Composed of four essential components, the GMAT, or Graduate Management Admission Test, is a whetstone of MBA aspirants, and a real test of qualitative and quantitative hurdles. The crux of the problem of cracking GMAT solely rests on developing strategic thinking and regular mental exercises. To beat the GMAT, you need to carefully examine the components of the test, identify your areas of weakness and zones of strength, and work on striking a balance between the two. The key to successful GMAT score lies in perseverance. Of all the test takers, as many as 49% have been reported to have spent 51 hours on preparations. Have you asked your overseas education consultants about the best way for you to practise?

The quantitative section comprises verbal and mathematical problems. It constitutes the prominent part of the exam, with a weightage of 200 points out of the total 800. Apart from this, you have your essay question and the final hurdle of integrated reasoning. While it all sounds quite intimidating, the preparation techniques make it relatively easy.

Ace your verbals

There are 41 questions, divided into three parts. These sets of questions have been designed to assess your cognitive faculty, your ability to interpret facts and draw appropriate conclusion. Here’s what you need to keep in mind:

• Read fiercely: Do not try to tailor the meaning of the passage with what suits your sensibility. Be the objective reader, and observe with an impartial eye.

• Mine for mistakes: But before you do that, keep your eyes open for errors that commonly emerge in questions related to sentence correction. Make a habit of vertical reading, in lieu of horizontal reading. Choose the answer that is the least flawed.

• There’s always a catch: The author writes with a purpose that is cleverly concealed in the gaps between phrases. Don’t get lost in the details of the passage. Just follow the narratives.

Be analytical

The analytical writing assessment is assigned a point value between 1 and 6. Think of it as a test of your argumentative spirit.

• Organization is Key: It is not your eloquence but your precision in comprehending, that matters. How well can you organise your thoughts? Can you get your point across to a man in hurry? Be concise and direct. Proofread your answers at least once. You don’t want missing words or wrong punctuations in your argument.

• Words are key: And by that, we mean key words. Your essay will be evaluated by a machine and a human mind. Key words are like buoys floating atop your stream of reason. It helps the examiners to hold on to your point of view.

Listen to the experts

Pay heed to your overseas education consultants in Kolkata. Gather yourself. You are preparing for a test that is 3 hours long and must be taken on a computer. Get ready to battle mental fatigue and the associated problems of neck pain, strain on the eyes and soreness of the upper back. It makes sense to do your practice runs on a computer. That way, you will be accustomed to the entire procedure. Do not spend more than 2 and a half minutes on a question to come up with an efficient answer. It may not be practical to dwell on a problem at the cost of solving others. You can always come back to the unsolved problems once you have finished off with the rest.