Statement and assumption: the institute's advertisement
Statement and assumption: the institute's advertisement: Statement: 'Enrol in our institute and secure a government… Answer and worked solution on CodeKairo.
- Topic: Mathematical Reasoning
- Section: Logical Reasoning
- Difficulty: Medium
- Time target: 90 seconds
Question
Statement: 'Enrol in our institute and secure a government job.'
Assumptions: I. People are interested in government jobs. II. No one can get a government job without this institute.
Which assumption is implicit?
Options
- Only I
- Only II
- Both
- Neither
Show the answer and the worked solution
Correct answer: A. Only I
Worked solution
- The claim only appeals if government jobs are desirable, so I is implicit.
- Claiming the institute is the only route is far stronger than the statement requires, so II is not implicit.
Answer: Only I.
The idea
An implicit assumption must be necessary for the statement to hold. Options containing 'only', 'always' or 'never' are almost always too strong.
Shortcut. Negation test: if nobody wanted government jobs, the advert would be pointless, so I is needed; if some people got such jobs elsewhere, the advert still works, so II is not.
Common trap. "Both" — reading 'secure a government job' as a claim that the institute is the only route; the advert promises success, not exclusivity.