Topics Tested - Frequency

[sjaswa]

Hi Stacey,

Hope you are doing good.

Actually, I was reading the post (How to Review) http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ew-part-2/, which mentions about the frequency of topics tested on the GMAT.

It would be great to get a sense on that.

Thanks,

Sid

[StaceyKoprince]

Good question! I'll list the most frequently tested topics. Obviously, other topics are also tested.

Accurate as of 31 October 2022
(And this is accurate for all forms of the exam—testing center or online. There's no difference in content between the two.)

Quant:
Exponents, linear and quadratic equations, inequalities
Fractions, percents, ratios
General story / translation problems (that involve algebra, profits, etc.—basically translating a "normal" story and solving)
Statistics (mean, median)
Divisibility and prime, pos and neg, some odd and even
Triangles, polygons (but less frequent than the others)

It also seems that functions / formulas / sequences have kicked up a bit in frequency, though this may only be at higher difficulty levels.

Verbal:
SC: Sentence Structure (including subject-verb agreement), Meaning, Modifiers, Parallelism
CR: Find the Assumption, Strengthen, Weaken
RC: Specific Detail / Lookup, Inference, some Main Idea

[sjaswa]

Stacey,
Thanks for the response

[StaceyKoprince]

you're welcome!

[BernardK777]

Stacey, is the list you posted on October 24th, 2013 still current? If not, can you please post an updated list? Thank you!

[StaceyKoprince]

I'd add ratios to fractions and percents.

Also, CR Evaluate questions.

Nothing to remove.

Thanks for checking!

[ManishH404]

Thanks Stacey - this is really useful.

Building on this, is there an order of frequency in which these topics are tested? I did a search on the forum but couldn't find anything specific. If there is one, can you point me to the post?

Reason I ask is because I am not 100% confident in certain topics (permutations - combinations, sequences and progressions), so trying to quantify the risk of moving away from weaknesses and instead focusing on strengths.

TIA
Manish

[StaceyKoprince]

There is no particular order, no, but the topics you listed are at the very low end of the range - ie, you might see 1 permutation / combination question and 1 sequence / progression problem (possibly 0). So definitely not worth a great deal of study time!

[ManishH404]

Thanks for clarifying that for me, Stacey! :)

[StaceyKoprince]

You're welcome!

[lindsay.e.rader]

Hello,

Has there been an update on the most frequently tested topics? I see it has been a while since the last post. Just want to double check to make sure the info was still accurate.

Thanks in advance!

Lindsay

[StaceyKoprince]

Thanks for asking! I've just edited my original post so that it includes what I said in some later posts, but nothing much has changed since then. You're good to go!

[Black5879]

Thanks Stacey for the very useful list. Are there any changes from 2016 onwards?

[StaceyKoprince]

I just re-read the list - no updates at this point. I added a note that the last is still accurate as of today's date. Thanks for asking!

[LiC22]

Hello Stacey,

I appreciate your detailed answer.

Just wondering if the information can still be applied to the current situation as the post shows that it's available only before 16, Jan.

If not, Would you be so kind to tell us what may have changed during this period of time?

Thank you so much

Li