How to Structure an Effective GMAT Study Session 

Whether you're just starting your GMAT journey or looking to optimize your study routine, structuring your study sessions effectively is key to making steady progress. In this article, we’ll explore how to make the most of your average study session, excluding mock test days and mock test revision days. 

How Long Should a GMAT Study Session Be? 

There isn’t a strict minimum time requirement for a GMAT study session, but it’s essential to allow yourself enough time to get into a focused and concentrated state. Full dedication and focus are crucial, which is easier to achieve in multiple undisturbed hours with breaks in between. 

Ideal Duration:  
An effective study session should ideally be at least 2 hours long. This allows sufficient time for both practicing questions and reviewing your work. 

Session Breakdown: 

• 35% of your time should be spent on pure question solving. 

• 10% on immediate review and logging the questions. 

• 20% on deep review, understanding theory, and refining your question log. 

• 30% on note-taking and generalizing the theory. 

• 5% on planning your next study session(s). 

The Practice Part: Making the Most of Your Question Sets 

During your study session, the practice portion is where you actively solve GMAT questions and build your familiarity with different question types. 

Quality Over Quantity:  
Ensure you have access to high-quality exercises that can be easily sorted into subsections. GMATclub’s question navigator is an excellent tool for accessing free GMAT Focus exercises. 

Accuracy Before Difficulty:  
Start with easier questions and aim for at least 80% accuracy before moving on to more difficult ones. Carefully track your mistakes to ensure you’re making real progress. 

Subsection Focus:  
Work on 5-10 questions at a time from the same variety. For instance, practice Problem Solving and Data Sufficiency together since they rely on the same theory. Similarly, study Reading Comprehension separately from Critical Reasoning. For Data Insights, group related topics like Graphs & Tables, Multi-Source Reasoning, and Two-Part Analysis together. 

Quick Logging:  
After solving each set, quickly add your questions to your mistake log and check if the GMAT experts used a different approach that you could adopt. This will be crucial for your review and note-taking phase. 

Review and Note-Taking: The Core of Your Study Session 

Reviewing and taking notes is arguably the most important part of your GMAT study session. It’s where you transform raw practice into valuable resources and long-term knowledge. 

Mistake Analysis:  
You can read more about mistake analysis here, article 
Once you’ve finished your question sets for the day and logged them, go back to the questions you got wrong or struggled with. Analyze the underlying theory, and identify what can be generalized into a universal rule or note. Pay attention to common mistake types: Is it a sloppy error due to poor note-taking, or are you consistently misinterpreting the question stem? 

Deep Dive into Theory: 
You can read more about note taking here, Article 

• Classify the Note: Decide where this new insight fits in your Personal Note Guidebook. 

• Generalize the Trick: Write down what elements in a question stem indicate that the trick is applicable, and formulate the general steps for solving similar questions. 

Creating the Note: 

• Title: Come up with a memorable title that clearly indicates the content. 

• Explanation: Write the note as if explaining it to someone with no prior knowledge. Keep it simple and add a new example to illustrate the concept. 

Planning the Next Session:  
Finally, use the data you’ve gathered from your question log and mistake analysis to plan your next study session(s). Focus on your weakest areas first, as these will have the most significant impact on your overall score. Fix your flaws before perfecting your strengths. 

Conclusion 

A well-structured GMAT study session is about more than just practicing questions—it's about transforming those practice sessions into meaningful learning experiences. By balancing question-solving with in-depth review and strategic note-taking, you’ll build a strong foundation for GMAT success. Remember, consistency and focused practice are key, so make every study session count.