# GMAT Multi-Source Reasoning: Method and Example | topin GMAT guidesMulti-Source Reasoning Section Data Insights Sources 2 or 3 tabs: text, tables or charts Question formats Multiple choice, or a grid of yes or no style statements Scoring Grid questions have no partial credit; every row must be right Calculator On-screen calculator available ## How it works The tabs stay on screen for the whole set, and you switch between them with a click. Each question is scored separately. Some need one tab, but the harder ones need a rule from one tab applied to data in another, or a later tab that updates an earlier one. ## Worked example Tab 1, Rate card: Standard delivery costs £6 per parcel. Parcels over 5 kg cost an extra £4\. Next-day delivery costs an extra £5 and is available only for orders placed before 2 pm. Tab 2, Email from the warehouse manager: With immediate effect, any Friday order placed after 2 pm ships as standard delivery, whatever the customer selected. Customers who chose next-day in that case are not charged the next-day fee. Tab 3, Friday's orders: Order 1: 3 kg, placed 11:00, next-day selected Order 2: 7 kg, placed 15:30, next-day selected Order 3: 6 kg, placed 13:45, standard selected What is the total delivery charge for the three orders? 1. A£27 2. B£31 3. C£35 4. D£36 5. E£41 Show the answer B: £31 Order 1: under 5 kg and placed before 2 pm, so £6 + £5 = £11\. Order 2: over 5 kg, so £6 + £4, and the email says it ships standard with no next-day fee, so £10\. Order 3: over 5 kg, standard, so £6 + £4 = £10\. Total £11 + £10 + £10 = £31\. £36 charges order 2 the next-day fee, ignoring the email. £27 misses the weight surcharge on order 3. ## A method for Multi-Source Reasoning 1. 1 ### Map the tabs quickly Spend a minute or two noting what each tab covers and any rules or exceptions. Do not try to memorise the numbers. 2. 2 ### Look for updates and exceptions Emails and memos often change or limit what another tab says. Note them, because they decide the harder questions. 3. 3 ### Match each question to a tab Read the question, decide which tab or tabs it needs, and go straight there. Many questions need only one. 4. 4 ### Work each grid row on its own Treat each statement as a separate small question. Since the grid has no partial credit, confirm every row before moving on. 5. 5 ### Cap your time on the set A set of three questions can easily take eight minutes. If one question is stuck, guess and protect time for the rest of the section. ## Traps to avoid * Applying the general rule in one tab and missing the exception in another. * Reading from the wrong row or column of a tab's table after switching tabs. * Assuming a claim in an email or opinion piece is a fact the other tabs confirm. * Spending so long on the first question that the other questions in the set are rushed. ## Multi-Source Reasoning FAQs How many Multi-Source Reasoning questions are on the GMAT? GMAC does not publish a fixed count. Data Insights has 20 questions across five types, and Multi-Source Reasoning usually appears as a set of questions sharing the same tabs. Is Multi-Source Reasoning the hardest Data Insights question type? Many test takers find it the slowest because of the reading. It becomes manageable once you map the tabs first and look for exceptions. Do the tabs stay the same for every question in the set? Yes. The same sources stay available for every question in the set, so a quick map of them early on pays off across all of them. Is there partial credit on Multi-Source Reasoning? No. Grid questions need every statement right to earn credit, and multiple choice questions are right or wrong. ## Try Multi-Source Reasoning under real timing Your first full-length GMAT mock is free, with every section included. [Take the free mock ](/gmat/login)