Free GMAT Course > Integrated Reasoning > Multi-Source Reasoning

In Multi-Source Reasoning, questions are accompanied by two to three sources of information presented on tabbed pages. Each tab may contain a combination of text, charts, and tables. You will click on the tabs and examine all the relevant information to answer questions. Because these questions are data-heavy, it can be difficult to manage your time.

Strategy

You only have about 2.5 minutes for each Integrated Reasoning question, so it’s important to follow an effective strategy when faced with data-heavy questions. Your approach to multi-source reasoning questions should follow these general steps:

  1. Briefly look over the tabs of information. Read the tab titles and any headers.
  2. Read the question. This will tell you what keywords to look for and give you context for the information the tabs contain.
  3. Read the tabbed sources looking for information related to the question. Make sure to read actively and take brief notes. For multi-source reasoning questions, you will typically get three sets of questions relating to one set of sources. By reading carefully on the first question, you can save time on later questions that use the same sources.

Sample Question 1

Sample Question 2

Final Tips

The real danger in the Integrated Reasoning section is letting the time pressure cause you to make mistakes. By gaining practice with the format, you will be better equipped to complete these problems in a more methodical and less stressful way. Integrated Reasoning is full of numbers so do not hesitate to use the on-screen calculator. When given large tables, first you should look at the whole table to get the bigger picture and then sort and sift to the numbers you need. Most importantly, don’t let Integrated Reasoning stress you out. The Quantitative and Verbal material in this section is the same as the rest of the test, so you just have to familiarize yourself with the new format.

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