Coach

In this article

1.The GMAT at a glance
2.What the format means for how you practise
3.Why short, spaced quizzes help
4.A 10-week GMAT practice plan
5.How to build GMAT practice sets with SimpleQuizMaker
6.Worked example: Data Sufficiency
7.How to review a practice section
8.Common mistakes
9.Frequently Asked Questions
10.Keep going
11.Sources

Short answer. The current GMAT, the Focus Edition, is 2 hours 15 minutes long, with three 45-minute sections and no essay. You choose the order of the sections. You can bookmark as many questions as you like and change up to three answers per section. Quant is problem solving only, Verbal is reading comprehension and critical reasoning, and Data Insights combines data interpretation with reasoning. Quizzes help most on Quant fundamentals and on recognising critical reasoning question types. Data Insights needs practice with real tables and charts.

Checked against GMAC (mba.com and gmac.com) on 24 September 2026.

The GMAT at a glance

Section	Questions	Time	What it covers
Quantitative Reasoning	21	45 minutes	Problem solving
Verbal Reasoning	23	45 minutes	Reading comprehension and critical reasoning
Data Insights	20	45 minutes	Data Sufficiency, Multi-Source Reasoning, Table Analysis, Graphics Interpretation, Two-Part Analysis

Total: 64 questions, 2 hours 15 minutes, plus an optional 10-minute break after the first or second section.

No writing assessment.

Section order: you choose it.

Question review and edit: bookmark as many questions as you like, and change up to three answers per section.

Scores: total 205–805. Each section is scored 60–90.

Calculator: an on-screen calculator is available in Data Insights.

Multi-part Data Insights questions: every part must be correct to get credit.

What the format means for how you practise

Quant tests problem solving without a calculator. Arithmetic, algebra and word problems have to be quick and accurate by hand. Short timed quizzes on one topic at a time build that fluency.

Critical reasoning comes in recognisable types. Strengthen, weaken, assumption, evaluate, inference. Learning to name the type quickly is a good use of quizzes.

Data Insights is about judging information. In Data Sufficiency you decide whether the information is enough, without calculating the answer. The other four types ask you to read tables, graphs and several sources at once. Practise with real data displays, not text-only questions.

You can change only three answers per section. Use your review time carefully. Practise flagging questions and returning to them within that limit during timed sets.

Why short, spaced quizzes help

Most GMAT preparation is building skills you have to recall under time pressure: formulas, number properties, argument structures. Practice testing (Roediger and Karpicke, 2006) and spacing reviews over time (Cepeda et al., 2006) are two of the best-supported ways to make that knowledge stick.

A 10-week GMAT practice plan

Week 1: take a baseline. Take an official practice exam from mba.com. Note your three section scores and which question types cost you the most points.

Weeks 2–7: build the skills.

*Quant:* a 10-question topic quiz every day (number properties, rates, ratios, algebra, statistics), with spaced repeats three and seven days later.

*Verbal:* a daily critical reasoning set, identifying the question type first. Two to three reading comprehension passages a week.

*Data Insights:* three sets a week that rotate through all five question types, using real tables and charts.

Flashcards for formulas and the logic of each critical reasoning question type.

Weeks 8–9: timed sections. Take full 45-minute sections under real timing, using the review-and-edit limit, plus one full practice exam a week.

Week 10: taper. A last practice exam early in the week, then short quizzes on your weakest types.

How to build GMAT practice sets with SimpleQuizMaker

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Quant topic quizzes. For example, "GMAT Quant problem solving: work-rate problems, 10 questions, no calculator, worked solutions." The free plan works from a topic or pasted text, with up to 10 questions per quiz and 5 generations a month.

Critical reasoning drills. "10 GMAT-style critical reasoning questions: weaken the argument, explain why each wrong option fails."

Data Insights from your own data. Paste a small table, such as quarterly figures, and ask for Two-Part Analysis and Table Analysis style questions about it.

Longer sets on Student. For $2.99 a month you can upload PDFs, Word files and images and generate up to 100 questions per quiz.

Starting points: the statistics unit review and algebra 1 practice templates cover Quant fundamentals. Use the flashcard maker for formulas.

Everything GMAT-related is on the GMAT exam page.

Worked example: Data Sufficiency

A sample practice question written for this guide:

> *Is the integer x even?*

> (1) x² is even.

> (2) 3x is even.

Each statement alone is sufficient. If x² is even, x must be even, because the square of an odd number is odd. If 3x is even, x must be even, because 3 is odd and an odd number times an odd number is odd. The answer is "each statement alone is sufficient."

The skill being tested is deciding *whether* you can answer, not calculating the answer. A good practice set for Data Sufficiency:

10 questions on one concept, such as odd/even properties, with explanations that give the reasoning without computing.

A second set three days later on the same concept with different wording.

A mixed set a week later with number properties, rates and statistics.

How to review a practice section

For Verbal, identify the question type before checking your answer. If you misidentified the type, that is the thing to fix.

For Quant, redo missed problems by hand without looking, then time yourself.

For Data Insights, note which of the five question types cost you points. Multi-part questions give no partial credit, so accuracy on every part matters.

Review how you used your three answer changes. Did your changes help or hurt? That tells you whether to trust your first answer.

Common mistakes

Calculating in Data Sufficiency. You only need to know whether an answer can be found.

Using a calculator habit in Quant. There is no calculator in Quant, so practise without one.

Using up your answer changes early. Save them for questions where you have spotted a real error.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is the GMAT?

2 hours 15 minutes: three 45-minute sections, plus an optional 10-minute break.

How many questions are on the GMAT?

64: 21 in Quantitative Reasoning, 23 in Verbal Reasoning and 20 in Data Insights.

What is the GMAT score range?

205 to 805 in total. Each section is scored 60–90.

Is there an essay on the GMAT?

No. The current GMAT has no writing assessment.

Can I use a calculator on the GMAT?

Only in Data Insights, where an on-screen calculator is provided. Quant is done without a calculator.

Should I take the GMAT or the GRE?

Check what your target programmes accept. Many business schools accept both. See our GRE guide to compare the formats.

Keep going

GRE practice guide

GMAT practice quizzes

Sources

Sources: GMAC: GMAT exam structure, content and features · mba.com: GMAT exam structure · GMAC: GMAT exam scores · mba.com: Data Insights prep strategies. Checked 24 September 2026.

*SimpleQuizMaker is not affiliated with or endorsed by GMAC. GMAT is a trademark of GMAC. Quizzes described here are AI-generated practice, not official GMAT questions.*

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Emily Chen

Cognitive Psychology Writer & Study Skills Coach

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SimpleQuizMaker turns what you are already teaching or studying into practice questions. The free plan includes 5 quiz generations a month and needs no card.

AI quiz generatorPaste a topic or your own notes and get a quiz back in seconds.FlashcardsSpaced repetition on an SM-2 schedule for the memorisation half.Personalized generationOpt in and quizzes weight toward the topics you keep getting wrong.