GMAT Strategy

I have this nagging question in my mind.
Sometimes we come across questions in DS that we read and understand and although we might not be able to immediately pin point the right formulae or the right approach, we know instinctively that an answer can be arrived with the given values. You can call it as Instinctive Guessing.

IS IT A GOOD IDEA TO FOLLOW YOUR INSTINCTS IN SUCH CASES?

It might be a good or a bad idea depending on whether you get the question correct...

You do need to be careful with questions as there just might be a trap. Follow this strategy only if you are 100% convinced that its a good idea.

Your use of intuition makes me quite nervous. I would much prefer that you be able to state the formula and to say that you need such and such information in order to solve. Like when they ask for the measure of an arc in geometry and you realize that all you really need for that is the central angle of the arc and the diameter of the circle.

However, while I do not really subscribe to intuition, I do believe in what I call "Data Sufficiency Jujitsu." (Apologies to all practitioners of actual Jujitsu - no offense intended). Basically what I mean is understanding certain things about data sufficiency and if you have to make a decision between answer choices based on less than a complete understanding you will want to apply certain principles such as:

1) If YOU do not understand a data sufficiency problem then you should not choose answer choice E. This is because the GMAT may be trying to bully you into picking this choice just because a question seems difficult. I would say this happens more often in geometry than in the other areas. Remember, we only choose answer choice E when we completely understand the question and we know that the information is not sufficient.

2) If everything points quickly and decidedly toward answer choice E and you are confused as to how people could possibly miss the problem, you had better look again. The answer is likely to be A or B, possibly even D...in a rare case E - in other words anything but C. Do not trust the answer C if it seems like there is no way anyone could miss the problem.

So those are a couple of points of Data Sufficiency Jujitsu.

If you really believe in your intuition then, as karanrulz4ever tells us, you it might be a good idea or a bad one depending on whether it works in practice. If you are thinking of using this on test day you need to try it before hand. Mark any problems where you use "intuition" and see if you get those right!! If you get at least 2/3 right it might be something for you to think about on problems that you do not fully comprehend at the top of your mind. Maybe you do understand it a level below...test it scientifically and see!

nk_81 wrote:I have this nagging question in my mind.
Sometimes we come across questions in DS that we read and understand and although we might not be able to immediately pin point the right formulae or the right approach, we know instinctively that an answer can be arrived with the given values. You can call it as Instinctive Guessing.

IS IT A GOOD IDEA TO FOLLOW YOUR INSTINCTS IN SUCH CASES?

nk, DS as well as CR are two domains where our Reasoning and Judgmental skills are tested. Note, I said skills not knowledge, as knowledge comes from concepts rooted and tested with PS and other relevant sections of GMAT (as per Verbal part). The more you practice the better you are. Having said this, I would replace your word of intuition with automatism which is very-very detrimental for DS, especially for tricky ones. I always try to scrutinize each and every DS problem, even if I ran onto familiar topics.

nk_81 wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 01, 2011 9:54 pm

I have this nagging question in my mind.
Sometimes we come across questions in DS that we read and understand and although we might not be able to immediately pin point the right formulae or the right approach, we know instinctively that an answer can be arrived with the given values. You can call it as Instinctive Guessing.

IS IT A GOOD IDEA TO FOLLOW YOUR INSTINCTS IN SUCH CASES?wordle today

Our reasoning and judgment abilities are put to the test in both the nk and DS domains, as well as in the CR domain. Keep in mind that I emphasized skills rather than knowledge, since the latter is acquired through familiarity with the subjects covered in the GMAT's Verbal section and tested in the former. You can improve your skills by doing more practice. For this reason, I propose replacing your word "intuition" with "automatism," which is extremely destructive to DS, especially hard ones. Even when I'm working on a familiar issue, I give every DS challenge my full attention.