Data sufficiency questions don’t test on your number-crunching skills but rather if you’re able to take the data, the event/context, and conceptually solve it using what you’re given. It tests how you approach a problem and go about solving it rather than your calculation or arithmetic skills. That said, if you’re serious about acing this section in your GMAT preparation, here are a few must-know tips.
Don’t connect one statement to the next when you’re going through the numbered choices in your GMAT test. Be sure to analyze them individually with no regard to the next ones. For example, once you’ve read Statement 1, forget about it and move on to Statement 2. Don’t make any assumptions and treat each statement completely differently. Start off by solving the simplest statement out of the choices you’re given first to make things easier.
Some questions will ask you to answer in numerical values over variables. And numeric values have one specific answer instead of a range of values like variables. There are also value questions versus yes/no questions in the syllabus of GMAT. Value questions involve numbers but the yes/no ones are definitive and easier to answer. Before solving a problem in the GMAT format, determine if it’s a value or yes/no question.
The process of elimination will save you time when it comes to attempting the data sufficiency section. Narrow down your choices by eliminating the ones that don’t work.
Problems that involve line segments or visuals of any kind are often not drawn to scale. Don’t eyeball the measurements but use the numbers and figures that are provided instead. You can register for GMAT here and attempt such problems by working through the GMAT mock test free online.
Our final tip is to not overanalyze what you’re working through in the GMAT question paper. You should spend your time thinking in terms of concepts instead of numbers. Focus on quantitative concepts and not problem-solving or manipulating numbers. For any problems that come with a story, don’t read into the plot too much since there’s no additional meaning or layer attached.
The biggest takeaway here is that you don’t have to fully solve the problems outlined in the GMAT exams. You just have to figure out if the data that’s given according to the context is enough to solve the problem. That’s it.
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