GMAT Data Insights: The 5 Question Types Explained

What GMAT Data Insights tests

GMAC says Data Insights measures your ability to analyse and interpret data and apply it to real-world business scenarios, along with digital and data literacy. Questions show information as graphs, numbers and text, and ask how those sources relate and what decision they support. A single question may need maths, data analysis, verbal reasoning, or all three.

The section brings together two older question families. GMAC says some Data Insights questions test integrated reasoning and others test data sufficiency, which used to sit in the Quant section. For how Data Insights fits alongside the other two sections, see our GMAT syllabus guide.

Data Sufficiency

Data Sufficiency checks whether you can recognise which data is relevant and decide when there's enough to solve the problem. You get a question and two statements. You don't need the final answer; you only decide whether the statements give you enough to find it. The five answer choices are always the same, as shown in GMAC's sample questions:

• A: Statement (1) alone is sufficient, but statement (2) alone is not.
• B: Statement (2) alone is sufficient, but statement (1) alone is not.
• C: Both statements together are sufficient, but neither alone is.
• D: Each statement alone is sufficient.
• E: The statements together are still not sufficient.

Mini example (our own). What is the price of one notebook? (1) Three notebooks and two pens cost $12 in total. (2) One pen costs $1.50. Statement (1) alone has two unknowns, so it isn't enough. Statement (2) alone says nothing about notebooks. Together, three notebooks cost $12 − $3 = $9, so one costs $3. The answer is C. Notice that you could stop as soon as you knew the price *could* be found.

Multi-Source Reasoning

Multi-Source Reasoning gives you data from several sources, such as text passages, tables and graphics, and asks several questions about them. Some questions ask you to spot discrepancies between sources, others to draw inferences or judge whether data is relevant. In GMAC's official sample, the sources sit on separate tabs (three emails) and one question asks whether each of several inferences is supported, with a Yes or No for each.

Mini example (our own). Tab 1 is a manager's note: the team needs a supplier that can deliver within 10 days for under $5,000. Tab 2 is a table of three suppliers' prices. Tab 3 is a memo listing each supplier's delivery time. Question: "Does Supplier B meet both conditions?" You have to check the price in Tab 2 *and* the delivery time in Tab 3; neither tab answers it alone. The skill is keeping track of which fact lives where.

Table Analysis

Table Analysis measures how well you can sort and analyse a spreadsheet-like table to find what's relevant or meets certain conditions. In GMAC's official sample, the table can be sorted by any column, and you mark each of three statements Yes or No depending on whether the table shows it to be true.

Mini example (our own). A table lists eight shops with their region, number of staff and monthly sales. Statement: "The shop with the most staff also has the highest sales." Sort by staff, note the top shop, then sort by sales and compare. Sorting usually beats scanning: it turns a reading task into a quick lookup.

Graphics Interpretation

Graphics Interpretation asks you to read a graph or other image (a scatter plot, x/y graph, bar chart, pie chart or statistical curve) to find relationships and make inferences. In GMAC's official sample, you complete each statement by picking an option from a drop-down menu.

Mini example (our own). A bar chart shows website sign-ups by month: 400 in January and 1,150 in June. Statement: "June sign-ups were closest to [half / double / triple] January's." 1,150 ÷ 400 is about 2.9, so the answer is triple. Check the axis labels and units before you calculate; misreading the scale is the usual mistake.

Two-Part Analysis

Two-Part Analysis questions can be quantitative, verbal or a mix, and GMAC says they test skills such as weighing trade-offs, solving simultaneous equations and seeing how two things relate. In GMAC's sample, the answer grid has two columns and you make exactly one selection in each.

Mini example (our own). Choose a value for x and a value for y from the list 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10 so that x + y = 10 and x − y = 4. Adding the equations gives 2x = 14, so x = 7 and y = 3. You'd select 7 in the x column and 3 in the y column. Verbal versions work the same way, for example choosing one option that strengthens a plan and one that weakens it.

Calculator, timing and scoring

• Calculator. An on-screen calculator is available throughout Data Insights, and GMAC's sample questions show a calculator button on each Data Insights question. There's no calculator in the Quant section, and you can't bring your own: for test center exams, calculators are on GMAC's list of prohibited testing aids.
• Timing. You have 45 minutes for 20 questions, which is just over two minutes per question on average. Multi-Source Reasoning sets often take longer to read, so leave time for them.
• Review & Edit. As in the other sections, you can bookmark questions and, if time remains at the end, review as many as you like and change up to three answers.
• Scoring. Your Data Insights score runs from 60 to 90, and GMAC weights the three sections equally in the total score of 205 to 805. See GMAT scoring explained for more.
• Scratch work. At a test center you get the equivalent of five erasable noteboards; online you can use a digital whiteboard, a physical whiteboard or both. Our online vs test center guide compares the two.

How to practise Data Insights

1. Learn the five answer formats first, especially the fixed A–E choices for Data Sufficiency, so you don't spend test time working out how to answer.
2. For Data Sufficiency, decide sufficiency and stop. Solving all the way to a number wastes time.
3. Use the calculator for awkward arithmetic, but estimate first; many Graphics Interpretation answers can be found by rough comparison.
4. Practise with official samples on mba.com and then a timed set in our free GMAT Data Insights practice test.
5. Strengthen the maths behind it with the free GMAT Quant practice test, since Data Sufficiency relies on the same arithmetic and algebra.

Planning your test date? Check the GMAT exam fee for your country first. If you're applying in India, our GMAT vs CAT guide compares the two exams.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

Every source below was accessed on the listed date. Pages — especially department admissions pages — change without notice; the links go to the live versions.

1. GMAT Exam Content — GMAC (mba.com). Accessed 2026-10-01.
2. GMAT Exam Structure — GMAC (mba.com). Accessed 2026-10-01.
3. Understanding Your Score — GMAC (mba.com). Accessed 2026-10-01.
4. GMAT Scores — GMAC (mba.com). Accessed 2026-10-01.
5. Details of New GMAT Exam Revealed, Including Content, Structure & Test Prep — GMAC. Accessed 2026-10-01.
6. Try these GMAT sample questions & answers — GMAC. Accessed 2026-10-01.
7. Data Insights sample: Table Analysis — GMAC (mba.com). Accessed 2026-10-01.
8. Data Insights sample: Graphics Interpretation — GMAC (mba.com). Accessed 2026-10-01.
9. Data Insights sample: Multi-Source Reasoning — GMAC (mba.com). Accessed 2026-10-01.
10. Taking the Exam Online — GMAC (mba.com). Accessed 2026-10-01.
11. GMAT Exam Policies (last updated 12 August 2026) — GMAC (mba.com). Accessed 2026-10-01.

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