GMAT · Two-Part Analysis · TOPIC LESSON
Apply verbal logic and numeric constraints to both parts of a paired decision.
BY THE END, YOU CAN
BEFORE YOU START
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LEARN THROUGH ORIGINAL PRACTICE
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01 / UNDERSTAND & APPLY
A must claim holds in every feasible case. A could claim holds in at least one. A cannot claim holds in none. “Not must” does not mean “cannot”: a statement can hold in some cases and fail in others.
In this lesson each Two-Part exercise requires exactly one selection per named column from its shared pool. Unless stated otherwise the same option can be used in both columns, but a request for distinct people or items overrides that permission.
Scheduling set: Three tasks A, B and C occupy positions 1,2,3 exactly once each. A must occur before B. No other restrictions apply. The feasible orders are ABC, ACB and CAB.
ORIGINAL WORKED EXAMPLE
Scheduling set: From {A before B; C first; B before A}, select one statement for Must be true and one for Cannot be true.
Answer Must: A before B; Cannot: B before A
02 / UNDERSTAND & APPLY
If selection requires both a certificate and availability, each is necessary but neither alone is sufficient. A candidate missing a necessary condition is ruled out immediately. A candidate having one required condition still needs the others checked.
Conditional reasoning is directional: if a project is approved then it has a sponsor, approval implies sponsorship. Sponsorship alone does not establish approval. The contrapositive, no sponsor implies not approved, is valid.
ORIGINAL WORKED EXAMPLE
Rule: an application is accepted if and only if it is complete and timely. From {complete; complete and timely; incomplete}, choose a Necessary but not sufficient condition and a Sufficient condition.
Answer Necessary but not sufficient: complete; Sufficient: complete and timely
03 / UNDERSTAND & APPLY
For two properties P and Q, classify a candidate as both, P only, Q only or neither. Inclusive “either P or Q” allows both unless the wording says “exactly one.” Neither means not P and not Q.
The original service set is U: $4, 4 days; V: $6, 2 days; W: $8, 1 day; X: $9, 5 days. Define affordable as price at most $6 and quick as delivery at most 2 days. Inclusive boundaries matter for V.
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ORIGINAL WORKED EXAMPLE
Service set: From {U,V,W,X}, select one option for Both affordable and quick and one for Neither affordable nor quick.
Answer Both: V; Neither: X
ORIGINAL PRACTICE · 1
Affordable only: U; Quick only: W
U costs $4 but takes 4 days. W takes 1 day but costs $8. V has both properties and X has neither.
ORIGINAL PRACTICE · 2
Highest price: X; Longest time: X
X has the highest price, $9, and longest delivery, 5 days. Both column targets legitimately select the same option.
04 / UNDERSTAND & APPLY
“Before” need not mean “immediately before.” Represent ordering as a relation and enumerate only the remaining feasible positions. A fixed first or last item can greatly reduce the cases.
Use complete schedules as witnesses for could claims, and counterexamples for must claims. A partial arrangement may conceal a later conflict, so verify all tasks fit.
ORIGINAL WORKED EXAMPLE
Jo, Kai, Lia and Sam occupy Monday through Thursday exactly once. Jo is Monday, Lia is Thursday, and Sam is before Kai. From {Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday}, select Sam’s day and Kai’s day.
Answer Sam: Tuesday; Kai: Wednesday
ORIGINAL PRACTICE · 1
A latest: 2; B earliest: 2
CAB places A second; A cannot be third because B must follow. ABC places B second; B cannot be first because A must precede it.
ORIGINAL PRACTICE · 2
C last: ABC; C first: CAB
Both satisfy A before B and the requested C position. BAC violates the ordering rule; ACB places C second.
05 / UNDERSTAND & APPLY
Project-team set: Choose two distinct specialists, one for the R role and one for the S role. Cedar: R, $400, 3 days; Dune: R, $600, 2 days; Elm: S, $500, 1 day; Fern: S, $300, 4 days. Each role must be filled by its named skill. Work begins simultaneously, so completion time is the larger of the two durations. Total fee must be at most $900 and completion at most 3 days. These are fictional, exact quotes with no additional charges.
This set combines categorical skill requirements, total cost and completion time. A cheap specialist may miss the deadline, and two individually affordable specialists may exceed the joint budget. The whole pair must be checked.
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ORIGINAL WORKED EXAMPLE
Project-team set: Select R specialist and S specialist from {Cedar,Dune,Elm,Fern}, one per column.
Answer R: Cedar; S: Elm
ORIGINAL PRACTICE · 1
R: Dune; S: Elm
Cedar and Fern miss the tighter deadline. Dune+Elm costs $1,100 and finishes in 2 days, meeting both inclusive limits.
ORIGINAL PRACTICE · 2
R: Cedar; S: Fern
Cedar+Fern costs $700 and finishes in 4 days. Other skill-valid pairs cost $900, $900 or $1,100, so $700 is the minimum under the $900 budget.
06 / UNDERSTAND & APPLY
“P only if Q” means P implies Q. “P if Q” means Q implies P. For “P unless Q,” a standard inclusive logical reading is not Q implies P; the full wording may add exclusivity, so read it rather than importing an extra rule.
A chain can establish consequences: launch implies testing, and testing implies approval; therefore launch implies approval. Approval does not by itself imply launch.
ORIGINAL PRACTICE · 1
Must hold: approval; Makes impossible: no approval
The forward chain proves launch→approval. Its contrapositive proves no approval→no launch. Approval alone does not force launch.
07 / UNDERSTAND & APPLY
Keep exact words attached to numbers. “At most $900” includes $900; “under $900” excludes it. “Simultaneously” makes joint completion the maximum duration, while consecutive work would require a sum. Changing one of these words changes feasibility.
A one-column-only approach can pick Cedar because it is cheap without noticing that the S specialist needs enough budget and time. Solve the coupled task, then assign the people to the correct roles.
ORIGINAL PRACTICE · 1
Simultaneous: 3; Consecutive: 4
Simultaneous work finishes when the slower specialist finishes: max(3,1)=3. Consecutive work takes 3+1=4. The two models must not be mixed.
08 / UNDERSTAND & APPLY
Write the two selected options as a sentence, then test it against every constraint. If a target says “must,” try to construct a legal counterexample; if it says “could,” exhibit a complete legal case.
Do not strengthen an answer simply because it is reasonable. The exercise asks what follows from its stated conditions, not which story you would expect in real life. A coherent pair with both response parts verified completes one question.
KEEP THE BIG IDEAS
READ WITH CONTEXT
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