Each year, all employees for a particular company complete an annual self-evaluation during the month of September, and all employees,...
GMAT Two Part Analysis : (TPA) Questions
Each year, all employees for a particular company complete an annual self-evaluation during the month of September, and all employees, including those who left the company after completing their annual self-evaluation, are subsequently evaluated by their supervisors. An employee hired after the month of September completes his or her first self-evaluation the following September. Each self-evaluation includes information about career goals, job responsibilities, and an overall rating of job performance, and approximately 70% rated job performance as being satisfactory or better. Approximately 40% of the self-evaluation ratings differed from the ratings given by the employee's supervisor.
Select for Must be true the statement that must be true given the information provided and select for Must be false the statement that must be false given the information provided. Make only two selections, one in each column.
Phase 1: Owning the Dataset
Argument Analysis Table
| Passage Statement | Analysis & Implications |
| "All employees complete an annual self-evaluation during the month of September" |
|
| "All employees, including those who left the company after completing their annual self-evaluation, are subsequently evaluated by their supervisors" |
|
| "An employee hired after the month of September completes his or her first self-evaluation the following September" |
|
| "Approximately 70% rated job performance as being satisfactory or better" |
|
| "Approximately 40% of the self-evaluation ratings differed from the ratings given by the employee's supervisor" |
|
Key Patterns Identified
- Established Facts: September-only evaluations, universal supervisor follow-up, new hire waiting period
- Relationships: Self-ratings tend positive (70%), but significant disagreement exists (40%)
- Valid Conclusions: December hires can't have same-year evaluations, all self-evaluators get supervisor reviews
- Boundaries: We don't know supervisor rating distribution or direction of disagreements
Phase 2: Question Analysis & Prethinking
Understanding Each Part
- Part 1 (Must be True): We need a statement that is logically necessitated by the facts
- Part 2 (Must be False): We need a statement that directly contradicts the given facts
- Relationship: These should be independent conclusions, each standing on its own logical merit
Valid Inferences Generated
- Timing-based inference: Employees hired in October-December haven't completed self-evaluations by March
- Coverage inference: Every self-evaluation triggers a supervisor evaluation without exception
- We cannot infer: The actual distribution of supervisor ratings or overall performance levels
Phase 3: Answer Choice Evaluation
Choice Analysis
Choice 1: "All employees working at the company in March have completed at least one self-evaluation."
- What it claims: Universal self-evaluation completion by March
- Fact Support: Contradicted by December hires who wait until September
- Logical Validity: False - December hires working in March haven't done one yet
- Part Suitability: Neither part (it's false but not necessarily so from all perspectives)
Choice 2: "Fewer than half of all employees had a job performance rating of satisfactory or better from their supervisor."
- What it claims: Majority got unsatisfactory from supervisors
- Fact Support: No direct facts about supervisor rating distribution
- Logical Validity: Cannot determine - 40% disagreement rate doesn't tell us direction
- Part Suitability: Neither part (insufficient information)
Choice 3: "No employee who completed a self-evaluation in a given calendar year was hired by the company for the first time in December of that calendar year."
- What it claims: December hires don't self-evaluate in their hire year
- Fact Support: Post-September hires wait until following September
- Logical Validity: Must be true - December is after September
- Part Suitability: Perfect for "Must be True"
Choice 4: "More than half of all employees had an unsatisfactory job performance."
- What it claims: Majority performed unsatisfactorily
- Fact Support: No facts about actual performance levels
- Logical Validity: Cannot determine from given information
- Part Suitability: Neither part
Choice 5: "At least one employee who rated his or her performance as satisfactory in a given year did not receive an evaluation by his or her supervisor that year."
- What it claims: Some self-evaluators don't get supervisor evaluation
- Fact Support: Directly contradicts "all employees...are subsequently evaluated"
- Logical Validity: Must be false - passage guarantees 100% supervisor follow-up
- Part Suitability: Perfect for "Must be False"
Final Selection
- Must be True: Choice 3 - Logically necessary given September evaluation timing
- Must be False: Choice 5 - Directly contradicts universal supervisor evaluation fact
These selections work because each is independently valid based on explicit passage facts without requiring any speculation or assumptions.