Solving Statement and Conclusions Problems

Statement and conclusion are essentially a portion of logical reasoning. This section contains a statement followed by a set of conclusions. You must choose the conclusion that follows the statement the most logically. Sometimes the conclusion can be drawn simply from the sentence, while other times the reader must analyze the statement to reach the indirect inference. Sometimes one or all of the conclusions may follow, and sometimes none will. It is also possible that either one or none of them will follow. It depends on the reader’s capacity for perception to analyze the statements and get the correct conclusion.

For Example 

Statement – A daily apple helps to keep the doctor away.

Conclusions –

Apple is beneficial to health.

Orange is superior to apple.

A – The only valid conclusion is I.

B – Only the second conclusion is valid.

C – Either the I or II conclusion is valid.

D – Neither I nor II is valid conclusion.

Both conclusions are legitimate.

Explanation: This sentence discusses the health benefits of consuming apples. Clearly, eating apples is beneficial to our health. However, the statement makes no mention of the orange’s benefits. Also unknown is a comparison of orange and apple’s health advantages. Therefore, only the first conclusion is valid. Thus, our response is option A.

Direct conclusion 

From the given statement, you can draw some direct conclusions. You just need to pay a little bit of attention when you read them. Most of the time, these kinds of statements are called “direct conclusion statements.” Let’s look at an example to better understand what it means.

Suresh and Mina only had one child, and his name is Ram.

Conclusions – 1. Suresh and Mina have one child together.

2. Ram is the only brother.

A. Only I is a valid conclusion.

B. Only the second conclusion is true.

C. Both conclusions I and II are correct.

D. Neither conclusion I nor conclusion II is true.

E. Both conclusions are correct.

Explanation: Now, just look at the part of the sentence that says the Ram is their only son. So, it’s clear that he doesn’t have any brothers. So the only clear conclusion is that I. We don’t know anything about Ram’s sister, on the other hand. So, II’s conclusion might or might not be right. So the correct answer is A.

Indirect conclusion 

Here, the reader is expected to understand what is being said and to judge the conclusion based on how close it is to what is being said. To solve this kind of problem, you need to read carefully and think logically. Let’s look at an example to help us understand it much better.

Statement: The panel has decided to cut down the list of candidates to those who have gotten at least a first division (60 percent) in all of their classes. Meena got 65 percent in 10th place and 59 percent in 12th place. She got an 85 percent grade point average.

Conclusions −

I. Meena will get a second look.

II. Meena will not make the final list.

Explanation: In this case, we must carefully come to a conclusion. Meena got more than 60 percent in both her 12th and 10th grades. But her 12th-grade percentage is not above 60%. So, she won’t be on the list of finalists. The conclusion was reached indirectly, but as you can see, it wasn’t that hard.

Different types of cases 

Case-1 (Only conclusion I is valid) 

If you work hard and do it every day, you will pass the test.

Conclusions −

I. You need to work hard and stay on track to pass an exam.

II. You could pass an exam even if you don’t work hard.

Explanation: In this case, it’s easy to see that the given statement leads directly to conclusion I, but there’s not much to say about conclusion II. In this case, therefore, the only conclusion I is correct.

Case-2 (Only Conclusion II is valid)

If you work hard and do it every day, you will pass the test.

Conclusions −

I. You also need to be able to focus very hard to pass the test.

II. Ravi works hard and keeps at it, so he will pass this time.

In the given sentence, nothing is said about how deeply someone is concentrating. So, we can’t talk about that, and this conclusion isn’t true based on the given statement. Conclusion II, on the other hand, is an indirect conclusion that can be drawn from the statement. So, only conclusion II can be true.

Conclusion 

Statement and conclusion are essentially a portion of logical reasoning. You must choose the conclusion that follows the statement the most logically. Sometimes the conclusion can be drawn simply from the sentence, while other times the reader must analyze the statement to reach the indirect inference. It is also possible that either one or all of the conclusions follow. Meena got 65 percent in 10^th place and 59 percent in 12^th place.

But her 12^th-grade percentage is not above 60%. So, she won’t be on the list of finalists. Ravi works hard and keeps at it, so he will pass this time.