In the first part of this article, we took a look at how to read MSR passages and take some light notes. We finished off with a problem—now let’s talk about the solution! (Note: click on the link earlier in this paragraph; you’re going to want the tab text when reading through the solution.)

Here’s the problem again:

 “Based on the information in the passage and tables, it can be determined that the average monthly meat consumption, in pounds, by the residents of Barras in the AD 1000s was which of the following?

“(A) 9,600

“(B) 10,000

“(C) 16,000

“(D) 17,400

“(E) 18,000”

How did it go? Our first task is to figure out where to go. Which tab is likely to be most useful in answering this question? They ask about meat consumption and also specify Barras in the AD 1000s.

Both tables (in tabs 2 and 3) talk about Barras and meat consumption, but this question asks about pounds—that sends us to tab 3.

Read the key up at top. The table shows average monthly meat consumption (good, that’s what we want!) in pounds for a 4-person family. We want pounds. Do we want a 4-person family?

Nope. The question asks about the total consumption in pounds for the residents of Barras. We’re going to need to do a little calculating here.

In the 1000s, Barras’s average monthly consumption per 4-person family was 160 pounds. Per person, then, consumption was 160 /4 = 40 pounds. Hmm, now what?

We need to know the total number of residents in Barras in the 1000s. Where did they tell us that?

Right! Tab 1 gave some information about population at the end of the paragraph about Barras. The passage says that there were 400 residents, on average, in the AD 1000s.

400 residents multiplied by 40 pounds per resident is a total of 16,000 pounds.

The correct answer is (C).

What did you learn about MSRs from this problem? I think there are 3 key takeaways, which I list at the end of this article; try to come up with your own before you read them.

Let’s try another problem from this MSR; give yourself about 1.5 to 2 minutes total to answer all three parts of this problem.

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Given that Integrated Reasoning may become more important for those who want to go into consulting or banking, let’s take a look at a Multi-Source Reasoning (MSR) problem!

In this first part, we’re going to take a look at how to read and take notes on the MSR text. In the next article, we’ll do a problem that goes with the text. This MSR is from the free GMATPrep test, so if you have not yet taken GMATPrep, don’t read this article yet! Put it away and come back to it after you’ve seen the problem yourself.

MSRs appear as three tabs of information. I can’t format things into tabs here, so I’ll just show it all to you one after the other. You have about 2.5 minutes per question on IR. This MSR has a total of 3 associated questions, but I’m only giving you one in this article. Spend about 2 to 2.5 minutes on the read-through, leaving yourself about 1.5 to 2 minutes to spend on each question.

Tab 1

“An archaeological team has been excavating three ancient village sites—Barras, Agna, and Cussaia—looking in particular at kitchen waste dumps as a way to understand the villages’ dietary patterns and trading relationships. What follows are brief summaries of their findings.

“Barras: The best data come from stratified finds in this oceanside village, which was inhabited from AD 600 to 1300 and was the only one of the three villages to produce seafood, its main dietary item. Though Barras residents hunted on land and raised crops, this provided relatively small amounts of food. As Barras’s overall prosperity rose, there was more food available per person, and its population increased from an average of 100 residents in the AD 600s to 400 residents in the AD 1000s to 600 residents in the AD 1200s.

“Agna: Agna was established in an inland forest around AD 800 and its residents mainly hunted but also ate considerable amounts of fruit, nuts, and other forest-vegetable products. They also traded meat to Barras for other goods. With no open fields, Agna grew no grain.

“Cussaia: Predating Barras, Cussaia depended heavily on raising grain crops and eventually obtained seafood and meat via trade. It traded directly only with Barras, because a mountain range separated it from Agna, though some products may have been traded between Agna and Cussaia via Barras.

“Additionally, there is no evidence that any other village traded with Barras, Agna, or Cussaia prior to AD 1300.”

—

Tab 2

“Barras: Percentages, by Estimated Weight, of Dietary Items Consumed per Person per Month”

Century	Seafood	Meat	Grains	Other
600s	65%	10%	10%	15%
700s	65%	10%	15%	10%
800s	60%	15%	15%	10%
900s	45%	30%	12%	13%
1000s	45%	30%	12%	13%
1100s	60%	10%	20%	10%
1200s	55%	25%	10%	10%

—

Tab 3

“Barras, Agna: Estimated Average Monthly Meat and Seafood Consumption (lb per 4-Person Family)”

Century	Barras		Agna
	Seafood	Meat	Seafood	Meat
600s	240	37	not applicable	not applicable
700s	250	38	not applicable	not applicable
800s	275	70	60	240
900s	258	172	66	180
1000s	240	160	66	186
1100s	275	45	8	240
1200s	265	120	45	240

—

That’s a lot to read through in only 2 minutes or so. The key is to be able to divide the info into three categories:

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