A “variable” in Quant is a placeholder for an unknown, like x or y. In these complex questions, it is somewhat that can affect the data. Independent variables are factors that are controlled. Dependent variables are factors that are observed to change, those which are uncontrolled results. On the Integrated Reasoning section, you’ll mostly be focusing on the dependent variables, and how they are dependent, especially in Table Analysis questions.

Direct variation occurs when two variables change in the same way over time. If Column A increases and Column B increases at the same time, we can say that the two columns vary directly.  If when Column A increases, Column B decreases, there is an indirect (also called inverse) variation between the two elements. In the real world, think of a pie and the number of slices eaten. The weight of the pie is inversely proportional to the number of slices eaten. That means that as more and more slices are eaten, the pie weights less and less.

Check out GMAT Integrated Reasoning Table Analysis: What is Sorting? blog post for more GMAT IR advice!

To understand the variables, look at the presented graphs, tables, or note the key words and phrases in the given paragraphs. Ask yourself: what does the figure tell me? What are the units of measurement? What changes, and when? In order to answer GMAT Integrated Reasoning questions quickly and accurately, you will need to pinpoint the relationships between the variables. Don’t try to memorize. Always go back to the data or passage to find the correct answer. It’s there on the screen for a reason! The GMAT, luckily, does not require any memorization in that way. All of the information you need to get the questions correct are found in the screens, we just have to know where exactly to flip back and forth to!

Much of the Graphics Interpretation data will be presented on line graphs. Every graph has an x-axis and a y-axis. Pay close attention to the labels. The independent variable is most often found on the x-axis. When faced with multiple graphs, typically only one thing has changed. Spend some time focusing in on the variables as you practice the new Integrated Reasoning question types, and have patience with yourself. It will take some time before your IR skills match your Quant and Verbal abilities.

Need even more help? Check out Grockit tutor Jim Jacobson’s Video Course where he reviews every single question in the GMAT OG12!

Placement/choice of conjunctions, prepositions, and adverbs

Sentence A: Sergei chose to buy a house because of the increase in both the number of houses on the market and the number of his friends who owned their own homes.

Sentence B: Sergei chose to buy a house because of both the increase in the number of houses on the market and the number of his friends who owned their own homes.

Both sentences feature Sergei buying a house because of the number of houses on the market and the number of his friends who owned their own homes, but in Sentence A, both of those numbers are going up, while in Sentence B, only the number of houses is increasing. (I tried to come up with a sentence that had a more amusing shift in sense; I will envy you a little if you are able to come up with one.

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Note that the choice of conjunction can make a significant difference:

Phillip decided that for his birthday, he would eat macaroni, cheese, beans, rice, apple pie, and ice cream for dinner.

A. macaroni, cheese, beans, rice, apple pie, and ice cream

B. macaroni and cheese, beans and rice, or apple pie with ice cream

C. macaroni and cheese, beans and rice, and apple pie with ice cream

D. macaroni or cheese, beans or rice, or apple pie with ice cream

E. macaroni or cheese, beans or rice, apple pie, and ice cream

. . . as does the placement of some adverbs, such as the limiting adverb only:

It only seemed that the boxer touched his opponent’s chin when he scored the knockout punch.

A. only seemed that the boxer touched his opponent’s chin when he scored the

B. seemed that only the boxer touched his opponent’s chin when he scored the

C. seemed that the boxer only touched his opponent’s chin when he scored the

D. seemed that the boxer touched only his opponent’s chin when he scored the

E. seemed that the boxer touched his opponent’s chin when he scored the only

Answers next time!

Check out the other articles in this series:

More Than Just Grammar:  The Search for Meaning in the New SC (Part 1)

More Than Just Grammar:  The Search for Meaning in the New SC (Part 2)

More Than Just Grammar:  The Search for Meaning in the New SC (Part 3)

More Than Just Grammar:  The Search for Meaning in the New SC (Part 4)

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In case you missed it or forgot, this was the question:

A group of well-regarded economists has recently published projected figures for the economy next year, which predict that if interest rates remain at their current level, lending should continue to increase as slowly as it has this year.

A. if interest rates remain at their current level, lending should continue to increase

B. when interest rates remain at their current level, lending can continue its increasing

C. if interest rates remain at their current level, lending continues to increase

D. if interest rates remain at their current level, lending will continue to increase

E. if interest rates remain at their current level, lending could continue to increase

I tried to make it a little tricky by having the sentence involve a study (since I had mentioned that statements of general truth with tense in present/present are often attached to studies), but this one is a straightforward prediction.

