The identifying assumptions and conclusions part is often tricky and considered the hardest in the Civil Service Examination. Assumptions are the unstated information needed to be valid for the conclusion to hold true. On the other hand, conclusions are made based on the assumptions given, so the conclusion needs to agree with the given assumptions.
Here are some quick tips for finding assumptions and conclusions:
- An assumption is information not stated in the argument that must be true for the argument’s conclusion to hold true. Look for the missing or unstated premise that makes the conclusion valid.
- The conclusion must be based on the given premise(s). Check if the answer has a connection with the given assumption.
- Eliminate off-topic arguments. If the given choices are not in any way connected with the given statement, eliminate these unrelated answers.
- Eliminate too-broad answers. Check for answers which are opposite to the given statement,
- The correct assumption must connect the evidence to the conclusion. Try to come up with one or several assumptions that underpin the argument. Show that the evidence given is relevant to the conclusion offered.
- Try to analyze the cause-and-effect relationship and see if the conclusion resulted because of the circumstances given in the assumption.
Without further ado, here is a practice test to hone your skills in identifying assumptions and conclusions. Determine the best assumption and conclusion based on the given passage. Choose the correct answer from the given choices. Just press the START QUIZ button to start the test. Good luck!