Skip to content
Field notes

Article · sources cited inline

What's on the GMAT Focus Edition? Format and timing

The GMAT Focus Edition runs 2 hours 15 minutes across three 45-minute sections — Quantitative, Verbal, and Data Insights — with 64 questions and no essay. Exactly what the current exam contains.

Published 2026-08-07 · Sources last checked 2026-08-07

The short version

The GMAT Focus Edition has three sections — Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, and Data Insights — of 45 minutes each, for a total testing time of 2 hours and 15 minutes (accessed 2026-08-07). That's a shorter, tighter exam than the classic GMAT, with one optional break.

The three sections

There are 64 questions in total: 21 Quantitative Reasoning, 23 Verbal Reasoning, and 20 Data Insights (accessed 2026-08-07). Quant is problem solving without a calculator in that section; Verbal is reading comprehension and critical reasoning; Data Insights blends table analysis, graphics interpretation, and data sufficiency.

What's gone, and what's new

If you're comparing to the old GMAT, two things changed: the Analytical Writing Assessment is gone, and Data Insights replaced the old Integrated Reasoning section (accessed 2026-08-07). You also get tools the classic exam didn't have, like the ability to bookmark questions and edit a set number of answers within a section.

How to use the timing

Three equal 45-minute blocks make pacing simple to plan: roughly two minutes per Quant question, just under two per Verbal, and a bit over two per Data Insights item. You also choose the section order on test day, so practice in the order you intend to sit them.

Formats change between cycles. Confirm the current structure on the official GMAT Focus Edition pages (accessed 2026-08-07) before you build a pacing plan.
Found this useful? Share it

Sources

Every source below was accessed on the listed date. Pages — especially department admissions pages — change without notice; the links go to the live versions.

  1. GMAT Exam StructureGMAC. Accessed 2026-08-07.
  2. GMAT Exam ContentGMAC. Accessed 2026-08-07.
  3. The GMAT Exam (GMAT Focus Edition)GMAC. Accessed 2026-08-07.

Sources and corrections

Sources last checked 2026-08-07

Every source cited on this page was checked on the date shown, and we update the page when a source changes. If something looks wrong, tell us and we'll recheck it.