What Multi-Source Reasoning tests
Multi-Source Reasoning gives you several tabs of material, such as a memo, an email, a table, or a chart, and a set of questions about them. Some questions ask you to mark each of several statements yes or no, or true or false; others are standard multiple choice. The format tests whether you can find the right tab fast, combine a rule in one tab with figures in another, and refuse to assume what no tab says. The questions in a set share the tabs, so a careful first reading pays off across the set.
How the GMAT Focus scores it
A question with several statements earns credit only when you judge every statement correctly. Each question in the set counts on its own toward the 20-question Data Insights section, which reports a score from 60 to 90 that GMAC weights equally with Quant and Verbal.
Timing rule of thumb
Spend about a minute labeling what each tab holds, then 1.5 to 2 minutes per question, so a set of three questions runs about 6 to 7 minutes. Note which tab holds the rules and which holds the numbers before you answer.
The two most common traps
1.Answering from one tab
The condition sits in the memo and the numbers sit in the table. A statement that looks true from the table alone can break the memo’s rule.
2.Inferring what sounds plausible
The question asks what the sources support, not what a sensible manager would guess. If no tab states it or forces it, the sources do not support it.