700-Level DS Questions Issues

Question

Hi everyone,

I took the GMAT a few months ago and received a 680 (goal of 710-730). I feel that I'm still struggling a bit on data sufficiency questions. On occasion, I'll make silly mistakes and confuse myself. I believe part of this is being unorganized and worrying about time.

In 700 level DS questions, I often seem too worried about time. It seems there are minuscule details that you have to be aware of for these harder questions and I either talk myself out of each answer or spend too much time to find every possibility. This leads to a waste of time and the anxiety will sometimes follow into the next question even if only for ~20 seconds.

Does anyone have any advice on how to stay organized in doing these problems?

Perhaps work with a study buddy with strong Quant skills to see how they approach such problems. There's a dedicated thread on gmatclub to find someone. Some Quant tips on the gmatknight blog you may also find helpful. In terms of "how to stay organized" perhaps using the AD/BCE method on DS may help.

Thanks in advance!

pintukr · Answer

Confidence will come only through solving lots of questions. That's the hard way, and no other way exists.

TheUltimateWinner · Answer

Hi buddy, Here you go for one link that will help to understand one pertinent point in DS.. https://gmatclub.com/forum/data-suffici ... l#p2215077

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi jgagne18.

I think practicing more is your solution, and you should do much of that practice untimed.

By practicing DS untimed, you'll give yourself time to learn to see the various angles of a question clearly and become very confident of your choice.

Then, once you have developed effective habits, you can work on speeding up until you're answering DS questions at test pace.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi jgagne18,

First off, a 680/Q47 is a solid Score, so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, a retest might not be necessary. Depending on the Schools that you plan to apply to, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and plans. Those Experts should be able to answer your Admissions questions and help define the specific areas of your profile that could use some improvement (and the more time that you have to act on that advice, the better). There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/

Before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

1) On what date did you take your 1st Official GMAT?
2) How long have you studied in total? How many hours do you typically study each week?
3) What study materials have you used so far? What “brands” of CATs/mocks have you used?
4) On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

If you took your Official GMAT at a Test Center, then you might also choose to purchase the Enhanced Score Report. While the ESR doesn’t provide a lot of information, there are usually a few data points that we can use to define what went wrong on Test Day (and what you should work on to score higher). If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Contact Rich at: [email protected]

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Does anyone have any advice on how to stay organized in doing these problems?

Perhaps work with a study buddy with strong Quant skills to see how they approach such problems. There's a dedicated thread on gmatclub to find someone. Some Quant tips on the gmatknight blog you may also find helpful. In terms of "how to stay organized" perhaps using the  AD/BCE  method on DS may help.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Here are some general thoughts that can help you.

First and foremost, you do need to be versed in the types of Data Sufficiency questions that can be asked:

1) Value Questions

2) Yes/No Questions

You also need to understand that Data Sufficiency questions do not have to be solved out to the “bitter end.” For instance, take a look at example 10 here: https://gmat.targettestprep.com/gmat-quant-examples

Notice that the goal of the problem is to determine the mean grade for left-handed students. If you look at the solution for statement two, notice that it’s clear that we can determine the value of L well before we actually do. So taking that mentality when solving DS questions should greatly help your accuracy and your timing.

There are definitely certain nuances or traps to be aware of when solving Data Sufficiency questions. One of those traps is the dreaded “C Trap.” In C-trap questions, you’ll be baited into choosing answer choice C because C so clearly and obviously seems to be the correct answer; DON’T TAKE THE BAIT!! For instance, take a look at example 9 here: https://gmat.targettestprep.com/gmat-quant-examples

Upon first glance, choice C seems like a logical answer, right? Yet, if you properly attack the problem, you’ll see that you can determine the value of x using statement one alone.

Once you further develop your general Data Sufficiency skills, whether you correctly solve DS questions will be based more on your topical knowledge than on anything else. For example, if you are given a DS question testing you on “units digits,” such as example 1 here: https://gmat.targettestprep.com/gmat-quant-examples

So, if you are not skilled in working with units digits and do not know that the base of 7 has a units digit of 1 when raised to an exponent that is a multiple of 4, then how can you expect to answer that particular DS question correctly, right? Thus, to improve, you would have to spend time reviewing not Data Sufficiency concepts but concepts related units digits patterns.

In summary, yes, there are some general Data Sufficiency skills that you could use to avoid being trapped or wasting time doing math unnecessarily. At the same time, if you thoroughly master each GMAT quant topic, you should not have any major issues with Data Sufficiency questions.

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