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NOTES ON ASSUMPTION QUESTIONS

An assumption is a missing necessary premise.

An assumption is a premise – it gives some new fact/information. Sometimes, it may not be apparent that the information is new because it may involve the same variables as given in the premises. But the relation the assumption gives between the variables will be new so take note.

It is also necessary – necessary for the conclusion to be true. The conclusion cannot be true if the assumption doesn’t hold. We often negate the given options to find the one without which the conclusion cannot hold. That technique is based on this “necessary” requirement of the assumption.

To add, it is also missing – it is not something already mentioned in the argument.

There are two main methods of solving assumption questions:

I. Plug the Gap



Argument: A implies B. B implies C. Hence, A implies D.

Premises given in the argument:
– A implies B
– B implies C

Conclusion given in the argument:
– A implies D

Is it apparent that something is missing here, right? Yes! The premises give us the relations between A, B and C. They do not mention D. But while drawing the conclusion, we are concluding about the relation between A and D. We can’t do that. We must know something about D too to be able to conclude a relation between A and D. Hence, there is a necessary premise that is missing here. What we are looking for is something that says ‘C implies D’.

When we add this to our premises, our argument makes sense.
Argument: A implies B. B implies C. C implies D. Hence, A implies D.

This little point will help us in solving the trickiest of questions. We get so lost in the n number of things mentioned in the argument that we forget to consider this aspect.

For Example:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/therapist-th ... 47951.html
https://gmatclub.com/forum/a-recent-rep ... 86145.html

II. Negate the Option

An assumption is necessary for the conclusion to hold. If you negate the assumption, the conclusion CANNOT hold. Another method to identify an assumption is to negate the options and look for the one which makes it impossible for the conclusion to hold. It is cumbersome to negate every option so you should rule our the irrelevant ones first. Negate and evaluate only those which have a chance!

How do we negate a statement? In two ways:

Either negate the verb of the dominant clause

There has been an increase in the number of professionals taking early retirement.
becomes
There has not been an increase in the number of professionals taking early retirement.

- Or negate the modifier

All -> Not all
Everything -> Not everything
Always -> Not always
Some -> None
Most -> Half or less than half
Majority -> Half or less than half
Many -> Not many
Less than -> Equal to or more than
Element A -> Not element A
None ->  Some
Never ->  Sometimes


For Example:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/in-order-to- ... it=Revenue

Links to previously published posts on assumption questions:

https://anaprep.com/?s=assumptions