GMAT Cafe

The GMAT quantitative section has two question types :

• Problem Solving
• Data Sufficiency

Lets discuss a few important tips and strategies. Please remember that this is not a definitive list, but this list constitutes the most important steps you ought to take.

Read the question closely and carefully :

Fortunately for most of us, GMAT tests only on basic, high school level math concepts. There is no calculus or trigonometry involved (phew!!). But, that does not mean that GMAT problems are easy. GMAT quantitative problems can get really tricky and difficult.

The difficulty lies in the way the problem is presented. Most of the times, it is the wording of the problem that makes the problem difficult or tricky. Sometimes, the questions are “new” math concepts that are a mixture of 2-3 different concepts.

Get into the habit of reading the questions carefully. Read it twice if you have to and make sure you know what is being said and what is being asked. This is very crucial.

Check if there is a short-cut, there almost always is :

You have to understand that GMAC is not out to test how accurately or how fast you calculate. It is out to test, how sound your understanding of  underlying math concepts is. For this very reason, you will almost never face long computations.

The GMAT test-makers design the problems in such a way that it is generally unnecessary to carry out calculations. If you find yourself doing a long calculation, you most likely have done something wrong; You must have missed something critical in the question, or have taken the wrong approach.

So be on the look-out for traps and avoid falling into them. There always is a short-cut in the problem, provided you have trained yourself enough to see it.

Simply put, avoid unnecessary work !

Use your scratch paper :

Use the scratch paper to note down every important detail (with the mathematical units, if applicable) from the question. Otherwise, you may miss out something important under the exam stress.

Use the scratch paper to simplify the trickily worded questions into equations, diagrams, sketches or anything. Performing steps mentally, can actually slow you down. So, it is a good idea to get the habit of using the scratch paper.

Also, you have to be very careful while copying down details from the computer screen, as you run the risk of miscopying something. Use the scratch paper extensively during your practice to get used with copying information from questions and to get used to writing down as you think. Remember to use the scratch paper even for the simplest of problems.

Practice, Practice, Practice :

With practice, you can internalize all the above tips into your mental system. When you have enough practice, you will perform some steps almost intuitively and thus save a lot of time. Practice as many problems as possible and remember, each problem can teach you something. The more you practice, the more you get to learn.

Nothing beats practice.

The Data Sufficiency (DS) question type was created and designed especially for GMAT. This is a very unusual question format and might take sometime to get used with. The test-taker is presented with a question followed by two statements, which may or may not be useful in determining the answer to the question. The test-taker must then determine whether either statement alone is sufficient to answer the question; whether both are needed to answer the question; or whether there is not enough information given to answer the question. As I have mentioned in one of my previous posts, the data sufficiency questions have the same set of answer choices. So, it is a good idea to memorize the answer choices, saves time.

This question type can be best explained with an example. Let us take a very simple example.

But before we proceed, there is a simple tip to remember for data sufficiency questions. The AD/BCE rule.

The rule goes like this: you start the question by checking whether statement 1 alone works. If it does, then either option A or D are correct. If not, then the answer must be either B, C or E.

Question :

If a=2, what is the value of a+b ?

Statements :

1. b=5
2. a+b=7

Answer Choices :

1. Statement (1) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (2) ALONE is not sufficient.
2. Statement (2) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (1) ALONE is not sufficient.
3. BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient.
4. EACH statement ALONE is sufficient.
5. Statements (1) and (2) TOGETHER are NOT sufficient.

Solution :

Note down the details provided in the question on your scratch paper. Also, note down what the question is asking to determine. So your scratch paper might look something like this :

a = 2

a + b = ??

Now read the statement 1. Note down the details provided in statement 1 on your scratch paper. Now the question we have chosen is extremely simple, so there is actually not much calculation or logic involved. So, on your scratch you will have :

a = 2

a + b = ??

(1) –> b = 5 ( clearly sufficient to answer the question)

Applying the AD/BCE rule, we see that since statement 1 alone is the answer must be either A or D. Lets go to statement 2 to see if it is sufficient.

Note down all the details provided in statement 2 :

(2) –> a + b = 7 ( clearly sufficient to answer the question)

We can see that each statement is ALONE sufficient to answer the question. So we choose D.

Data sufficiency questions are known to be the trickiest of the lot. Some questions may require the test-takers to think on the abstract level. A strong hold on the fundamentals is essential to ace data sufficiency questions, so it is advisable to spend a lot of time practicing these questions.

The Quantitative section of the test measures mathematical skills and understanding of elementary concepts, and the ability to reason quantitatively, solve quantitative problems, and interpret graphic data. - The GMAT Information Bulletin 2008

The section following the optional break after the AWA Section is the quantitative section. This is the first multiple-choice section you would face on the GMAT. This section has questions formulated from elementary mathematics concepts. One thing to remember is that the GMAT quantitative section is a test of quantitative reasoning rather than your regular math test. One does not need to be a math major to score high on this test. Just knowledge of basic concepts and a lot of common sense is required.

The quantitative section consists of 37 multiple choice questions, which must be answered within 75 minutes. There are two types of questions: problem solving and data sufficiency and the questions are mostly from Algebra, Geometry and Arithmetic. The quantitative section is scored from 0 to 60 points.

