GMAT Study Plan

Thank you for this excellent post!

I wanted to share my perspective on the GMAT data sufficiency section from my experience (Q50 recently)

Every GMAT data sufficiency question fundamentally tests one of three skills -

1. Re-framing the original question statement to a simpler question statement
2. Avoiding key ‘traps’ and avoiding inferring more than is fact based
3. Solving ‘just enough’ so you balance getting to the right place with not running off time

Once we adopt the above three as the core pillars behind solving DS question, things become much simpler.

Take for example -

A room contains 101 people, given there is at-least 1 architect in the room, how many total architects are in the room?

1. 32% of the architects are left handed
2. 71% of the architects are bongo players

The key to solve the problem is to realizee that the number of architects only can be a whole, positive number. It cannot be something like 1.7. -13! This radically simplifies the solution space. The original question is re-framed into something simpler which is principle (1). I would let you try out this question!

I have compiled all my experiences, tips and hacks in a dedicated free toolkit guide at :mastergmatds [dot] com . Advanced DS problem solving techniques for serious test takers. Please do give it a shot!