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Tables, Charts, and Graphs (Data Interpretation)

Graphs and charts show the relationship of numbers and quantities in visual form. By looking at a graph, you can see at a glance the relationship between two or more sets of information. If such information were presented in written form, it would be hard to read and understand.

Here are some things to remember when doing problems based on data interpretation:

1. Take your time and read carefully. Understand what you are being asked to do before you begin figuring.

2. Check the dates and types of information required. Be sure that you are looking in the proper columns, and on the proper lines, for the information you need.

3. Check the units required. Be sure that your answer is in thousands, millions, or whatever the question calls for.

4. In computing averages, be sure that you add the figures you need and no others, and that you divide by the correct number of years or other units.

5. Be careful in computing problems asking for percentages.

a. Remember that to convert a decimal into a percent you must multiply it by 100. For example, 0.04 is 4%.
b. Be sure that you can distinguish between such quantities as 1% (1 percent) and .01% (one one-hundredth of 1 percent), whether in numerals or in words.
c. Remember that if quantity X is greater than quantity Y, and the question asks what percent quantity X is of quantity Y, the answer must be greater than 100 percent.

WHAT DO WE UNDERSTAND BY DATA?

Data refers to facts or numbers, collected for examination, consideration and useful for decision-making. It is in raw form i.e. it is in a scattered form. Information refers to data being arranged and presented in a systematic or an organize form, so that some useful inferences can be drawn from the same. By data we generally mean quantities, figures, statistics, relating to any event.

WHAT DO YOU UNDERSTAND BY DATA INTERPRETATION?

As the name implies, Data Interpretation is extraction of maximum information, as required by us from the given set of data or information. In other words the act of organizing and interpreting data to get meaningful information is known as Data Interpretation. The representation of data can be broadly classified as tables and graph.

TABLES: Any statistical data pertaining to a situation can be represented by tables. Tables are the easiest and most convenient form of data representation if the data is reasonably limited.

(1) Tables present data logically.
(2) Tables give a bird’s eye-view of the data in a concise and a compact manner thereby saving time and space.
(3) The columns and the rows that constitute any table facilitate data comparison.
(4) Tables facilitate also analysis and informed decision-making, a la any other data representation type.

Description In this type of questions, certain pairs/groups of numbers are given out of which all except one are similar in some manner while one is different. The numbers in these similar pairs may have the same property or may be related to each other according to the same rule. The candidate is required to choose the odd pair/group.

EXAMPLES

Directions: Choose the numeral pair group which is different from others.

Example. 1.

(a) 83 - 75
(b) 58 - 50
(c) 49 - 42
(d) 25 - 17

Ans. Clearly, in each of the pairs except (c), the first number is eight more than the second. Hence, the answer is (c).

Example. 2.

(a) 70 - 80
(b) 54 - 62
(c) 28 - 32
(d) 21 - 24
(e) 14 - 16

Ans. In each of the pairs except (b), the ratio of the two numbers is 7 : 8. Hence, the answer is (b).

Example. 3.

(a) 42 - 4
(b) 36 - 6
(c) 32 - 2
(d) 15 - 5

Ans. In all the pairs except (a), the first number is a multiple of the second.Hence, the answer is (a).

Example. 4.

(a) 71,7,3,17
(b) 67,71,3,5
(c) 41,5,3,47
(d) 37, 14, 19, 7
(e) 11, 3, 3, 17

Ans. All other pairs except (d) consist of prime numbers only, while (d) consists of one composite number i.e., 14. Hence, the answer is (d).’

Once the exams are over, they spend their time agonising over the results. More so if it happens to be an entrance exam. MBA entrances seem to have gained popularity of late. Everyone seems to be going for them these days. Quite a few of the aspirants are clear about their objective and go towards it with a proper action plan. Many others are just putting their luck to test, or are confused on how to go about preparing. If you are a student planning to take the entrance, follow the steps below and exams will no longer torment you. Besides the MBA entrance exam, these steps will help be of interest to anyone taking an exam, be it a school level exam, college level exam, or a competitive one.

