MBA programs demand rich analytical and strong communication skills — the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) is providing another way for MBA applicants to prove these abilities in the admissions process with the new GMAC Business Writing Assessment.
What Is the GMAC Business Writing Assessment?
The GMAC Business Writing Assessment is a 30-minute writing exercise. Test takers are given an argument to analyze, critiquing the argument’s reasoning and evidence objectively and clearly. It is designed to measure analysis, reasoning, and written communication skills. It costs $30 to take and results can be sent to target MBA programs for free.
Filling a Gap
With the overhaul of GMAC’s GMAT Exam (10th Edition) eliminating the writing section, this Business Writing Assessment now complements the all-multiple-choice, current version of the GMAT Exam (formerly GMAT Focus). For the 2024-2025 application year, Columbia Business School, Harvard Business School, and MIT Sloan have incorporated the Business Writing Assessment into their admissions. In their FAQs, HBS notes that they require all admitted students to have an official writing assessment; this can be covered with a valid GRE, GMAT (10th Edition), or English language test score. However, HBS applicants who only submitted a GMAT Focus score and are invited to interview should plan to take the GMAC Business Writing Assessment to meet the requirement. MIT Sloan notes that candidates may be asked to take the GMAT Business Writing Assessment after interview invitations are sent. CBS has yet to note how they’re incorporating the Business Writing Assessment, but all applicants must submit a self-reported valid GMAT, Executive Assessment, or GRE score when submitting an application.
Resources and Sample Questions
GMAC offers a free Business Writing Assessment Guide that includes test-taking strategies and detailed information on scoring criteria. They also offer 32 pages of sample essay questions, which include the directions for the test. For $30, candidates can take a practice assessment.
Each Business Writing Assessment is scored using a standardized rubric with a scale of 0-6 in one-point increments. The scoring criteria are:
- The overall quality of your ideas
- Your ability to organize, develop, and express those ideas
- How well you provide relevant supporting reasons and examples
- Your ability to control the elements of standard written English
The test is available online and can be taken anytime throughout the year, by appointment. Interested applicants need to register for an account on GMAC’s website, then purchase the official test under “Products.” Results are available within 3-5 days.
