Fable Tests

GMAT · Learn · 30 October 2026 · 6 min read

GMAT Focus Data Insights: how to approach it

A practical approach to GMAT Focus Data Insights: read the question first, organize the data, use the calculator sparingly and pace multi-part questions.

Data Insights is the section many GMAT Focus test takers find least familiar. It has 20 questions in 45 minutes, mixes math and verbal reasoning, presents data in tables, charts and tabs, and often asks several questions inside one. It is also worth exactly as much as Quant and Verbal toward your total score.

The good news is that Data Insights rewards a consistent approach more than advanced math. This guide sets out that approach: general habits first, then a method for each of the five question types. For what each type looks like, see our Data Insights overview.

Three facts that shape your strategy

  1. No partial credit. On a multi-part question, every part must be correct to earn credit.
  2. An on-screen calculator is available, but it is basic.
  3. Questions vary greatly in length. A short Data Sufficiency question and a three-tab Multi-Source Reasoning set can take very different amounts of time.

Together, these mean you should work accurately, estimate where you can and manage time across the section rather than per question.

General habits

Read the question before the data

Before you study a table or read three tabs, read the question and all its parts. Knowing exactly what is asked tells you which data to look at and which to ignore. Many Data Insights questions include far more information than you need.

Reason first, calculate second

Most errors in Data Insights come from misreading, not from hard math. Before calculating, check:

Estimate whenever you can

Many statements only ask whether a value is above or below a threshold, or whether one value is greater than another. Estimation usually settles these faster than the calculator. Use the calculator for awkward multiplication or division where the answer is close.

Write a little

Use your noteboard to record intermediate values and the key facts from each tab. A few words and numbers save rereading.

Data Sufficiency

You are given a question and two statements. You decide whether the statements provide enough information to answer the question, not what the answer is. See our Data Sufficiency guide for the five fixed answer choices.

A method:

  1. Understand the question. What exactly must be known? For a yes/no question, sufficient means a definite yes or a definite no.
  2. Test statement 1 alone. Is it sufficient?
  3. Test statement 2 alone, forgetting statement 1 completely.
  4. Only if neither works alone, test them together.

Here is a question we have written to show the idea:

Is the integer n even? (1) 3n is even. (2) n + 4 is even.

Statement 1: if 3n is even, n must be even, because an odd number times 3 is odd. Sufficient. Statement 2: if n + 4 is even, n must be even. Sufficient. Each statement alone is enough.

Common traps:

Two-Part Analysis

You choose one answer for each of two columns from a shared list. See our Two-Part Analysis guide.

A method:

  1. Read the question and identify the relationship between the two parts.
  2. Find the part that is easier to pin down first.
  3. Use it to narrow or determine the second part.
  4. Check both answers together against every condition.

The two answers can be the same option if the question allows it. Read the instructions.

Multi-Source Reasoning

You get two or three tabs of information and usually several questions on the same set. See our guide to Multi-Source Reasoning, Table Analysis and Graphics Interpretation.

A method:

  1. Skim every tab for 60 to 90 seconds. Note in a few words what each tab contains: "Tab 1: policy rules. Tab 2: costs by year. Tab 3: email with exceptions."
  2. Read the question and decide which tab or tabs it needs.
  3. Go to the detail only in those tabs.
  4. Watch for conditions and exceptions, which often sit in a different tab from the main data.

Tip: the first question on a set takes longest because you are learning the tabs. Later questions on the same set are usually quicker, so do not panic if the first one is slow.

Table Analysis

You see a sortable table and judge several statements, usually as true or false, or yes or no.

A method:

  1. Read the column headings and any notes below the table.
  2. For each statement, decide which column matters and sort by it.
  3. Look only at the rows you need.
  4. Judge each statement on its own.

Sorting is the main skill. A table of thirty rows becomes manageable once it is sorted by the right column.

Graphics Interpretation

You see a graph or chart and complete statements from drop-down menus.

A method:

  1. Read the title, axes, scales and legend before anything else.
  2. Check whether a scale starts at zero, uses uneven steps or switches units.
  3. Read the full sentence around each drop-down so you know what kind of answer fits.
  4. Estimate from the graph, then use the calculator only if two options are close.

Pacing the section

With 20 questions in 45 minutes, the average is about 2 minutes 15 seconds per question. But averages hide the variation.

Our pacing guide has more detail.

How to practice

Our GMAT Focus study plan gives Data Insights two full weeks. Find more on the GMAT hub, and check current exam details on mba.com.

Key points