A. Incorrect. It is fine grammatically, but there is no reason to put a modal “should” in the second half of the condition. It’s already a prediction about the future, a prediction which may not come to pass; adding even more uncertainty to the “then” portion is not needed to convey that.

B. Incorrect. I suppose this was mean of me; by changing the beginning and end of one answer choice, I had an excuse to increase the length of the underlined portion and make you read more for every answer choice. This choice is technically correct as well, but I think it would only be a strange alternate universe where the GMAT wanted you to use phrases like “can continue its increasing.”

C. Incorrect. This one is the present/present tense trap that I mentioned, which is entirely grammatically correct and appropriate for studies. Here, though, the meaning is changed, claiming that WHENEVER interest rates remain at their current level, lending will increase at some (slow) rate. While a study could show that, it would not come in the form of a prediction.

D. Correct. Here we have a simple present for the static interest rates and a simple future for the predicted effect.

E. Incorrect. As with Choice A, the modal “could” is grammatically and even contextually plausible, but there is no reason to add this additional uncertainty to the prediction.

Next time: word placement!

Check out the other articles in this series:

More Than Just Grammar:  The Search for Meaning in the New SC (Part 1)

More Than Just Grammar:  The Search for Meaning in the New SC (Part 2)

More Than Just Grammar:  The Search for Meaning in the New SC (Part 3)

Conditional statements

If you are very hungry, you eat too much food.

If you are very hungry, you may eat too much food.

If you are very hungry, you will eat too much food.

If you are very hungry, you should eat too much food.

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Conditional statements in English have many different combinations of tenses and moods, which could be the subject of a whole series of blog posts on its own. Instead, I’ve chosen a subset of conditions here, each with a slightly different verb in the “then” clause.

If you are hungry, you eat too much food. This form is common enough, usually appearing in sentences announcing the result of a study or report (A recent Harvard Medical School study has conclusively shown that if you do not eat, you die). In English, when both parts of the condition are in the simple present tense, it refers to a statement of general truth; whenever the first thing happens, the second thing happens (When I get caught in the rain, I get wet).

If you are very hungry, you may eat too much food. By introducing the modal auxiliary verb may, we have added uncertainty, possibility, or permission to the sentence; eating too much food is something that you will not certainly do in all circumstances. It could either indicate one of several options (We may go to the festival tomorrow) or that permission has been granted (You may stay in my home for as long as you like).

If you are very hungry, you will eat too much food. In exchanging the present tense for the future tense in the “then” portion, we have changed our statement of general truth into a specific prediction about the future: if X is the case, Y will certainly happen (If it is raining right now, you will be soaked by the time you reach your car).

If you are very hungry, you should eat too much food. Finally, by putting in the modal auxiliary verb should, we have made overeating an obligation, something that is right or good (If you see your boss at lunch time, you should ask for some vacation time this summer).  Though it is beyond the scope of a test preparation blog, I would like to add that overeating is not right or good.

Here’s one for you to try:

A group of well-regarded economists has recently published projected figures for the economy next year, which predict that if interest rates remain at their current level, lending should continue to increase as slowly as it has this year.

A. if interest rates remain at their current level, lending should continue to increase

B. when interest rates remain at their current level, lending can continue their increasing

C. if interest rates remain at their current level, lending continues to increase

D. if interest rates remain at their current level, lending will continue to increase

E. if interest rates remain at their current level, lending could continue to increase

Answer next time!

Check out the other articles in this series:

More Than Just Grammar:  The Search for Meaning in the New SC (Part 1)

More Than Just Grammar:  The Search for Meaning in the New SC (Part 2)

Below is a sample question that GMAC has provided at MBA.com to familiarize students with the format of this new question-type. You can see that for this question, you would click one circle to bubble in a choice for Organization A’s column, and then separately click for Organization B’s column. The choices are made independently, and both must be correct to receive credit for the question. To try out this question and see the correct answer go here.

Two-Part analysis questions measure your ability to solve complex problems. This is designed to mimic complex, multi-part, real-world problems faced by MBA students. MBA.com further describes the Two-Part format as lending “itself to a wide range of content and skills measured, including the ability to evaluate trade-offs, solve simultaneous equations, and discern relationships between two entities.” Because of this, your acquired skills in solving complex algebra and in discerning harder word problems will be essential skills to solve Two-Part Analysis questions.

The question is called “Two-Part Analysis” because of the multiple components. They may be independent or dependent on each other. These questions commonly ask about simultaneous equations, variables, rates, or differing opinions. They may focus solely on Quantitative concepts, or may include aspects of Verbal such as inference and reading comprehension.

