For anyone taking the GRE online, it can be reasonably assumed that every quantitative section will have a three question set of problems tied to one or two figures of information occurring at questions 14-16. If for any reason you are taking the legacy paper version of the exam due to special accommodations the set should have four problems from questions 17-20. Regardless of the format, this Data Interpretation set represents an opportunity for score improvement provided you approach the sequence appropriately.

Pacing the Set
The first step to properly addressing the Data Interpretation set happens in the questions before reaching it. Because the set is nearly guaranteed to occur at the same point in every exam, the goal is to reach it with approximately 15 minutes remaining in the section in the online version and about 20 minutes left on the paper-delivered exam. This would allow about 2:00 for each of the seven questions remaining and potentially extra time to return to questions that you strategically guessed and moved on from if you weren't able to maintain problem solving progress. However, the absolute minimum amount of time you'll want to have to ensure a steadfast completion to the section as you reach the Data Interpretation would be 10 minutes allowing for just under 90 seconds per problem. These are attainable questions, with likely a maximum of one higher difficulty question in the set, so you need to budget your time wisely in the earlier part of the section to ensure that you can calmly process them without cutting corners.

Engaging the Figure(s)
Now that we understand where we should be in the section when they appear, let's talk about how to work Data Interpretation figures. For the only time in the quantitative section, you'll want to leave the specific question task until later by immediately looking at the figure(s) without any influence from an individual problem. There are numerous aspects that you'll want to note that could be relevant to evaluating these figures such as:

• General Format
• Axes
• Variables
• Trends
• Metrics
• Titles
• Legends
• Relationship Between Multiple Figures
• Any Accompanying Text

Be especially careful with any footnotes or accompanying text of any kind. The GRE really likes to hide information in places it believes people will forget to look and a sentence before or after an eye-catching figure is a great place to do just that. Also, note any subtle nuances in metrics such as a variable seemingly measured along an axis by hundreds, but then noted as being quantified "in thousands".

Engaging the Problems
Once you have a solid understanding of the information contained in the figure(s), then move to engage with the problems on an individual basis. Always carefully read the problem noting specifically what information is sought via the figure(s). Note subtle differences in phrasing such as "percent of" vs "percent change" to avoid traps laid by the exam.

Also, remember that you can always trust Data Interpretation figures as drawn to scale, so use that fact to your advantage. Use the figure(s) to logically estimate to eliminate impossible choices rather than wasting time testing every option. Furthermore, you'll want to consider the numbers in the graph to determine how much calculating is really necessary. For instance, if the values are all in millions, rather than calculating 43% of 150 million as 0.43 × 150,000,000 simply do 0.43 × 150 and add the million back in at the end. Lastly, don't be self-conscious about using the calculator. It's a tool given by the exam, so especially when dealing with the Data Interpretation set feel free to plug values from the figure(s) directly into it to maximize efficiency.

Lastly, remember that if one of the questions seems significantly harder and more time consuming, that's likely because it is! Get the easier two questions and consider leaving the harder one until the end of the section if necessary.

If you follow these simple steps, you'll make this set of three questions a solid win on every quantitative section!