Data Insights: The GMAT Section Most Students Ignore

The Most Neglected Section

Ask any GMAT study group what they are working on and you will hear "Quant" and "Verbal" almost every time. Data Insights gets saved for later, or treated as a breather.

That is a strategic mistake. For well-prepared students, it is also an opportunity.

Why Data Insights Matters

The GMAT has three sections: Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning and Data Insights. All three feed into your Total Score, so a weak Data Insights score pulls your total down just as much as a weak Quant or Verbal score would.

Data Insights is also very learnable. There are only five question types, each with a predictable format, and most students have barely practised them. A few weeks of focused work can move your score more here than the same time spent polishing a section you are already good at.

What the Section Looks Like

Data Insights has 20 questions in 45 minutes. Questions can require maths, data analysis, verbal reasoning or all three. Unlike Quant, you can use an on-screen calculator in this section.

The Five Question Types

Data Sufficiency

You are given a question and two statements, and you decide whether the statements give you enough information to answer it.

You never need to find the answer, only whether a single definite answer exists.

The trap: solving the whole problem to check sufficiency. That wastes time. Stop as soon as you know whether a unique answer exists.

Multi-Source Reasoning

You get two or three tabs of information, such as an email, a table and a chart, and answer several questions about them.

Table Analysis

You get a table of data that you can sort, much like a spreadsheet, and judge whether a set of statements about it is true.

Tip: sort first. Most of these statements become easy once the table is sorted by the right column, so practise sorting quickly.

Graphics Interpretation

You get a graph or chart, such as a scatter plot, bar chart or pie chart, and complete statements about it by choosing from drop-down options.

Two-Part Analysis

You choose one answer in each of two columns, and the pair must work together. These can be quantitative, such as two values that satisfy a set of conditions, or verbal, such as the two parts of an argument.

Find the condition that links the two columns first. Then eliminate answers column by column rather than testing pairs at random.

A 2-Week Data Insights Plan

Week 1: one question type at a time

Week 2: Two-Part Analysis and mixed practice

The Compound Skill

Data Insights rewards the combination of Quant and Verbal skills. The strongest performers can read and process information quickly, set up and solve equations quickly, and do not panic when the data looks complicated.

If your Quant and Verbal preparation is going well, Data Insights will come faster than you expect, because you are already building both skills.

The Bottom Line

Do not leave Data Insights for last. Track each of the five question types as its own topic in myExamRoutine, log your practice accuracy, and give the section the same attention as the other two.