Chapter 26

Ten Question Types You’ve Got a Good Shot At

IN THIS CHAPTER

Revealing the kinds of questions you’ve got a good chance to get right

Taking advantage of the easier questions

With all that math, grammar, and logical reasoning, you can develop a headache just thinking about the GMAT. And knowing that you have only a half hour to write an essay doesn’t help! Why can’t the GMAT cut you some slack? Well, it does … sort of. You see, certain GMAT questions may be a little easier to answer than others. In this chapter, we lay out ten types of questions you have a greater chance of answering correctly with greater consistency so you can buy yourself a little time to use on the tougher questions in each section.

Main-Theme Reading Questions

In general, reading comprehension questions are a little easier than critical reasoning questions. For reading comprehension questions, the answers are right there on the screen; you just need to find them. One reason main-theme questions in particular are easier is that 90 percent of the passages present you with one. Identifying the main theme should become automatic, so you don’t even have to refer to a passage to answer a question. And usually, three of the five answer choices are clearly off topic or too specific, so all you have to do is choose the best answer of the remaining two.

Specific Information Reading Questions

Specific information questions appear in every reading comprehension passage, so you’ll get used to them. You have a great shot at these questions because the computer highlights the text that contains the answer. Just read the highlighted part of the passage (and maybe the text around it) to find the correct answer. As long as you stay focused, you should bat a thousand on these beauties!

Sentence Corrections

Although sentence correction questions may not seem easy at first, they get easier with practice. The GMAT tends to focus on the same sentence errors, so taking practice tests can help you get familiar with the errors you need to know about. Answers frequently contain more than one error, providing you with more than one reason to eliminate an answer. You’ll notice the same kinds of errors appearing frequently, so you’ll be able to give the right answers frequently, too.

Exception Questions for Reading Passages

Exception questions ask you to choose the answer that isn’t stated in the passage. Usually, all you have to do is eliminate each answer choice that appears in the text. The choice left standing is the correct answer.

Strengthening or Weakening Critical Arguments

Critical reasoning questions that ask you what strengthens or weakens the argument tend to rely on cause-and-effect relationships or analogies. If an author reaches a conclusion by cause and effect, you choose an answer that either shows other causes for the effect (to weaken the argument) or that emphasizes that no other causes for the effect exist (to strengthen the argument). To weaken analogy arguments, choose an answer that shows the compared entities are dissimilar. An answer that highlights similarities strengthens the argument.

Data Sufficiency Math Questions

Data sufficiency questions usually take less time to answer than problem solving math questions. You don’t have to actually solve the problem to answer the question correctly. Just follow the step-by-step process outlined in Chapter 20 to stay focused.

Math Problem Solving with Figures

One of the hardest parts of a problem solving question is getting started. You may have trouble sifting through the information you get from word problems, but a figure presents known information clearly. Examine the information in the figure and solve the problem.

Math Problems Involving Basic Operations

Some problem solving questions present you with an equation or a simple word problem involving arithmetic, exponents, or other basic operations. You’ve been applying these basics since childhood, so all you have to do is read carefully!

Substitution Math Problems

Problem solving questions that ask you to substitute values for symbols can be simple after you understand what you’re supposed to do. In most cases, you just need to exchange a value for a symbol in an otherwise simple equation.

Graph and Table Analysis Questions

The questions that require you to analyze graphs and tables in the integrated reasoning section primarily test your ability to read data. Finding the correct answer is rarely based on your ability to read lengthy paragraphs or perform complex calculations. As long as you pay attention to how the chart categorizes the data, you should sail through these questions fairly smoothly. Just don’t complicate matters by reading more into these questions than you have to.