Step 1: Start early-

There is no point in procrastinating. If you start studying early for your exams then you will have more time to study. When you have plenty of time at your disposal then you can study at your own pace. You will not have to cram extra hours. Think of it as a 100m race. The student who starts early has that much of head start over the others. If need be, join a coaching class. There are a many reputed coaching classes that specialise on MBA entrances, and boast of many successful stories.

Step 2: Be clear about the sections -

Don’t waste your time reading something that will not even be asked in the exam. Find out exactly what the exam syllabus will be. Make a list of all the topics that might be asked. Most of the MBA entrances have sections on:

1. Verbal ability
2. Reading comprehension
3. Quantitative ability
4. Data interpretation
5. Analytical ability
6. General awareness

The numbers of questions under each section vary from exam to exam, but the kind of questions is similar. Next, get a list of the books that you would like to refer. Make sure that you have all the course material ready well before the exams. Don’t waste your time hunting for reading material at the eleventh hour.

Step 3: Find out what you are comfortable with O.K, so now you know the sections that appear in a typical MBA entrance exam, what next. Your next task is to find out what you know and what you don’t know about these sections. What are the sections you are comfortable with? Where do you need to spend more time? Don’t waste precious time studying topics you already know. This may be tempting as it gives you comfort but your time will be better spent if you study topics which you don’t know. You will improve only when you work on your weaker points. If problem solving is a weak point for you, spend more time on that compared to the section you are comfortable with. Sample tests track and evaluate your results. They isolate your weaknesses and thus highlight what you need to practice most. A commercial course or an MBA preparatory program will help point out to you what practice questions also reveal. That is, there are many shortcuts and tricks that can help you to find the right answer more quickly, and help improve your ability to eliminate the wrong answers. Knowing the question format and taking practice tests will train you for success.

Step 4: Formulate a plan -

After you find out exactly what you need to study, your next step should be to form a plan as to how you will study. Start with a broader plan and then break it down to smaller tasks. Smaller tasks can be better managed. Make the plan as specific as possible. Give deadlines and try to stick to these as much as possible. Don’t fix deadlines that are too ambitious and may not be achievable, as you might get discouraged.

Step 5: Execute the plan -

You now know what to do and how to do it. But you still have got to do it. This is the most crucial stage. Even the best of plans if not properly implemented are useless. You should periodically monitor your progress to know how you are doing with respect to your plan. If you are not able to meet a deadline, then you have to buckle up. Finally don’t lose steam towards the end. You may start-off with all the enthusiasm but get complacent later. A good way to avoid this is to study along with a friend. This way you and your friend can motivate each other.

Take practice tests. For best results, try to simulate exam conditions as closely as possible when taking sample tests: no unscheduled breaks or interruptions, strict adherence to time limits, and no use of outside aids. Familiarising yourself with the test taking conditions will prepare you for the day of the test and help eliminate any impediments to your success!

There are two basic elements to preparation – study and practice (good luck for those who do not follow these two). The numerical ability (arithmetic, geometry, algebra, probability, sets etc.) is of a high school level, and that is the reason many of us will have lost touch with these subjects. Moreover, a little revision and practicing numerous time savers and short cuts will enhance your performance. The verbal section will pose a lot of traps to catch even the most confident people, so some brush up on your grammar will not go waste.

There is no substitute for practice in your preparation for the MBA entrance test. The time limits that are present in the test will be very difficult to adhere to without practice. Practice makes a man perfect. Also, there is not substitute for hard work. Plan the schedule of your preparation ahead. Maintain consistency throughout your preparation. Do it on a regular basis and when time comes give it the best shot.
You can improve your performance at the entrance test quite considerably by putting a little (or a lot of) effort into preparing for the test. With this, you should be able to improve your score, which will make a noticeable difference in the options you have for choosing a business school.

A few more tips . . .

• Before the exam day, make sure you have everything you need. Double check before leaving for the examination hall. If you are writing an exam that requires you to carry a hall ticket or an ID card, then make sure that you have it with you. The worst possible start you can give yourself is to arrive for the exam without the things needed to write the exam.

• It is important to relax. Don’t indulge in last minute reading. You will gain nothing, on the contrary you will get more nervous.

• Reach the exam hall well before time so that you have plenty of time to settle down.

