Are "excerpts" ever going to lead to tricks? (MSR QB)

[NaomiD519]

On the MGMAT MSR Question Bank, Taxi Swipers- 2, I'm wondering if there is the potential for a "trick question'" for the first Yes/No.

The statement is as follows: In making his or her case to subsidize installations, the city official cites none of the benefits described in the report.

The "Report" tab says "Excerpts from report from consultant to city official, dated August 12" so I'm wondering why this is not a trick question in that we don't know what the rest of the report said. Every time I think an IR question will have a "trick" component, it doesn't, and every time I think it won't, it does.

[tim]

There are no true "trick questions" on the GMAT. If you think you have found a "trick question", it really just means you haven't paid close enough attention to the question. If you'd like more help on this particular question, please follow the forum rules and post the entire question.

[NaomiD519]

I guess "trick" is not the right word, but what I mean is designing the question to catch people in a reading error. For example, there is a GMATPrep tables question where they ask about unadjusted change in CPI when the table only has adjusted (or maybe the opposite). This is a more obvious "trick" to catch, but excerpt vs. whole text is more subtle.

[tim]

Testing for reading errors is not a trick at all, and you can definitely expect the GMAT to test you on how accurately you can read and process information.

[NaomiD519]

Yes, I agree on accurate reading. What I'm asking is whether something as subtle as "excerpt" could be used to test a reading error in IR. No one has answered that.

[RonPurewal]

I guess "trick" is not the right word, but what I mean is designing the question to catch people in a reading error. For example, there is a GMATPrep tables question where they ask about unadjusted change in CPI when the table only has adjusted (or maybe the opposite). This is a more obvious "trick" to catch, but excerpt vs. whole text is more subtle.

they will not test subtleties.

in the question you've mentioned, there's only one table, and "unadjusted" and "adjusted" are both featured in prominent headings. so, really, it's your fault if you don't notice that one.

if a distinction does not rise to the level of "smack yourself in the head for not seeing it", then this exam will not test it.

[tim]

it's your fault if you don't notice that one.

This is really good advice, and hopefully it resolves the question of whether the GMAT tricks you. If you overlook something important in a problem, your reaction should be "how did I miss that?" rather than "how could the GMAT be so devious?" :) In other words, they're not trying to hide the ball; they're just expecting you to pay attention.