To practice for this new question type before the June 2012 launch, you can create a Custom Game in the Grockit GMAT lobby and work on the questions involving Word Problems, Linear Equations, Rates and Work, and other advanced algebra concepts. As you practice your Reading Comprehension skills in the Grockit GMAT Verbal games, you will also be preparing for Two-Part Analysis!

Want to know where to focus your GMAT studies next? Challenge yourself with adaptive solo practice sessions on Grockit today! It’s free with Grockit’s premium membership!

Last time, I gave you this question:

On her way to the store, Priya decided to purchase a personal organizer, a new computer with a wireless network card, and a barking toy robot dog that would make her life easier, she decided.

A. and a barking toy robot dog that would make her life easier, she decided.

B. and a barking toy robot dog; that would make would make her life easier, she decided.

C. and a barking toy robot dog that would make her life easier; she decided.

D. and a barking toy robot dog making her life easier, she decided.

E. and, deciding that would make her life easier, a barking toy robot dog.

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A. Incorrect. While grammatically correct, the placement of that suggests that the barking toy would make her life easier, when it makes more sense for it to be either the whole purchase or just the non-toy portions.

B. Correct. By putting that into a new independent clause, it can make a stronger claim to modify the preceding clause. You can still argue that that refers back to the toy, but the connection is not as strong as it is in the other sentences.

C.  Incorrect. Though this one is technically grammatically correct, that modifies the toy again, and “she decided” is a very uninformative independent clause.

D.  Incorrect. Placing the present participle making directly next to the toy dog suggests it is the barking toy making her life easier, which isn’t likely (has anyone’s life ever been made easier by a barking toy dog?).

E. Incorrect. The placement of and before the deciding suggests they are part of the same unit: the final item in her list of purchases. This also suggests the toy will make her life easier.

I don’t believe you’ll see a question exactly like this on the GMAT; that’s not the point. The idea here is to show how the placement of punctuation can affect how you interpret certain parts of sentences. Next time, we’ll look at conditional statements!

Check out the other articles in this series:

More Than Just Grammar:  The Search for Meaning in the New SC (Part 1)

Follow Grockit on Twitter for the latest news on the  2012 GMAT release.

Punctuation

Sentence A: Let’s eat, Grandma!

Sentence B: Let’s eat Grandma!

Sentence C: Every dog knows its master.

Sentence D: Every dog knows it’s master.

The ancient Romans wrote with little or no punctuation, and usually without even putting any spaces between the words. It is hard to imagine the confusion that could arise from that, when in English a simple mark (such as a comma or an apostrophe) can make such difference in the sense of the sentence. In the first pair, Sentence A conveys familial devotion, while B implies cannibalism; in the second pair, Sentence C features man’s best friend looking up to humans, while in Sentence D, the dog looks down on humans.

Of course, the GMAT is unlikely to feature something so simple (or potentially comical), but punctuation is often needed to reduce ambiguity or to change the meaning of a phrase or clause. Relative clauses – clauses starting with a relative pronoun like which, who, or that – are prime candidates for a change in meaning, especially ones starting with which or that. Semicolons and commas, because they separate clauses, can also change the meaning of a sentence by changing the point where one clause begins and another ends.

On her way to the store, Priya decided to purchase a personal organizer, a new computer with a wireless network card, and a barking toy robot dog that would make her life easier, she decided.

A. and a barking toy robot dog that would make her life easier, she decided.

B. and a barking toy robot dog; that would make would make her life easier, she decided.

C. and a barking toy robot dog that would make her life easier; she decided.

D. and a barking toy robot dog making her life easier, she decided.

E. and, deciding that would make her life easier, a barking toy robot dog.

Answer next time, and after that, a brief look at conditional statements!

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For more great admissions advice check out this post by Stacy Blackman: Making your MBA Application Stand Out

Paragraph 1 – Introduction (3-4 sentences)

You will want to begin your essay with one of the following: a generalization about the topic, a quotation, a short anecdote to set-up the correctness of your position, a historical framework, a piece of news illustrating the contemporariness of the issue.  Admit the complexity of the issue.

You have two goals in the beginning part of the essay: introduce the topic, and provide the scope. In what context will you be discussing the topic? Your talent as a writer lies in your choice of scope. What aspect of the issue do you want to focus on?

Most students open with a general blanket statement about the issue. Try to be creative if you can. Choose 10 prompts from the Issue Essay topic pool and find 10 famous quotations that really relate to the topic. You may be able to use one of them on Test Day! Always place your thesis as the final sentence in your introduction.