• Read the question paper very carefully. Do not forget to read the instructions. Don’t assume that the model of the question paper will be same as last year.

• Attempt the easier questions first. That way you can allocate more time for the difficult questions.

• Manage your time efficiently. You must attempt all the questions in the stipulated time.

• Write your name and roll number legibly and neatly. Do not scribble. Avoid scratch marks on the paper.

• If you have some time left in the end then revise your answers once. Verify the numerical calculations.

• Follow the other instructions properly

Tips :

1. Don’t be afraid of the unfamiliar. Maybe you have never seen such charts before; do not panic and approach with an open mind.

2. Practice from a lot of sources. Look at different graphs and charts and see how data is represented.

3. Note that there are no purely DI or purely Reasoning Questions. All the questions require some amount of Reasoning.

4. Look at different newspapers and also the sites on the Internet where you find graphs and charts. An exposure to different types of charts is essential.

5. In Reasoning, do some puzzles from varied sources. Several sites on the Internet post puzzles regularly. Doing these from a variety of sources will help.

6. Do a number of section tests before you start doing full-length tests. Time yourself and stick to the time limits strictly.

7. Rather than doing conventional sums, rely on logic and develop a reasoning mind. In the exam, there is no particular type of question that will be repeated, but most questions can be done by using logic.

8. Do the questions with low weight at the outset. This will give you the confidence to attempt the more difficult questions.

9. Develop your strategy by appearing in a number of mock tests. Do not change it at the last moment by listening to friends or others.

10. Finally, DO NOT panic. Even if you are scoring well in the mock tests, be prepared for something that you may not have seen before. Learn to keep control even if the paper is formidable; usually it is not.

1. Read:
This is the best in quality as one sees the usage and the context. However, it’s not a direct method for vocab improvement and the ROI in terms of new words learnt for an hr put in is low unless one’s vocab is less than average. This is assuming the average Indian English newspaper. Plus, there is additional bother of looking up a dictionary every time.

2. Vocab books like Norman Lewis and Rosenbaum:
These books look at the roots of the words, origins etc. Thus, each word has a history etc. very easy to pick up certain words and also helps to guess the meaning of a word using its roots even the one had never seen it until that moment. Downside, there are only a few words with a story. Also the roots can give misleading results at times.

3. Word lists:
Every coaching/prep book has them. Very direct approach and has a high ROI. But it looks a monumental task to finish a few thousand words. Can be done with regular effort and tools such as flash cards. The key is to learn the usage and not to memorize the words.

One can choose depending upon one’s needs. If you find it difficult to get started, option 2 is probably the best. If you’re pretty strong already reading and combining through word list may be a good way. If your English is particularly weak, read and do the word lists. Option 2 can be a support.

• Quotations. They tell recruiters what other people think, not you. Similarly, skip the dictionary definitions.

• Jargon. People who read admissions essays understand business, but not necessarily your niche.

• Typos. Your computer’s spell-check function won’t know you meant “role” when you wrote “roll.” Careful proofreading also will catch no-nos like citing the wrong school, sports team or location.

• Missing the point. Some essays fail to address parts of a question. Have a friend read yours — without revealing the topic — and then ask if he or she can figure it out

Need of SOP
Your previous academic background and scores in the standardised tests ( GRE / SAT) show what you are capable of delivering. The admissions committee also wants to know what are the motivations that are driving your life at this point in time. Why do you want to pursue the course you are applying for?

How relevant is the course to your long term goals?
Since you will not go through an interview, the admissions committee gets to know about you as a person through your SOP. SOP is very important. Spend time to get it right.
How can you get it right? - by being honest about yourself and projecting your true self in the SOP.

What should you do to write a good SOP?
Think about yourself and do the following exercise:
• Write down all your past accomplishments - academic, extra curricular, social contributions, sports - whatever you’ve done well in life. Also write down all the things that you feel or care for strongly.
• What is it that you want to do in life? What is the career you want to choose for yourself in the future and why?
• Write down the area that you want to study further in. How will taking up this course of study help you achieve your long term career goals that you described above?
• Now, write down why should you have the life that you want? Why should you get all the things you listed above? What qualifies you to have all the success you desire?

