GMAT Two-Part Analysis
A scenario, then a grid: two columns of radio buttons over one list of options. You choose one option for each column. The two answers are usually linked, and both must be right for the item to score.
Read the column headings
The headings define what each column wants, and they are often nearly identical — "the greater value" and "the lesser value", "the first year" and "the second year". Choosing the right pair in the wrong order scores zero.
- Read both column headings before the options.
- Decide whether the two answers constrain each other — they usually do.
- Solve for the one you are more confident about.
- Use it to narrow the second.
The shapes it takes
- Two unknowns in one scenario — a pair of simultaneous conditions.
- A trade-off — the maximum of one given a constraint on the other.
- Cause and effect — one column for the assumption, one for the consequence.
- Verbal rather than quantitative — some items are reasoning about an argument rather than a calculation.
Because one list of options serves both columns, an option can legitimately be chosen for both — unless the scenario rules it out. Do not assume the two answers must differ.
Two-Part Analysis — FAQs
2 questions
Yes, unless the scenario makes it impossible.
No. Both columns must be right.
More data insights question types
Sources
Written from the test board's own published material and checked on 1 October 2026.