Executive Assessment cheat sheet

Multi-source reasoning: separate data given per source from claims about that data; answers must be supported by the stated sources, not outside knowledge.

Table analysis questions ask for a yes/no judgment per row; test each row against the stated condition independently before choosing.

Graphics interpretation: read axis units and scale labels first; a change in units (thousands vs millions) is the most common trap.

Two-part analysis requires both selections to satisfy the prompt simultaneously; a pair that fits one column but not the other is wrong.

Percentage change = (new − old)/old × 100; percentage-point change = new% − old%, which differs from percent change.

Weighted average = Σ(value × weight)/Σ(weight); use when combining groups of different sizes rather than averaging the group averages.

If a rate is per unit time, total = rate × time; for two workers, combined rate = r1 + r2 and time = 1/(r1 + r2) of a job.

Check arithmetic feasibility: an answer implying a fractional count of people or items is invalid even if the arithmetic matches.

Main-point answers must cover the whole passage; an answer true only of one paragraph is a supporting detail, not the main point.

Inference answers must be necessarily true given the text; anything requiring an extra assumption is out of scope.

For assumption questions, negate the candidate answer: if negation breaks the argument, the statement is a required assumption.

Strengthen/weaken answers affect the link between evidence and conclusion, not merely the plausibility of the conclusion itself.

Boldface questions: identify whether each bold statement is evidence, a conclusion, or an opposing claim, and how the two relate.

Parallel-reasoning answers must match the original's logical structure, not its topic; abstract the pattern before comparing.

Scope shift is the most common wrong-answer flaw: the choice discusses a group, time, or quantity the passage never mentions.

Extreme wording (all, never, only) is not automatically wrong, but it must be directly supported by the passage.

Percent change = (new − old)/old; successive changes of a% then b% give a net factor of (1 + a/100)(1 + b/100), not a + b.

Simple interest = P × r × t; compound interest = P(1 + r/n)^(nt) − P, where n is compounds per year.

Work rate: combined time = (t1 × t2)/(t1 + t2) for two workers completing one job together.

Distance = rate × time; for average speed over equal distances, average = 2r1r2/(r1 + r2), the harmonic mean.

Weighted average position on a number line is set by the ratio of group sizes; the mean lies closer to the larger group.

Overlapping sets: total = A + B − both + neither; for three sets, subtract pairwise overlaps and add back the triple overlap.

Probability of independent events = product of individual probabilities; of mutually exclusive events = sum.

Standard deviation is unchanged by adding a constant to every value and scales by |k| when every value is multiplied by k.

Slope = (y2 − y1)/(x2 − x1); parallel lines share slope, perpendicular slopes multiply to −1.

Multi-source reasoning: separate data given per source from claims about that data; answers must be supported by the stated sources, not outside knowledge.

Table analysis questions ask for a yes/no judgment per row; test each row against the stated condition independently before choosing.

Graphics interpretation: read axis units and scale labels first; a change in units (thousands vs millions) is the most common trap.

Two-part analysis requires both selections to satisfy the prompt simultaneously; a pair that fits one column but not the other is wrong.

Percentage change = (new − old)/old × 100; percentage-point change = new% − old%, which differs from percent change.

Weighted average = Σ(value × weight)/Σ(weight); use when combining groups of different sizes rather than averaging the group averages.

If a rate is per unit time, total = rate × time; for two workers, combined rate = r1 + r2 and time = 1/(r1 + r2) of a job.

Check arithmetic feasibility: an answer implying a fractional count of people or items is invalid even if the arithmetic matches.

Main-point answers must cover the whole passage; an answer true only of one paragraph is a supporting detail, not the main point.

Inference answers must be necessarily true given the text; anything requiring an extra assumption is out of scope.

For assumption questions, negate the candidate answer: if negation breaks the argument, the statement is a required assumption.

Strengthen/weaken answers affect the link between evidence and conclusion, not merely the plausibility of the conclusion itself.

Boldface questions: identify whether each bold statement is evidence, a conclusion, or an opposing claim, and how the two relate.

Parallel-reasoning answers must match the original's logical structure, not its topic; abstract the pattern before comparing.

Scope shift is the most common wrong-answer flaw: the choice discusses a group, time, or quantity the passage never mentions.

Extreme wording (all, never, only) is not automatically wrong, but it must be directly supported by the passage.

Percent change = (new − old)/old; successive changes of a% then b% give a net factor of (1 + a/100)(1 + b/100), not a + b.

Simple interest = P × r × t; compound interest = P(1 + r/n)^(nt) − P, where n is compounds per year.

Work rate: combined time = (t1 × t2)/(t1 + t2) for two workers completing one job together.

Distance = rate × time; for average speed over equal distances, average = 2r1r2/(r1 + r2), the harmonic mean.

Weighted average position on a number line is set by the ratio of group sizes; the mean lies closer to the larger group.

Overlapping sets: total = A + B − both + neither; for three sets, subtract pairwise overlaps and add back the triple overlap.

Probability of independent events = product of individual probabilities; of mutually exclusive events = sum.

Standard deviation is unchanged by adding a constant to every value and scales by |k| when every value is multiplied by k.

Slope = (y2 − y1)/(x2 − x1); parallel lines share slope, perpendicular slopes multiply to −1.