The GMAT Model Paper mirrors the exam pattern of the actual GMAT exam. It includes questions similar to previous years’ papers and never before seen questions prepared by expert teams. But before we begin, let’s take a look at what the GMAT is.

What is the GMAT? 

GMAT or General Management Admission Test, taken roughly by 200,000 aspirants in a year, is an international MBA aptitude exam conducted by the GMAC or the General Management Admission Council. The GMAT assesses your analytical writing, problem-solving abilities, data sufficiency, logic, and critical reasoning skills. Besides, more than 2300 graduate business schools around the world accept the GMAT as part of their selection criteria.  

The test can be taken a maximum of 5 times a year. Moreover, after every attempt, you will have to wait for 16 days before attempting again. 

GMAT model test papers are modelled on the actual GMAT papers, which means they include all the sections so that you can practice thoroughly. So, let us understand what the different GMAT sections are. 

GMAT Sections:

The GMAT consists of 4 sections: 

1. Verbal Reasoning: This section comprises questions designed to evaluate your understanding of the English language. It consists of 36 questions to be solved in 65 minutes. It requires you to understand the gist of the comprehension passage and answer questions based on it. More so, you are also required to correct sentences and find errors in them.  

2. Integrated Reasoning: In this section, you will be asked to interpret different data types, like tables and graphs and evaluate the information to draw conclusions. The section consists of 12 questions to be solved in 30 minutes. 

3. Quantitative Reasoning: This section tests your ability to deal with numbers. It includes 31 quantitative questions to be solved in 62 minutes. You will be asked to use your reasoning skills to interpret data and draw conclusions. 

4. Analytical Writing Assessment:  This is similar to the verbal section, where it tests your understanding of the English language. You will get 30 minutes to critically analyze and write 1 given question — possibly an essay. However, in this section, unlike others, you will be asked to think critically and communicate your ideas succinctly. 

Now that we have briefly covered the four sections of the GMAT exam, let us take a look at the similarities between the GMAT Model Paper and the GMAT exam.

Similarities Between the GMAT Model Paper and the GMAT Exam:

• Wide variety of questions: The GMAT model contains a wide variety of questions, of varying difficulty levels, just like the actual GMAT exam. This makes it easier for you to get a feel of the difficulty level of the questions in the GMAT exam. The wide variety of questions for each section helps you become exam-ready.

• The questions are computer-adaptive:  The questions are computer-adaptive, just like the original GMAT paper. But first, you need to understand what a computer-adaptive test means. Computer-adaptive testing is a form of computer-based test that can adapt to the level of the examinee’s responses. The next question depends on the correctness of your response to the most recent questions answered. For example, if you answer the current question correctly, the next question is of a higher level of difficulty, but if you answer the current question incorrectly, then the following question is relatively easier.

Advantages of the GMAT Model Test Paper:

There are many advantages of solving the GMAT Model Paper. A few of them are as follows:

1. It provides you with a feel of the actual GMAT Paper: After solving the model paper, you will know what sitting through the GMAT exam feels like. You will get a feel of many aspects of the actual exam, like the breaks between sections, the difficulty level of questions, how it feels to not use a calculator while solving the quantitative section, use of a virtual scratchpad for rough work, etc. 

2. It helps in strategising: It will help you put together a strategy to solve the GMAT Paper on the day of the exam. More so, it will help you become familiar with sections that you are not comfortable with. You can build a strategy on how much time you should allot per section and even how much time to allot per question. You can gauge your level of preparation and move ahead accordingly.

3. It will help you assess your strengths and weaknesses: It will help you figure out your strengths and your pain points. For example: Before solving a model paper, you might have thought that quant is your weakest section and verbal ability your strongest, but once you start attempting the model papers, you may figure out that quant is not your weakest section and you need some help with the verbal ability section as well. Model Papers help pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses accurately so that you can build on your strengths and work on your weaknesses.

4. Helps prepare a comprehensive study plan: Solving model papers help you understand whether your current study plan needs to be modified or not. It enables you to figure out what steps you need to take to ace the GMAT. Preparing a comprehensive study plan is essential for acing the GMAT, and model papers help you formulate the best course of action. For example: Maybe you spend too much time on quant thinking it’s your Achilles’ heel, but the section that may actually be dragging you down is Integrated Reasoning. Hence, feedback from model papers allows you to restructure your study plan accordingly. 

5. It boosts confidence: Studies suggest that solving Model Papers help in boosting your confidence. The more papers you solve, the more you understand where to emphasise, and the more you understand that, the more you can invest your time and energy in the right direction. Since GMAT model test papers mimic the actual GMAT exam so closely, mastering them will help boost our confidence. 

6. Thorough understanding of the topics: Solving several model papers help you to revise all the topics effectively.  You must set aside a few hours each week to solve a model paper. This will help you put your theoretical knowledge to use and make you exam ready.

7. Time management: One of the most significant benefits of solving multiple model papers is that you learn how to manage time efficiently. If a section needs to be solved in thirty minutes, then over the course of time, you will learn how to answer all the questions in that section in precisely thirty minutes; you may even start solving them in under thirty minutes. 

Besides all these advantages, a GMAT model paper also helps you build focus so that you can ignore all distractions.

Now that we have covered why you should solve a GMAT model paper, it is time for you to start preparing for the exam.

You can find GMAT Model paper PDFs on various sites online but always solve the ones on mba.com first (GMAT’s official website). MBA.com offers comprehensive information on business education across the world as well as in-depth career guidance. In addition, they also offer excellent resources related to the GMAT exam. 

You can also check out CareerLabs for outstanding GMAT Preparation Resources. The company offers a set of 3500 practise questions + 5 GMAT papers. One can avail of both of these options and learn with the help of video solutions for each question. 

The  GMAT model paper is a very helpful tool that helps you understand the what, why and how of attempting the GMAT sections. It provides you with numerous advantages which cannot be experienced by merely solving a few practice questions. Having said that, with some proper planning and strategizing, you can ace the exam. So if you are planning to take the GMAT exam, make sure you solve enough GMAT Model paper tests first. 

All the best!