Section guide ยท Data Insights
Data Insights: the GMAT's newest section
Data Insights is where the GMAT Focus Edition tests whether you can pull decisions out of messy data. Twenty questions in 45 minutes, an on-screen calculator, and five question types, including the data sufficiency format that used to live in Quant.
This is one of four section guides on GMAT GRE Prep, the free study hub for both exams. Start with the GMAT overview if you have not read it yet.
The five question types
| Type | The task | Key skill |
|---|---|---|
| Data sufficiency | Decide whether the given statements are enough to answer the question, without solving it fully. | Knowing when you could solve, not solving |
| Multi-source reasoning | Answer questions using two or three tabs of text, tables, or charts. | Cross-referencing sources under time pressure |
| Table analysis | Sort a data table and judge whether statements are true. | Sorting, filtering, and reading column definitions precisely |
| Graphics interpretation | Complete statements by reading a chart (scatterplot, bar, line, or flow). | Estimating from axes and spotting trends |
| Two-part analysis | Pick one value in each of two linked columns so both conditions hold. | Systems thinking: the two answers must agree with each other |
Data sufficiency deserves its own drill
Data sufficiency is the format most test-takers have never seen before the GMAT. You get a question and two statements, and you choose which combination of statements is sufficient to answer it. The five answer choices are always the same, in the same order: statement 1 alone, statement 2 alone, both together, each alone, or neither even together.
- Read the question and ask: what would a full answer require? A single value? A yes or no?
- Test statement 1 alone. If it is sufficient, the answer is A or D; if not, B, C, or E.
- Test statement 2 alone with the same fork.
- Combine the two only if neither alone is sufficient.
- Never assume anything not stated. Diagrams are not to scale, and variables can be negative or fractional unless restricted.
The most expensive data sufficiency habit is solving the problem. If statement 1 is "x = 4," you do not need to compute what x + 7 equals. Sufficient means sufficient. Move.
Strategy for the data-heavy types
- Multi-source reasoning: skim all tabs for ten seconds before answering anything, so you know where each fact lives. These sets carry multiple questions, so the orientation pays for itself.
- Table analysis: read the column headers and footnotes before the rows; most traps hinge on units or definitions.
- Graphics interpretation: estimate aggressively. Drop-down choices are usually far apart, so precision beyond one decimal is wasted time.
- Two-part analysis: solve the easier column first, then filter the harder column against it. Guessing one column correctly earns nothing; both must be right.
Pacing and the calculator
Twenty questions in 45 minutes is 2 minutes 15 seconds each, but multi-source sets justify more. Budget up to 4 minutes for a multi-question set and win the time back on single graphics and table items. The on-screen calculator is basic; use it for arithmetic on large numbers only, because keystrokes are slower than estimation for everything else.
Sharpen the underlying arithmetic with the quant formula cheat sheet and the ratio and statistics questions in thepractice bank.