There’s another thing you got to do, use the internet or the university prospectus to study about the university you are applying to and the course you want to study. Then, You MUST mention in your SOP as to why you chose the university you are applying to.

Now, you’ve got the contents of your SOP in place.
The next step is to write it in the form of an essay.
Make sure your SOP is grammatically correct, is written in a good flow and does not exceed the prescribed word limit. The SOP should be enthusiastic, friendly and confident in tone. If writing is not your strength, don’t hesitate to take the help of a friend or colleague who can write well.

The Statement of Purpose is the single most important part of your application that will tell the admissions committee who you are, what has influenced your career path so far, your professional interests and where you plan to go from here.

As the name signifies, the Statement of Purpose is your personal statement about who you are, what has influenced your career path so far, your professional interests and where you plan to go from here. It need not be a bald statement of facts; several successful SOPs address these questions through anecdotes, stories or by describing their hero. But whether your SoP is subtle or to the point, it must be well written to be successful. This is because the SoP is the only part of your application packet over which you have full control. Your academic and extra-curricular records are in the past. Most people only take one or two shots at the GMAT, GRE or TOEFL, and these scores could be adversely affected by conditions on the test day. It is important to choose recommendation letter writers carefully, but while you hope they give you the best possible recommendation, this is not within your control.

The SoP is your chance to talk directly to the admissions committee. To make yourself stand out from among a multitude of similarly qualified candidates. To convince the committee that you have the spark, the thirst for knowledge that could add value to your class.

Most of us work hard for the standard tests - the GRE, GMAT, TOEFL and others. We attend classes or peruse study aids. We give practice tests and do everything within our power to aim for the highest possible score. Because we know that these test scores, while not a perfect tool, are crucial to our chances of gaining admission and even a scholarship or assistantship.

The SoP or essay, on the other hand, is put off till the last possible moment. It scares us when we look at those oh-so-perfect essay examples in the admissions guidebooks and wonder how we can ever write so well. Or wonder what shining instance we can pick out of our normal, average lives to show that we are unique and remarkable. Or how to pick our way through the minefield of endless Do’s and Don’ts. Or, after overcoming all these obstacles, we falter at the seemingly endless revisions, wondering if this latest draft is good enough (If I read that essay once more, I’ll scream!). Finally we write something, because time’s a-pressing and we have to meet the application deadline. We do our best, juggling the writing process with the last-minute paraphernalia of applying-checking forms for errors and completeness, collating the application packets, making sure transcripts, recommendations, work samples and resumes go in their right envelopes, worrying about transit times. We feel thankful when the essay is over, do a quick scan for obvious mistakes, and send it on its way.

If you do it this way, you are practically throwing away your chances of admission (see the next section, A good SoP will certainly improve your chances of getting admission to the school of your choice, and even compensate for weaker portions of your application such as less-than-perfect grades. A bad SoP, on the other hand, has the potential to drag down an otherwise strong application.

If you plan correctly, you can give yourself enough time to submit a well-written, thoughtful, polished essay that will boost your chances for admission. Equally important, this is a great opportunity to look inside yourself and be rewarded by a better understanding of who you are.

Writing a reasonably good Statement of Purpose is not an impossible task. It requires care, attention and patience. And enough time for you to be able to write several drafts, show them to people and polish the essay till you get a version you are happy with.
Done right, this will even turn out to be an enjoyable process. And you will be the richer for it.

Tips on writing an SOP - by Arun Vasan

Universities in the US appear to believe that the logical end of education is enabling an individual to think on her own. This is why they ask you for a “personal” statement to give an account of experiences which you believe helped you decide to apply, your expectations from graduate school, what you propose to do in school…. Of course, the typical personal statement is not so personal, and is usually edited by half a dozen people atleast.

The main idea behind this exercise is to give the admissions committee an idea of what to expect from a prospective student apart from her scores, GPA, and letters of recommendation. Who would’ve thought that actually asking a student to tell what he thinks of himself was a good idea ? The SOP, though it sounds unparliamentary, is a crucial part of the application process and needs a lot of time and effort.

I have put a few points down with my tongue firmly in my cheek. These are CS specific, but may apply to other disciplines as well. There are sharp differences of opinion among the graduate student/ professor community as to what makes an SOP tick. I take responsibility for neither the grammar nor the contents of this page. Use these tips at your own risk.

