A conclusion is defined as a position or opinion or judgement reached after consideration of the given premise. It can also be defined as the act of ending something, the act of making up your mind about something, the last section of communication or the final settlement.
Similar to the concept of syllogisms, where conclusions were to be drawn from a given set of statements, this concept also tests your ability to draw reasonable conclusions from statements given in the question.
As legal practitioners and potential jurists, word play is that integral weapon which can be wielded to twist a certain set of facts as per your suitability. To use language or word play as an effective means to clarify one’s stance, one must be aware of the different types of statements that can be made.
Some statements pose a question/query, some statements state a fact, some provide the reasoning or cause, some state the conclusion or assumptions as regards the given facts.
Every statement must be examined to determine the kind of information it provides.
Your task in this segment of the logical reasoning section will be to base your conclusions only on the basis of the statements given in the question.
Let us look at the following example:
Directions: In each of the following questions, a statement is given followed by two conclusions. Give answer
(a) If only conclusion I follows.
(b) If only conclusion II follows.
(c) If both conclusions I & II follow.
(d) If neither I nor II follows.
Example 1:
Statement:
Shimla is less polluted than New Delhi.
Conclusions:
- A city which has less pollution is a better place to live in.
- Shimla is the least polluted out of Bombay, Shimla and New Delhi.
Answer & Explanation:
The primary statement given in the question only one fact i.e. New Delhi is more polluted than Shimla. It does not give a comparative study or any other statistic on which one can reason the quality of life in both these places. Hence, conclusion (I) does not follow.
The primary statement only mentions the comparison between New Delhi and Shimla. Bombay is not mentioned in the statement given in the questions and therefore, drawing conclusions upon a third city is beyond the scope of this question. Hence, conclusion (II) does not follow either.
The correct answer would be (d) in this case as neither I nor II follows.
Example 2:
Statement:
The employees at Green Chillies Pvt. Ltd. Work for 6 days a week, whereas, the employees at Yellow Mustard Pvt. Ltd. Work for just 5 days a week. Both companies have 9 hour work days.
Conclusions:
- The employees at Green chillies Pvt. Ltd. Work more than the employees at Yellow Mustard Pvt. Ltd.
- The employees at Green Chillies Pvt. Ltd. Earn more money than the employees at Yellow Mustard Pvt. Ltd.
Answer & explanation:
From the statements given in the question, it can be observed that employees at Green Chillies work for 54 hours per week whereas the employees at Yellow Mustard only work for 45 hours. Hence, it would be logical to conclude that (I) follows.
Nowhere in the question are we being informed about the salary/remuneration paid at each of the aforementioned firms. Hence, (II) does not follow.
Example 3: [CLAT 2014]
Statement:
Some magazines are novels.
Conclusions:
(I) Some books are novels
(II) Some novels are magazines.
(a) If only conclusion I follows.
(b) If only conclusion II follows.
(c) If both conclusions I & II follow.
(d) If neither I nor II follows.
Answer: (b)
Example 4: [CLAT 2014]
Statements:
All students like excursions.
Some students go for higher education.
Conclusions:
(I) Students who go for higher education like excursions.
(II) Some students do not go for higher education but like excursions.
(a) If only conclusion I follows.
(b) If only conclusion II follows.
(c) If both conclusions I & II follow.
(d) If neither I nor II follows.
Answer: (c)
Example 5: [CLAT 2014]
Statements:
All good hockey players are in the indian hockey team.
X is not a good hockey player.
Conclusions:
(I) X is not in the Indian hockey team
(II) X wants to be in the Indian hockey team.
(a) If only conclusion I follows.
(b) If only conclusion II follows.
(c) If both conclusions I & II follow.
(d) If neither I nor II follows.
Answer: (a)
Example 6: [CLAT 2015]
Statements:
Some players are singers.
All singers are tall.
Conclusions:
(I) Some players are tall
(II) All players are tall
(a) If only conclusion I follows.
(b) If only conclusion II follows.
(c) If both conclusions I & II follow.
(d) If neither I nor II follows.
Answer: (a)
Example 7: [CLAT 2015]
Statements:
Some vegetables are fruits.
No vegetables is black.
Conclusions:
(I) Some fruits are vegetables.
(II) No vegetable is black.
(a) If only conclusion I follows.
(b) If only conclusion II follows.
(c) If both conclusions I & II follow.
(d) If neither I nor II follows.
Answer: (a)
Quick Recap
1) Conclusions are declarative statements reached at after consideration of certain basic facts.
2) Base your answer upon what logically follows the given statement(s) only.
Follow this up with a practice exercise to build up the concept further!
YOU CAN REGISTER FOR OUR CORRESPONDENCE COURSES HERE.
You can read more about English HERE
You can read more about Logical Reasoning HERE
You can read more of Current Affairs HERE
You can read more of Legal Reasoning HERE.
You can read more of General Knowledge HERE