Ask the Test Maker

sometimes in gmat quant questions , for a question like 2+2 = ?, i see the answer choices written as A) one B) two C) three D) four E) five rather than A) 1 B)2 C)3 D)4 E)5

i was wondering why you did that, because what if i do get an easy question like that and see the answer is 4, but go to my answer choices and pick "five" by accident because it's also 4 letters and starts with f. That sudden change of seeing words rather than numbers throws off test takers, especially since this is a test of time. I think you should be consistent in your style.


note: heres a question that uses words rather than #'s in the answer choices... O.G.Thirteenth ed. # Fifty

Typically the answers that are written out are not in response to questions asking for calculation, but rather count.

As a side note, selecting the answer is one of the most crucial steps in the process - give those moments the utmost focus so you don't make silly mistakes such as the one you suggest.

Thanks for the question! We do use a style guide that governs when numbers should be spelled out or presented as numerals. The style guide has changed over time, albeit infrequently, so there are some older questions that may conform to one style but questions developed more recently are written according to the current style guide. Consequently, there are some cases of inconsistency, though not many. As a result, we recommend careful reading of answer choices. Good luck!

Rebecca