Last reviewed 22 Sept 2026 · 5 min read
The only question being asked
"Does this conclusion follow from the statement?" means: reading only the statement, and nothing you happen to know about the world, is the conclusion necessarily true?
Three tests dispose of most options:
- Is it stated or forced? If the statement leaves it open, it does not follow.
- Is it too strong? Words such as all, never, only, always, must usually go beyond a statement that was modest.
- Is it too wide? A statement about one city does not support a conclusion about the country.
An option that merely repeats the statement in other words is not a conclusion — it adds nothing. Exam keys treat such options as not following, unless the paper's own instructions say otherwise.
Conclusion, inference, assumption
| Term | Where it sits | Test |
|---|---|---|
| Conclusion | after the statement | must be true if the statement is true |
| Inference | after the statement | probably true, drawn from it |
| Assumption | before the statement | taken for granted by the writer |
An assumption is what the speaker must already believe for their sentence to make sense; a conclusion is what a reader may take away from it. Confusing the two is the commonest error in the whole topic.
Courses of action
A course of action is a step suggested to deal with a problem in the statement. It follows only if it passes all three tests:
- Relevance — it addresses the problem actually stated.
- Practicality — it can be done by the body that would have to do it.
- Proportion — it is not an extreme step where a mild one would do, and not a mild one where the statement describes an emergency.
Actions that are punitive for their own sake, or that ban an activity wholesale, are usually rejected; actions that inform, regulate, repair or investigate are usually accepted.
Worked examples
Statement: Most of the students in the class passed the examination. Conclusion: All the students studied hard.
Solution. "Most" does not give "all", and studying hard is nowhere in the statement → does not follow.
Statement: All the trains from this station run to the east. Conclusion: No train from this station runs to the west.
Solution. Forced by the statement → follows.
Statement: The sale of electric scooters in Delhi rose 40% last year. Conclusion: Electric scooters are becoming popular across India.
Solution. One city does not settle a country → does not follow.
Statement: The company has decided to raise the salaries of its workers from next month. Conclusions: I. The workers were dissatisfied with their salaries. II. The company can afford the rise.
Solution. I is a guess about the reason → does not follow. II is implied by the decision to make it → only II follows.
Statement: "Use our detergent for whiter clothes" — an advertisement. Which is an assumption? (a) People want whiter clothes. (b) The detergent is cheap.
Solution. (a) — the advertisement makes no sense unless whiteness is wanted. Price is not taken for granted anywhere.
Statement: A large number of road accidents on the highway occur at night at one particular curve. Courses: I. The curve should be re-designed and lit. II. The highway should be closed at night.
Solution. I is relevant, practical and proportionate → follows. II is disproportionate → only I follows.
Statement: A sudden outbreak of a water-borne disease has been reported in a locality. Courses: I. The water supply of the locality should be tested at once. II. Residents should be advised to boil drinking water until further notice.
Solution. Both are relevant, practical and immediate → both follow.
Statement: Many students of the school scored poorly in mathematics this year. Courses: I. The mathematics teacher should be dismissed. II. Mathematics should be removed from the syllabus.
Solution. I is punitive before any enquiry; II is absurd → neither follows. (A remedial class would have followed.)