In this question type you are given one or more statements, followed by two or three claimed conclusions. You must decide which conclusions definitely follow from the statements as written, with no outside knowledge and no assumptions added by you.
The difficulty is not reading; it is restraint. Most wrong options are true in the real world or plausible in the story, but not forced by the sentences. The question asks what the statements compel, not what you suspect is probably the case.
Treat the statements as the only facts that exist. A conclusion follows only if no picture consistent with the statements can make it false.
What this model omits: it says nothing about how likely a conclusion is. Probability is irrelevant here. A conclusion that is almost certainly true is still wrong if the statements do not force it.
Test each conclusion alone. Read the statements, cover the options, then read one conclusion and ask only one question: can I build a consistent case where the statements hold and this conclusion is false? If yes, it does not follow.
| Trap | Example shape |
|---|---|
| Overreach | “Some prices rose” does not give “all prices rose” |
| Restatement | The conclusion repeats a statement and claims nothing new |
| Outside fact | The conclusion is true in the world but absent from the statements |
| Reversal | “All A are B” is turned into “all B are A” |
| Cause from order | Two events listed together are said to cause one another |
| Probability as proof | Something likely is treated as something certain |
Quantifiers decide most items. If a statement says some or many, a conclusion that says all or none cannot be guaranteed. If a statement says all, a conclusion saying some can follow, provided the group exists.
Statements: “All members of the club pay the annual fee. Some members also volunteer for the clean-up drive.”
Conclusions: (1) Some who volunteer pay the fee; (2) All volunteers pay the fee; (3) Only members pay the fee.
Conclusion (1) follows. The statement says some members volunteer, and every member pays, so at least those volunteers both volunteer and pay. The overlap is guaranteed.
Conclusion (2) does not follow. The statement says some members volunteer; it never says that only members volunteer. A non-member may volunteer without paying the fee, so the word all overreaches and the conclusion fails.
Conclusion (3) does not follow. The statements say what members do; they say nothing about non-members. Many non-members may also pay the fee, and the statements would still hold. The word only overreaches, so the conclusion fails.
Statements: “All engineers on the team are graduates. Some graduates are also managers.” Does the conclusion “some engineers are managers” follow?
Statement: “Some students passed the entrance test.” Which conclusion follows?
Statements: “The city has opened a new bus route. Complaints about crowding have risen since then.” Conclusion: “The new route caused the rise in complaints.” Does it follow?
Without looking back: what single question settles whether a conclusion follows, and why are restatements rejected?
The answer: ask whether the opposite of the conclusion could be true while the statements still hold; a restatement claims nothing new, so it is not a conclusion drawn from the statements.
Fill in the blanks from memory:
A conclusion must necessarily from the statements. If the statements only permit it, we say it follow, which is not enough. A conclusion that merely repeats a statement is a and is rejected. Nothing may be added from outside .
Statements: “All scholarship holders must maintain a grade average of seventy. Some scholarship holders play for the college team.” Conclusions: (1) Every team player who holds a scholarship averages seventy; (2) All who average seventy hold a scholarship; (3) Some team players average seventy.
(1) Follows. A scholarship holder who plays for the team is a scholarship holder, and all scholarship holders must average seventy. The team player sits inside the scholarship group, which sits inside the average-seventy group.
(2) Does not follow. This is the reversal. Averaging seventy is necessary for a scholarship, not sufficient. Many students averaging seventy may hold no scholarship, and the statements remain true.
(3) Follows on the usual reading. Some scholarship holders play for the team, and all scholarship holders average seventy, so those playing holders average seventy. At least one such player exists.
The item turns entirely on direction: inside the circle follows, outside the circle does not. Keep the groups nested correctly and the answer is immediate.
Conclusions are forced by statements. The next lesson drops the force and keeps the claim: a proposal is put forward, and you must judge which supporting arguments are genuinely strong rather than merely loud.