AWA and IR
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Intro to the GMAT
Summary
The GMAT exam includes both the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) and the Integrated Reasoning (IR) sections, which are crucial for assessing a candidate's analytical and integrated reasoning skills.
- AWA involves writing an essay to analyze and critique an argument within 30 minutes, focusing on identifying flaws in the argument.
- The IR section, following the AWA, also lasts 30 minutes and tests mathematical and verbal reasoning through unique question formats involving graphs and data interpretation.
- Both sections are designed to reflect real-world business scenarios where mathematical and verbal skills are interrelated.
- The GMAT Official Guide contains all possible prompts for the AWA, allowing for thorough preparation.
- Familiarity with the unique question formats of the IR section is highly recommended for success.
Chapters
00:02
Introduction to AWA and IR Sections
00:40
Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) Overview
01:18
Integrated Reasoning (IR) Section Explained
NOTE: The content of this lesson applies to the current GMAT. Please see the lesson "New GMAT Focus Edition Can be Taken Starting November 7, 2023" for more details about the GMAT Focus edition.
Q. Can you change the section order? I thought I heard about that.
A. Yes! In July 2017, MBA.com announced that you now have the ability to select the order of your sections. Read their official post here.
Their new feature "Select Section Order" allows you to choose between three options available to you at the test center:
- AWA, IR, Quant, Verbal (original order)
- Verbal, Quant, IR, AWA
- Quant, Verbal, IR, AWA
We also have a blog post talking about some of the strategy related to this. Read our blog post here.