Problem Solving (PS):

Problem Solving questions are designed to test mathematical skills, understanding of elementary mathematical concepts, and the ability to reason quantitatively and solve quantitative problems. The task is to solve the problems and choose the correct answer from among five answer choices. Some problems will be plain mathematical calculations; the rest will be presented as real life word problems that will require mathematical solutions.

The GMAT Problem Solving questions are formulated in such a way that there is almost always no need of lengthy computation. If you find yourself into a lengthy computation, you have most likely made a mistake.

Data Sufficiency (DS):

This question format was created especially for GMAT. More than quantitative capability, this question type tests the test-takers on abstract logical thinking. Data Sufficiency questions are designed to measure your ability to analyze a quantitative problem, to recognize which information is relevant, and to determine at what point there is sufficient information to solve the problem. Each Data Sufficiency question consists of a question and two statements, labeled (1) and (2), which contain additional information. You must decide whether the data given in the statements are sufficient for answering the question.

As with the Problem Solving questions, the Data Sufficiency questions do not require lengthy computation. Sometimes, one does not need to do even a single step of mathematical computation to solve Data Sufficiency questions.

Each data sufficiency question has the same given choices. So memorizing them will save some time on your exam. The answer choices are as follows.

• A. Statement 1 alone is sufficient but statement 2 alone is not sufficient to answer the question asked.
• B. Statement 2 alone is sufficient but statement 1 alone is not sufficient to answer the question asked.
• C. Both statements 1 and 2 together are sufficient to answer the question but neither statement is sufficient alone.
• D. Each statement alone is sufficient to answer the question.
• E. Statements 1 and 2 are not sufficient to answer the question asked and additional data is needed to answer the question.

Things to remember before you face the GMAT quantitative section :

1. Read the questions carefully. Missing one word (or mis-interpreting one word) in the question can prove to be dangerous.
2. You should NOT take more than 2 minutes per question on an average. If you find yourself taking more than 3 minutes for a question, make an educated guess and move on. This is extremely important.
3. You are not allowed to carry a calculator or any such device into the exam center. So practice your math !
4. Use the scratch paper provided. Try not to calculate mentally. This helps avoid careless mistakes that can creep into your calculations.
5. All numbers used in the GMAT quantitative section are real numbers.
6. The diagrams and figures that accompany the questions are for the purpose of providing useful information in answering the questions. Unless it is stated that a specific figure is not drawn to scale, the diagrams and figures are drawn as accurately as possible.
7. All figures are in a plane unless otherwise indicated.

Remember : Don’t under-estimate the GMAT. Practice your math.

Now that we know what is GMAT exam. We will go forward with the format of the exam.

There are 3 parts of the GMAT exam.

• Analytical Writing Assessment (60 minutes, 2 essays)
• Quantitative Ability ( 75 minutes, 37 questions )
• Verbal Ability (75 minutes, 41 questions)

Analytical Writing Assessment: The GMAT begins with Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA). The test-taker is required to write 2 short essays. The GMAT provides a simple word-processing program for this purpose. Each essay has to be completed in exactly 30 minutes.

The first is the Analysis of an Issue, in which you need to analyze the issue presented and explain your views on it. The second essay is Analysis of an Argument, in which a given argument has to be critically analyzed and evaluated. For both the essays, the emphasis is on the “Analytical” part, and not on the “Writing” part.

Quantitative Section: As the name suggests, this section contains questions on mathematics. This section begins after an optional (in my opinion,recommended) 10-minute break.  The 37 questions in this section comprise two kinds of questions : Problem Solving (PS) and Data Sufficiency (DS). These two types are intermingled, with no fixed number for each type.

Verbal Section: After another optional (again, recommended) 10-minute break, the verbal section begins. The verbal section in GMAT tests basic English skills coupled with reasoning and analysis. The 41 questions consist of three types : Sentence Correction (SC), Critical Reasoning (CR), and Reading Comprehension (RC). The three types are intermingled, with no fixed number for each type.

Computer-Adaptive format

The GMAT is a Computer Adaptive Test (CAT). The essays are not adaptive. The quantitative and verbal sections, however, are adaptive. By adaptive it means the difficulty level of every question (barring a few experimental questions) apart from the first question depends on whether you got the previous question right or wrong. In other words, if you answer a question right, the next question presented will be of higher difficulty and if you get a question wrong, the next question will be from easier levels.

Few points to remember (in no particular order):

• Reading from a book and paper is different from reading from a computer screen. Get used to reading questions from a computer screen.
• Pacing is extrememly important. There is heavy penalty for questions left unanswered.
• Due to the adaptive format of GMAT, your score will reduce drastically if you have a string of wrong answers.
• Practice at least one full length test from the two free GMATPrep tests provided by www.mba.com. Of course, the more you practice, the more equipped you are to sit through the four hour grueling session.
• Time is the most expensive resource even on GMAT. If I say every second counts, I am not exaggerating.

Related Resources:

• Official writeup on the Test Structure and Overview.
• Free GMATPrep Software