In case you are wondering, NO, I am not jobless. Yeah, I know, my soul just cries out to be blessed. Now, now, wipe the tears of gratitude, and prepare for the most enlightening sermon you will hear about grad school admissions.

Algorithm

• 0. RTFAF: Read The Fine Application Form. Don’t write a one-size-fits-all-univs SOP.

• 1. State upfront who you are and what you want. One should not have to search using a word processor whether you want an MS or a Ph.D.

• 2. Tell what you intend doing with your degree. Inevitably, this boils down to a suitable permutation of words from the set {creative, career, industry, academia, research, professor, university, lab,startup}.

• 3. Avoid hot air. Adjectives like thrill, passion, excitement, joy, etc., should be avoided like the plague. Explain what you expect from grad school. Of course, we all want a job, but try putting it down as politically correctly as you can.

• 4. Avoid quotations. You may have “miles to go before you sleep”, “chosen the road less travelled”, or “your-favourite-cliche-quote-from-high-school-here”, but it ain’t a personal statement unless you are quoting yourself, is it ?

• 5. Use simple English. Resist the temptation to use your new-found vocabulary from the GRE word lists.

• 6.Describe your experience. Don’t say you were introduced to CS as a suckling infant, you started speaking in Python before your mother tongue, yada, yada, yada… No one actually cares for your experience as a kid, so keep it brief.

• 7. The most important experience you would’ve had would be your undergrad. Of course, I mean academic work. As an aside, I firmly believe that the day you graduate is the day you realise you wasted four years. Describe your coursework tersely.

• 8. Explain a select few projects you did in gory detail and why that got you interested in research. This is a point of much debate. Personally, I like explaining things in detail while many people prefer “high level” stuff. The catch with my way is that you could say something blatantly wrong and possibly screw up your chances completely. Again, I feel that if someone knows what the hell she is talking about, she should be confident enough to sell what she did. I suggest you show your SOP to profs, preferably those who are writing your letters, to make sure you are not shooting yourself in the foot with amazing accuracy.

• 9. Articulate why you choose to work in the area you want to work on. For example, kernel hacking gives you the high, your best buddy is the memory allocator, etc., so you want to work in O/S. Or, you increase your treadmill speed like TCP increases its cwnd, you do a packet sniff to find out protocols used instead of chatting in a messenger, your concept of networking is making computers talk, so you want to work in networks. In particular, it will be ideal if it was something you did best. I’ve heard of a case where someone said the thing she did best was cooking. The story goes she baked a cake and sent it to the admissions committee. Harvard, rumour has it, fell hook, line, and sinker for this. The professors in CS@UM most likely don’t care for your culinary expertise, in case this gives you ideas.

9.1 You could possibly angle for more than one area. If you can show some prior work, or, what you can do, in more than one area, you are good. However, you should avoid things like “I like theory, systems, AI, and NC very much. Graphics and Software, a little less”.

• 10. Once you’ve explained why you like some area(s), explain how you will fit in with work being done in *that* univ. Say how you, Prof.Foo, and Prof.Bar can attain the holy grail of networking together. You should appear in awe of them, yet, appear indispensable to their work. Avoid mentioning persons alone, i.e., qualify a professor by the group he leads/is part of. You can rest assured any CS prof will be part of some group with what she thinks is a cool abbreviated name. This way you won’t antagonise a rival professor in the same area who actually sits on the committee.

• 11. Market yourself with concrete statistics. I won’t believe it myself if you claim you are the second coming of Knuth. It is very unlikely that the profs of a dept. will. After all, it is their fate to have seen a billion SOPs before yours and are condemned to seeing many more after yours. That said, mention things like “I was ranked in the top 0.123% of the FOO exam conducted by the BARs.” exactly once.

• 12. Try being humourous without sounding like a clown. Wit is something which really can’t be forced into writing. So, it is perfectly fine if you write something totally serious as long as it is cogent and forceful. Finally, finish off with a flourish.

• 13. if (you aren’t sick and tired) goto step0.

• 14. Stop reading this page this minute and go work on your application.