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In a world where we are often carrying at least one device, if not multiple devices, that can complete calculations, there is little need to do calculations manually. For this reason, the lack of a calculator on the GMAT Quantitative section is a significant point of concern—or perhaps even fear—to many test takers, even some with strong quantitative skills. That brings me to some good and some bad news for prospective GMAT takers. Read more

Editor’s Note: This is Part 2 of our new blogger Andrea Pawliczek‘s first post. You can read Part 1 here.

Let’s take an example of a critical reasoning argument that might appear on the GMAT.

Plainsboro Hospital completed a study that revealed that the majority of post-operative bacterial infections are caused by catheters. In order to reduce post-operative infections, Plainsboro Hospital decided to implement new sterilization procedures to kill bacterial on catheters before they are inserted into post-operative patients.

Real World Analysis

Take a minute to brainstorm some of the questions you might ask if you were a manager at Plainsboro hospital evaluating the proposal to implement this plan.
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Editor’s Note: We’re pleased to introduce Manhattan GMAT instructor Andrea Pawliczek as a writer on our blog (even though she is a New England Patriots fan)! This is Part 1 of her two-part first post. Give Andrea a warm welcome in the comments!

Success on the GMAT demands many efforts: learning new skills, sharpening existing skills, and in some cases forgetting or setting aside some of the skills that we use in real-life. It is this last demand that often proves the most challenging, as a GMAT test taker must veer away from the type of thinking that has served her well to this point in life.

One such case occurs in data sufficiency problems, which ask us not to solve a problem but rather to identify when we have enough information to solve a problem. In both my professional and personal life I have been asked to solve problems on many occasions (How much will the new project cost? How many gallons of paint do I need to buy to paint the living room?). I cannot think of a real life occasion when I have specifically been asked when I have enough data to answer a question. Read more