I am preparing for the GMAT and the data sufficiency and critical reasoning sections have been very difficult for me. I really need advice in those areas.
BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course
Redeem
Featured Course
Target Test Prep GMAT OnDemand
Scott Woodbury-Stewart’s private virtual classroom — 400 hours of master-class video lessons for the GMAT Focus Edition.
- 715+ score guarantee — highest in the industry (99th percentile)
- 52 chapters · 1,500+ lessons · 4,000+ practice questions
- 400 hours of video · 1,500+ instructor-led HD smartboard lessons
- 300,000+ students accepted to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Booth & Sloan & more
- 24/7 live support + weekly Zoom office hours with GMAT instructors
- TTP AI Assist — 24/7 AI-powered virtual tutor for instant help
- 1,200+ flashcards + AI-powered study assistant & daily calendar
- OnDemand, LiveTeach & GMAT Bootcamp formats available
- Also: GRE, SAT Math & Executive Assessment courses
- MBA Admissions Consulting now available
- 🏆 2025 EdTech Breakthrough Award: Test Prep Solution Provider of the Year
- 200,000+ students served
- 5-day free trial — $0 to start, no auto-billing, cancel anytime
★★★★★
5.0
(559 reviews)
130-pt guarantee
$0 to start
then $127/mo
Data Sufficiency and Critical Reading - A big headache
Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy |
-
vomhorizon
- Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
- Posts: 194
- Location: India
- Thanked: 26 times
- GMAT Score:730
As far as my prep experience goes. Data sufficiency mistakes fall broadly into two categories:
* Topic difficulty, unknown concept
* Strategy
The former refers to certain topics that one is sometimes weak in or unfamiliar with and the latter refers to the "approach" that one uses to solve DS questions within the broader 2 minute requirement.
If you are struggling with the approach aspect, i would suggest that you go over on the MGMAT website and check out Thursdays with Ron videos on DS. They are awesome as far as strategy, paraphrasing etc. If you are struggling with the concepts then you would have to hit the basic prep books again for more practice. For a source of practice questions try the OG DS Section (includes DS questions of all difficulty level) or buy a dedicated DS book. I recommend the Veritas Prep DS book (10 bucks used on Amazon, or 22 bucks from VP along with 5 CAT's), it includes 116 (iirc) questions from the real basic ones to a few dozen moderate to advanced questions.
CR is a bit tricky, you have to REVIEW concepts and practice questions until you develop good accuracy. One good thing is that once you improve your CR skill you will most likely also see improvement in your RC.
* Topic difficulty, unknown concept
* Strategy
The former refers to certain topics that one is sometimes weak in or unfamiliar with and the latter refers to the "approach" that one uses to solve DS questions within the broader 2 minute requirement.
If you are struggling with the approach aspect, i would suggest that you go over on the MGMAT website and check out Thursdays with Ron videos on DS. They are awesome as far as strategy, paraphrasing etc. If you are struggling with the concepts then you would have to hit the basic prep books again for more practice. For a source of practice questions try the OG DS Section (includes DS questions of all difficulty level) or buy a dedicated DS book. I recommend the Veritas Prep DS book (10 bucks used on Amazon, or 22 bucks from VP along with 5 CAT's), it includes 116 (iirc) questions from the real basic ones to a few dozen moderate to advanced questions.
CR is a bit tricky, you have to REVIEW concepts and practice questions until you develop good accuracy. One good thing is that once you improve your CR skill you will most likely also see improvement in your RC.
"When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you'll be successful." - Eric Thomas
GMAT/MBA Expert
-
Brent@GMATPrepNow
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 16207
- Location: Vancouver, BC
- Thanked: 5254 times
- GMAT Score:770
It may help to know that everyone struggles with Data Sufficiency (DS) questions at first. This question type is totally unique to the GMAT, so it's foreign territory.
If you're looking for some extra DS resources, we have a free set of videos that cover everything you need to know: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat-data-sufficiency
Cheers,
Brent
If you're looking for some extra DS resources, we have a free set of videos that cover everything you need to know: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat-data-sufficiency
Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
