Arguments, Premises and Conclusions — Practice

Question 1

Passage: We should leave now, because the last train departs in twenty minutes and the station is half an hour away.
Which statement is a premise supporting the conclusion?
(a) We should leave now (b) The station is half an hour away (c) We will miss the train anyway (d) The train is usually crowded

Accepted Answer

(b) The station is half an hour away.

The conclusion is 'we should leave now'. The facts after 'because' — the train departing in twenty minutes and the station being half an hour away — are the premises supporting it, so (b) is a premise.

Question 2

Passage: The power has gone out across the whole street, not just our house. So the fault must lie with the supply company, not with our wiring.
What is the conclusion?
(a) The power has gone out across the whole street (b) The fault lies with the supply company, not our wiring (c) Our wiring is old (d) The street has many houses

Accepted Answer

(b) The fault lies with the supply company, not our wiring.

'So' signals the conclusion, and the street-wide outage is the reason for it. The claim being supported is that the fault is the supply company's, so (b) is the conclusion.

Question 3

Passage: The flight was delayed because a sudden storm closed the runway for two hours.
The passage is best described as:
(a) an argument persuading us that the flight was delayed (b) an explanation of why an accepted event happened (c) an unsupported opinion (d) a description with no cause given

Accepted Answer

(b) an explanation of why an accepted event happened.

No one is being persuaded that the flight was delayed — that is accepted. The storm is offered as its cause, which makes the passage an explanation, not an argument.

Question 4

Passage: Automation has made factories far more productive. As a result, the same output now needs fewer workers. Therefore, unless new industries appear, unemployment in factory towns will rise.
What is the main conclusion?
(a) Automation has made factories more productive (b) The same output now needs fewer workers (c) Unless new industries appear, unemployment in factory towns will rise (d) Factories should adopt automation

Accepted Answer

(c) Unless new industries appear, unemployment in factory towns will rise.

'The same output needs fewer workers' is an intermediate conclusion — supported by the productivity fact but itself supporting the final claim. The claim supported by everything and supporting nothing further is (c).

Question 5

Passage: All candidates who fail the medical test are disqualified from the programme. Meera failed the medical test.
Which conclusion is implied?
(a) Meera will re-take the test (b) Meera is disqualified from the programme (c) The medical test is unfair (d) Meera was otherwise qualified

Accepted Answer

(b) Meera is disqualified from the programme.

The rule disqualifies anyone who fails the medical test, and Meera failed it. The unstated but clearly intended conclusion is that Meera is disqualified.

Question 6

Passage: The museum has three floors. The first floor holds sculptures, the second holds paintings, and the third holds manuscripts.
Which best describes this passage?
(a) An argument with a clear conclusion (b) A description that makes no argumentative claim (c) An explanation of why the museum was built (d) An argument with an unstated conclusion

Accepted Answer

(b) A description that makes no argumentative claim.

The passage only reports how the museum is arranged. Nothing is being claimed and defended, so there is no conclusion — it is description, not argument.

Question 7

Passage: Because the bill raises taxes on small traders, it will reduce their profits; and reduced profits will force many of them to shut down; so the bill will increase unemployment among traders.
In this argument, the statement 'reduced profits will force many of them to shut down' functions as:
(a) the main conclusion (b) a premise that supports nothing further (c) an intermediate conclusion — supported by one claim and supporting the final one (d) a fact unrelated to the argument

Accepted Answer

(c) an intermediate conclusion — supported by one claim and supporting the final one.

It is supported by 'the bill will reduce profits' and in turn supports the final claim that unemployment will rise. Sitting in the middle of the chain, it is an intermediate conclusion, not the main one.

Question 8

Passage X: The bridge collapsed because its steel had corroded over decades.
Passage Y: The bridge's steel must have corroded, because bridges do not collapse without a cause and investigators ruled out every other cause.
Which statement is correct?
(a) X is an argument and Y is an explanation (b) X is an explanation and Y is an argument (c) Both are arguments (d) Both are explanations

Accepted Answer

(b) X is an explanation and Y is an argument.

In X the collapse is accepted and corrosion is given as its cause — an explanation. In Y the corrosion is a disputed claim being established from reasons (no cause without effect; others ruled out) — an argument.

Practice — Arguments, Premises and Conclusions

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