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The Integrated Reasoning section of the GMAT was introduced in 2012 to replace the “Analyze an Issue” essay. The Integrated Reasoning section tests your ability to quickly process information and answer questions about it, combining reading comprehension and quantitative skills (especially percent change, ratios, etc.). It tests 12 “items,” 4 of which are experimental, and you will receive a score between 1-8.

Integrating Reasoning is not unique in the skills it tests, but it is unique in how it combines skills and requires you to, above all else, scan information and calculate quickly. The Integrated Reasoning section is thus aptly named. It tests similar math and comprehension skills as the other sections, but it changes the way it present the information to you.

The IR section is not Adaptive like the rest of the test, and the actual math you will need to do is not nearly as difficult as the harder end of the Quant section. Rather, it is about handling pressure and managing time and resources. You are given a lot of information, and you won't be asked about all of it. There is no partial credit, so if you commit your time to a particular problem and get stuck, you can easily flub the entire section. Know your strengths here, and prep as much as you can. Remember, it takes discipline to give up on a problem, so experiment with this in your prep. You are provided a calculator, and while the calculator is not a trap, exactly, you will only use it when you need it. It is limited in its function.  Do not depend on it, and use it only when it would take longer to do the work on the paper.

It's important to remember that business schools are still figuring out the value of the IR section, and the significance of a high/low score is still unknown, to us as well as to the schools. Don't sweat the IR section too much if, for example, your quantitative score is not where you need it. Quantitative reasoning is still the score schools care most about, followed by verbal reasoning. So focus there if you have limited time.

There are four distinct types of questions on the Integrated Reasoning section of the GMAT:

• Graphics Interpretation: You will be asked to interpret graphs and answer questions about them. This is more of a quantitative challenge than some of the others – expect a lot of questions about percents and chart-by-chart comparisons. Know the Percent Change formula. Pay attention to the legends and labels, check the units (millions or billions, hours or minutes, etc.) on the graphs, and answer “How do these graphs relate to one another?” before approaching the questions.

• Two Part Analysis: Here are math heavy scenarios, you'll be asked to answer for two variables. These might be dependent on one another (“If Mary's baseball cards vary inversely to Mike's for some reason”) or might be two different calculations to make given the same information. More than perhaps any other IR category, read carefully. As you will see when you check out a few sample questions, it's easy to see how elegant and efficient math will not serve you if you mis-read the question

• Table Analysis: In essence, kind of similar to Graphics Interpretation, only the graph is now a table. Crucially, you can sort the columns as you need to. Be sure to do this for quick access to the information, and ask yourself if sorting the information will help you solve the problem.

• Multi-Source Reasoning: Perhaps resembles Critical Reasoning with some calculations involved. What you need to do here is get a sense of what information is located in each source; one page might tell you the price of items in a store, while another will tell you the price they were acquired in 1992 as opposed to 1994. It's not critical you learn this information – it's as though they're testing you on the Table of Contents than the actual contents.

This post was written by Next Step Test Preparation.  Next Step focuses exclusively on providing students with customized, one-on-one tutoring packages for the GRE, GMAT, and more.  Click here to learn more about how Next Step can help you.