Paragraph 2  – First Example (4-6 sentences)

Start with your most-powerful example. Be specific. Your example can be from history, science, politics, business, entertainment, pop culture, current events, personal experience, etc. Anything can be an example, but choose ONE only for each paragraph. It needs to be something you are knowledgeable about and also something that you believe strongly supports your thesis. You have three tasks in your body paragraphs:

-        Introduce your example.

-        Describe it.

-        Explain how it fully supports your thesis.

You should be spending the majority of your body paragraph doing the third step: explaining how it fully supports your thesis. Aim to convince the reader through very concrete detail how your position on the issue is correct.

Paragraph 3 – Second Example (4-6 sentences)

Use a transition phrase to introduce the second example. Describe it, and explain again how it fully supports your thesis. You may harken back to your first example if you need to, but keep the focus on the new example as much as possible. Don’t mention your third example until you get to the third paragraph.

Paragraph 4 – Third Example (4-6 sentences)

Use a transition phrase again in the first topic sentence. Describe the example. Explain how it supports. Make sure you are elucidating for the reader how each example relates to the topic.

Paragraph 5 – Conclusion (2-4 sentences)

In your conclusion, introduce the opposing side. Explain their position in general times. Refute it. Then reinforce the correctness of your own thesis. This takes care of having to come up with a conclusion- you’ll already know what to do! Here’s how it might look:

Although ____ is demonstrably correct, some have argued that ________, believing that ________. However, this viewpoint on the present issue is negated by ________. Rather, ____________. Therefore, in the long run, ___________.

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1.  Start with the first sorted screen. Use the first screen to get an overall sense of the table. What would be the title of the table if it had one? Is it showing change over time, relationships between scores and percentiles, gross income versus adjusted income, etc.?

2.  Extrapolate trends. As you move through the remaining sorted-screens, pay attention to how each table’s variables relate to each other.  If one variable consistently increases as another variable increases, we can say they have a direct relationship. If one variable consistently decreases as another variable increases, we can say they have an indirect, or inverse relationship. Sometimes variables will have a more complex relationship and may have both types of relationship within a spread of data. Write these relationships down in shorthand on your scratch pad. You may want to use arrows or other symbols to simplify.

3.  Move efficiently through the screens. If a question has more than five or six screens and the table is vast, don’t waste time trying to understand every piece of data. Try to grab the overall gist of the relationships of each one, and keep an eye on the clock. You’ll need time to interpret the statements.

4.  Tie each statement back to the most useful table. Some statements will only require one table to answer. Ask yourself: which table would give me the clearest picture in order to answer this statement? It’s fine to flip between one or two sorted-screens, but trust your understanding of the variables. You’ll know where to look for the answer.

5.  Approximate whenever possible. If calculation are required, round the data presented in the tables to the nearest integer to make your calculation easier. Don’t feel like you have to use decimals or fractions. Especially with yes/no statements, a quick approximation may be all the math that’s required.

The launch of Integrated Reasoning is just a few months away! Need more help? Message one of Grockit’s GMAT tutors to set up a private lessons. Sessions are conducted via Skype and cost $50/hr. Find out more on the Tutoring tab in the Grockit GMAT Lobby!

The E-rater is a computer program that checks for structural and linguistic features, such as (according to MBA.com) “organization of ideas, syntactic variety, and topical analysis.” It has hundreds of graded essays stored for each of the GMAT prompts, so it “knows” what a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 essay “looks like” for each prompt. Your essay is scored based on how closely it resembles other essays that is why good organization, clarity, and effective transitions are very important to your score.

Need more AWA advice? Check out this Issue Essay Template for AWA post.

It is rare, but occasionally the human and the E-rater differ by more than one point (For example, the E-rater gives an essay a 3, and the human rater gives the essay a 5). When this happens, a second human grader is brought it to determine the final score.

The main qualities that the readers look for are the organization of your ideas, the quality of the ideas themselves, the strength and relevance of the examples, and your grasp of standard written English. Readers are trained to take non-native speakers’ abilities into account when grading so that scores are fair. If you have any reason to believe your AWA scores are inaccurate, you can fill out an Essay Rescore Request Form on MBA.com to ask for a review.

To the left is the official AWA Scoring Percentile ranking from MBA.com. You can see that the mean score is a 4.4, and a perfect score of 6 places you in the 91^st percentile, meaning it’s quite plausible to achieve such a score!

Make sure to check out the AWA topics for both the Issue and Argument essays on MBA.com. You will want to practice writing several of each before Test Day! Need more help? Contact a Grockit GMAT Tutor to set up a 1-hour AWA lesson. Review templates for each essay, get insider tips on what to include/leave out, and get graded feedback on your essays!