How to Crack the GMAT Integrated Reasoning

Many people focus solely on the Quantitative and Verbal sections during GMAT Preparation since only these sections are counted towards the aggregate. Yet, you must remember that the other two sections are there for a purpose. They are also meant to judge your suitability for B-school.

Do not neglect the Integrated Reasoning section while doing GMAT Preparation. The skills that it is designed to test are important for tackling real-life business issues.

As experienced trainers for GMAT Preparation will tell you, some skills that are tested here are the same as those needed for QA and VA- for instance, careful reading, interpretation, analysis. So, much of the preparation for IR in terms of brushing up on concepts and developing competencies will be done through preparing these sections.

But IR additionally tests strategic thinking and decision-making skills. So, you must make IR an important part of your GMAT Preparation Plan as valuable skills that will be developed or honed thus will serve you well beyond the GMAT.

There are 12 questions in IR. They are divided into 4 broad categories: (i) Graphics Interpretation; (ii) Two-part Analysis; (iii) Table Analysis; and (iv) Multi-source Reasoning. These questions are posed through different kinds of formats.

For IR, keep these in mind:

Do Prepare Well: As trainers for GMAT Preparation will assert, unpreparedness will not only make you more nervous on the day of the exam but also more mentally exhausted after solving. Resultantly, QA and VA performance will be adversely affected. On the other hand, preparedness will boost your confidence and help you tackle it well.

Know the Question Types Well: Get familiar with the format of the questions and with how different kinds of information are variously presented. It does not do to be surprised on the day of the exam. Practice all question types while doing GMAT Preparation.

Learn to Focus on the Essential Information and Interpret It: Understanding the question properly plays a big part, of course. During GMAT Preparation, learn to focus on the essential information rather than getting lost in details. Look closely at tables, charts and graphs, and practice interpreting them.

Be Alert to the Tricky Wording: While engaged in GMAT Preparation, you will realize that you should be alert to the wording to know what is required.

Learn to Manage Time: Managing time on IR is challenging. You get 30 minutes to answer 12 questions, each having multiple parts. And the answer to each part has to be correct for you to score on a particular question. So focus on accuracy rather than the number of questions you are managing to attempt. During GMAT Preparation, pay attention to your strong areas to build speed.

Reputed trainers for GMAT Preparation will not only familiarize you with all question types but also give tips for solving them. The study material for GMAT Preparation that they provide will equip you to tackle questions and thereby reflect your abilities.

Compromising on practice will not do. Take the trainers’ help to make a GMAT Preparation Plan that reserves sufficient time for IR.