© 2026 LearnInShort
The Section Where Knowing More Hurts You
Every other chapter rewards what you know. This one punishes it. Statement–Conclusion, Statement–Assumption, Course of Action and Statement–Argument all ask the same thing: given *only* these three lines, what is forced to be true? Bring in what you read in the newspaper, and you will confidently mark an option the setter designed for exactly that reflex.
The four types differ in what they ask you to look for. A conclusion is what necessarily follows from the statement. An assumption is what the speaker has silently taken for granted *before* speaking. A course of action is a practical step that a competent authority could take about the problem. An argument is a reason for or against a proposal, judged only on relevance and weight.
They are not hard. They are unforgiving. The discipline is a single sentence: shut the world out and read the box.
1. In Statement–Assumption questions, the standard way to test whether something is an assumption is to:
2. Advertisement: "Buy Sunrise cooking oil — the choice of health-conscious families." Which of the following is assumed in this advertisement?
3. Statement: Due to a sudden strike by drivers, the city bus service was suspended for two days. Conclusion I: Commuters faced difficulty in travelling on those two days. Conclusion II: The city has no other mode of public transport. Which conclusion follows?
4. A suggested course of action is said to 'follow' only when it is:
5. Statement: Accidents at the city's unmanned railway crossings have doubled in the last year. Course of Action I: All unmanned crossings should be manned or fitted with automatic barriers in a phased manner. Course of Action II: Railway travel in the city should be stopped until every crossing is made safe. Which course of action follows?
6. Which of the following words in a proposed conclusion most often signals that it goes beyond what the statement supports?
7. Notice: "The examination hall will open at 9:00 a.m. Candidates reaching after 9:30 a.m. will not be allowed to enter." Which of the following is assumed in this notice?
8. In Statement–Argument questions, an argument is judged 'strong' when it is: