Estimating and critical thinking skills are much more valuable than your on-screen calculator.
Welcome to “Land Your Score,” a blog series in which Kaplan instructor Jennifer Land shares key insights and strategies for improving your GMAT performance on Test Day. This week, Jennifer discusses how to approach Integrated Reasoning using the Kaplan Method.
Hello again, intrepid test-takers! In this post I will give you an overview of the different types of problems you will see in the Integrated Reasoning (IR) section of the GMAT.
Integrated Reasoning overview
The Integrated Reasoning (IR) section was introduced when the GMAT was revamped in 2012. Because IR is still relatively new, most business schools do not place much emphasis on your IR score; however, that might be changing. A bad score in IR can be a red flag, much like a bad AWA score can. So, buckle down and get comfortable with IR!
- Integrated Reasoning is scored separately (from 1-8) from your Quant/Verbal composite score, just like AWA is.
- IR is not adaptive, but you still must answer the questions in order. You cannot skip around between questions.
- You have 30 minutes to answer 12 questions, several of which have multiple parts. This is generally not enough time to work through every problem.
- There is no partial credit, so you must answer all parts correctly to get credit for the question.
- IR is the only part of the GMAT that gives you a calculator. But don’t get too excited about that; you can only input numbers with mouse-clicks, which takes A LOT of time that you don’t have. Estimating and critical thinking are more useful than the calculator.
There are four types of Integrated Reasoning questions. Let’s look at each one.
Graphics interpretation questions
Graphics interpretation tests your ability to analyze bar graphs and scatter plots. Each graphics interpretation question asks you to solve two problems from drop-down menus.
- Quickly scan the title on the graph and on each axis, noting the scale of the numbers on each axis. See if there are any obvious trends in the data. For example, if there is a regression line in a scatter plot, observe whether it is linear or nonlinear.
- Glance at the answer choices in the drop-down menu before you begin answering each problem.
Multi-source reasoning questions
Multi-source reasoning comprises a series of yes/no statements that require you to synthesize data from multiple tabs of information. This can be very time consuming, so remember that they may be good candidates for guessing and moving on.
- Quickly read each tab, taking brief notes before you go to the questions.
- Before you use any data to analyze each “yes/no” statement, make sure that you’ve characterized exactly what would constitute a “yes” answer and a “no” answer.
- For each statement, use your notes to guide you back to the relevant tab(s).
Table analysis questions
Table analysis question sets test your ability to gather relevant information from spreadsheets. You are able to sort the data by column heading using a drop-down menu.
- As you do with graphics interpretation data, read the title and column/row headings of each table before you go to the questions.
- Take notes as you go.
- Questions may be multiple choice or true/false statements.
- Some questions will require you to sort the data multiple times; other questions are solved more quickly by estimating and not sorting at all.
- Generally, questions that ask about the median or least/greatest value in a set, or the range, are good questions on which to use the sort function.
Table analysis questions also tend to be time consuming, so keep an eye on your timer when deciding whether to tackle these.
Two-part analysis questions
Two-part analysis asks you to find solutions for two components of a problem. These include math-based and verbal logic-based questions. The correct answers will be the two answer choices that, together, fit within the context of the information given.
- On math-based two-part analysis questions, write equations with the information in the stem and then backsolve answer choices to test them out.
- On verbal-based questions, write down key points or rules.
- It’s not possible to predict the correct answers to a two-part analysis problem, or to solve for precise answers using only the information in the question stem.
- Sometimes the same answer choice is the correct answer to both components.
- Always double-check to confirm that you’ve matched each answer to the proper column!
There’s a lot to take in with Integrated Reasoning, but remember that your estimating and critical thinking skills will get you through it. Practice this section to get familiar with the four question types, and learn which ones tend to be easiest and which ones tend to be overly time-consuming for you.
Next time we will look at AWA, so stay tuned!
Want to master Integrated Reasoning on the GMAT? Visit Kaptest.com/gmat to explore our course options.
The post Land Your Score: Integrated Reasoning, Pt. 1 appeared first on Business School Insider.
