Insights from the 2022 GMAT Official Guide Books
I’ve reviewed the 2022 GMAT Official Guide (OG2022), GMAT Quantitative Review (QR2022) and GMAT Verbal Review (VR2022), comparing them to the 2021 editions. Every year, I look for new patterns and trends. These three books are essential, go-to study materials for the GMAT. The books are authored by the GMAC, the organization behind the GMAT, and they together include 1,700+ practice problems that were once on the real exam.
NOTE: At this time, the paperback books have not yet shipped, so this evaluation is based on the ebooks, which should be identical to the paperbacks. Amazon is taking pre-orders of the paperbacks, and after originally predicting a ship date of May 11, 2021, Amazon is now projecting a ship date of June 2, 2021. MBA.com has removed the paperbacks from its online store, citing “challenges with delivering physical goods.” If you are planning to take the GMAT, I recommend getting the ebooks at MBA.com, so you can start your studies sooner rather than later!
This year’s key insights include:
1. Few Changes to the Main Problem Sets. No new problems were added to the main Problem Solving (PS), Data Sufficiency (DS), Reading Comprehension (RC), Critical Reasoning (CR) or Sentence Correction (SC) sections in any of the three books. Only three problems were removed from OG2022 - two CR and one SC.
2. New Math Review and Verbal Review Sections. Intended to provide an overview of fundamental skills, these sections unfortunately feature an overdose of terminology and obscure details. Though I recommend that anyone new to the GMAT read them, these sections would benefit from some serious editing. For example, section 6.5.1 describes how some fragments are grammatically acceptable; however, section 9.2.3 tells us that these are not tested. Also, section 6.4 covers logic gymnastics and minutiae that are of little practical value. Years ago, Veritas Prep, where I taught for 10+ years, removed these logic concepts from its GMAT course. On the plus side, each section includes 25 sample problems recycled from old OG books.
3. New Online Diagnostic Tests. After you read the new Math Review and Verbal Review sections, taking the new online diagnostic is a good next step. Featuring 24 quant and 36 verbal problems recycled from previous OG books as well as 8 Integrated Reasoning (IR) problems , the new online diagnostic supplants the old paper-based diagnostic, which last appeared in OG2020 and which BTW included many great, classic problems that are now in the Online Exclusive section of the Wiley online dashboard.
The quant section of the new online diagnostic includes one super-hard geometry problem, which I wouldn’t suggest worrying about. Maybe it was included just to convince any quant rockstars that they’ll be challenged! That’s not a bad message, though, because few people can easily and consistently max out their quant score. (This exam will take the best you can give it, and in general, your scores will reflect the effort!)
4. New Online Flash Cards. The Wiley online dashboard also provides access to 163 new flash cards. They’re worth flipping through and studying more carefully if necessary; however, they are far from comprehensive. At least a couple have serious typos. (I’ve alerted the GMAC, so they should soon be fixed!) Also, the choice of content is in some cases bizarre. For example, a few cards are devoted to the formulas for volume and surface area of a sphere. As a result, we must accept that these formulas may be tested; however, I’ve never seen them tested in an official problem!
Moreover, the flash cards present some concepts in a way that’s not the only way - and perhaps not the best way. For example, work / rate problems are presented with a formulaic approach that may preclude a thorough understanding of the concept and may actually hamper your ability to do problems efficiently.
5. Other New Features and Updates. Many answer explanations have been updated, something that’s been sorely needed. The new online prep plan quiz is a marketing tool that directs you to purchase official prep products. Miscellaneous online, mobile and offline capabilities have been tweaked. For details, see the GMAC’s official release, “What’s New in the GMAT Official Guide 2022.”
There are a few more key observations that I hold in reserve for Simply Brilliant's clients! My approach to GMAT prep includes assigning targeted lists of official problems. As in years past, I’ve sorted all the new (and recycled) problems to help clients navigate the OG resources effectively. My homework lists also include many great problems in old OG books that have been removed in the newer editions. The old editions are good resources for additional problems that were once on the real GMAT. You may be able to find old OG books at Amazon.com, eBay or even your local library!