If an MBA or business-focused master’s degree is in your future, than you’ll likely need to successfully complete the GMAT exam.

Owned and administered by the Graduate Management Admission Council, the GMAT exam not only will give you a good indication of what program or specialization you’re best suited for, but also will give admissions staff information they need to decide on whether to accept or reject.

You definitely don’t want to head into the exam unprepared or underprepared since so much is at stake, and fortunately, you can, with the right online study materials, prepare yourself for the test.

According to the Economist GMAT Tutor, you can expect to see verbal, quantitative (including math) analytical writing assessment and integrated reasoning are sections on the GMAT exam, so your study times needs to focus on all four. Read on for GMAT practice questions online.

Verbal

This sample question comes courtesy of MBA.com, the official site of GMAT:

The interview is an essential part of a successful hiring program because, with it job applicants who have personalities that are unsuited to the requirements of the job will be eliminated from consideration.

This argument logically depends on which of the following assumptions?

• A hiring program will be successful if it includes interviews.

• The interview is a more important part of a successful hiring program than is the development of a job description.

• Interviewers can accurately identify applicants whose personalities are unsuited to the requirements of the job.

• The only purpose of an interview is to evaluate whether job applicants’ personalities are suited to the requirements of the job.

• The fit of job applicants’ personalities to the requirements of the job was once the most important factor in making hiring decisions.

At first glance, it becomes clear that the first option — “A hiring program will be successful if it includes interviews”–is too vague. Going down the list, you can see that the third option–“Interviewers can accurately identify applicants whose personalities are unsuited to the requirements of the job”–appears to be the best of the answer choices provided.

Quantitative

This sample question comes courtesy of MajorTests.com:

If an object travels at five feet per second, how many feet does it travel in one hour?

• 30

• 300

• 720

• 1800

• 18000

In order to get the answer, you need to first figure out how many seconds there are in an hour (3,600 seconds) and then multiple that number by five, as in five feet. So the answer is “E.”

Analytical Writing

This sample question comes courtesy of MBA.com:

The following appeared in the editorial section of a monthly business news magazine:

“Most companies would agree that as the risk of physical injury occurring on the job increases, the wages paid to employees should also increase. Hence it makes financial sense for employers to make the workplace safer: they could thus reduce their payroll expenses and save money.”

You can find a good response to this GMAT exam-type question by clicking on the “Analytical Writing” link above.

Some tips to help you review relevant GMAT practice questions online include the following:

• Assess the argument and figure out a reply before you actually start writing

• Set out your arguments in an orderly fashion and develop them sufficiently

• Provide supporting arguments to back up points

Integrated Reasoning

Integrated reasoning questions are more elaborate than the other types of questions, so it’s best to head over to a site containing practice questions, such as MajorTests.com. You can do this by clicking on the “Integrated Reasoning” link above.

That said, MBA.com does provide information as to the skills that integrated reasoning questions will test:

• The ability to synthesize data as represented in graphs, numbers, and text
• The ability to assess pertinent data from various sources
• The ability to organize information in order to figure out numerous, interrelated conundrums
• The ability to merge and manipulate data from various sources to figure out complex problems

As you can see, there is plenty of help to be had with all the GMAT practice questions online. Make the most of your study time, and practice a variety of questions from each section so that you’re prepared come exam time.