Top 3 Tips to Increase Speed in Data Insights
If you want to answer Data Insights questions efficiently, make sure you have the following 3 basics down first and foremost.
Tip 1: Master Quant and Verbal First
Data Insights tests familiar Quantitative Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning concepts and skills in new ways.
So, if you don’t have a solid foundation of Quant and Verbal skills before you attempt to answer Data Insights questions—and especially before you attempt to answer them quickly—you’re going to be disappointed with your DI performance.
On the other hand, if your Quant and Verbal skills are already strong when you start tackling DI questions, mastering DI will be much easier.
The fact is, no amount of familiarity with DI questions will allow you to answer them efficiently if you continually get stuck on the foundational Quant and Verbal concepts on which DI questions are based.
So, master Quant and Verbal before you start your Data Insights study, which you should add in the later stages of your GMAT prep.
If you want to answer Data Insights questions efficiently, make sure you have the following 3 basics down first and foremost.
Tip 1: Master Quant and Verbal First
Data Insights tests familiar Quantitative Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning concepts and skills in new ways.
So, if you don’t have a solid foundation of Quant and Verbal skills before you attempt to answer Data Insights questions—and especially before you attempt to answer them quickly—you’re going to be disappointed with your DI performance.
On the other hand, if your Quant and Verbal skills are already strong when you start tackling DI questions, mastering DI will be much easier.
The fact is, no amount of familiarity with DI questions will allow you to answer them efficiently if you continually get stuck on the foundational Quant and Verbal concepts on which DI questions are based.
So, master Quant and Verbal before you start your Data Insights study, which you should add in the later stages of your GMAT prep.
Tip 2: Build Familiarity With Each DI Question Type
Once you have broad mastery of Quant and Verbal, the biggest hurdle to working efficiently in Data Insights is building familiarity and comfort with the DI question types.
You must take the time to thoroughly study each DI question type, its subtypes, and the specific strategies associated with each type. For example, to master Graphics Interpretation, you should have strategies for analyzing each type of graph you may see. So, you should know how to efficiently analyze scatterplots, stacked column charts, and so on.
To master Table Analysis, you should know how to identify what a question is asking for and how to sort a table accordingly.
To build familiarity and confidence with each DI question type and subtype, in addition to learning strategies for each type, make sure to practice with a wide array of DI questions. Applying the strategies you learn in a broad variety of scenarios is critical preparation for tackling any DI question that you may face on test day.
Tip 3: Minimize Your Math
Many Quant-based DI questions can be solved with estimating, eyeballing (for example, in GI), or conceptual knowledge.
In fact, in most cases, the less math we do in DI, the quicker we can answer the question.
So, as much as possible, avoid precise calculations when estimating will suffice. For example, we can often determine when to estimate in DI by looking at the answer choices. If the values in the answer choices are spread out, then we know we can estimate. If the values in the answer choices are close together, then we know we will need to be more precise.
Warmest regards,
Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder & CEO, Target Test Prep
