The topic of Statement & Conclusions is a crucial part of the syllabus of many government exams like SEBI Grade A, IBPS PO, RRB Group D, SSC CGL, SBI PO and many others. Mostly 3 to 5 questions are asked from this topic in various competitive exams. The questions based on this topic are fairly easy and are therefore time-saving. The purpose of these questions is to test the decision making ability of the candidates.
In the statement and conclusions topic, the questions consist of a statement followed by a set of conclusions for the same. Candidates need to choose the most appropriate conclusion with respect to the statement given.
Statement- It is a group of words arranged to form a meaningful sentence.
Conclusion- It is a judgement/decision after consideration about the given statement. It is an opinion/decision that is formed after a period of thought/research on some facts. The consequent effect has to be analysed before reaching the final conclusion which requires a logical approach.
Direct Conclusion
In this type, the conclusions can be directly inferred from the statement. You only have to read them with a little bit of attention. These types of statements are called direct conclusion statements.
Let’s look at an example of direct conclusion
Q) Statement- Ram is the only son of Ramesh and Manju.
Conclusions-
I. Ramesh and Manju have one son
II. Ram has one sister
Answer: (1) Only conclusion I is valid
Explanation: In the above question, the statement states that Ram is the only son of his parents. Therefore, it’s clear that he has no brothers. So, here the direct conclusion is I.
On the other hand, we don’t have any information about the sister of Ram. Hence, conclusion II may or may not be true. Therefore, the correct option is (a).
Indirect Conclusion
In these types of statements the candidate is expected to understand the given statement carefully and choose a conclusion which is the closest to the statement.
After understanding the statement, a correct logical approach is needed to solve such questions.
For example-
Q) Statement- The panel has decided to shortlist those candidates having minimum first division (60%) throughout their career. Meena has secured 65% in Class 10 and 59% in Class 12. She graduated with 85%.
Conclusions-
I. Meena will be shortlisted
II. Meena will not be shortlisted
Answer: (2) Only conclusion II is valid
Explanation: In this question, we have to arrive at the conclusion carefully. It’s said that Meena secured more than 60% in both Class 10 and graduation. But, in Class 12 her percentage was below 60%. Therefore, she will not be shortlisted. Here, we arrived at the conclusion indirectly. So, the correct answer is option (b).
Case 1- Only conclusion I is valid
Statement- If you work hard and consistently, you will pass the exam.
Conclusions-
I. Hard work and consistency is required to pass an exam.
II. Without hard work there is the possibility of passing an exam.
Answer: (1) Only conclusion I follows
Explanation: Here, it is clear that conclusion I can be directly derived from the given statement. However, the same cannot be said about conclusion II. Therefore, only conclusion I is valid.
Case 2- Only conclusion II is valid
Statement- If you work hard and consistently, you will pass the exam.
Conclusions-
I. Deep concentration power is also required to pass the exam.
II. Ravi is working hard and consistently, this time he will pass
Answer: (2) Only conclusion II follows.
Explanation: In the above statement, nothing has been mentioned about the deep concentration. So, conclusion I will not follow here. Whereas, conclusion II is an example of an indirect conclusion and hence, only conclusion II is valid.
Case 3- One Statement with two Conclusions
In this case, a statement is given followed by two conclusions. The candidate needs to find out which conclusion follows the given statement and select the appropriate option accordingly.
Let’s understand with the help of an example-
Statement: Parents are prepared to pay any price for an elite education to their children.
Conclusion
I. All parents these days are very well off.
II. Parents have an obsessive passion for the perfect development of their children through good schooling.
Answer: (2) Only conclusion II follows
Explanation: It can be deduced from the statement that since parents want a perfect development of their children through good schooling, they are prepared to pay any price for a good education. However, the statement does not give a sense of the parents being very well off. Hence, only Conclusion II follows.
Case 4- More Than Two Statements and Conclusion Based
Here, there are two or more statements and conclusions. You have to choose the conclusion that follows the statement.
Statement: Many business offices located in buildings having two to eight floors. If a building has more than three floors, it has a lift.
Conclusions-
I. All floors may be reached by lifts
II. Only floors above the third floor have lifts
III. The fifth floor has lifts
IV. Second floors do not have lifts
Answer: (3) If either conclusion I or II follows
Sample Questions
Q1) Statement: In a T20 match played between India and Australia, the total runs made by the Indian team were 200. 160 runs out of 200 runs were made by spinners.
Conclusion I: 80% of the team consists of spinners
Conclusion II: The opening batsmen were spinners
Answer: (4) Neither Conclusion I nor II is true
Explanation: Neither conclusion is logically correct with regard to the statement
Q2) Statement: The Team Manager humiliated Varun in front of his colleagues on a Monday morning.
Conclusion I: The Team Manager did not like Varun
Conclusion II: Varun was not as popular as his other colleagues
Answer: (4) Neither Conclusion I nor II is true
Explanation: None of the conclusions gives a valid reason for the statement to be correct.
Q3) Statement: A metal producing Company in India has moved from a position where there was a shortage of metal production to a position where there is the self-sufficiency of metal.
Conclusion I: India was previously importing metal
Conclusion II: at this speed of self sufficiency, India can soon become a foreign exchange earner
Answer: (3) Both Conclusion I and II is true
Q4) Statement: Only good dancers are invited to the competition. No one without dancing techniques is a good dancer.
Conclusion I: All invited dancers in the competition dance well
Conclusion II: Those dancers who do not have good dancing techniques are not invited to the competition
Answer: (3) Both Conclusion I and II are true
Even though this topic is easy, candidates do find this topic very confusing because the questions are formed in such a manner that may seem tricky to the candidates. Therefore, the only way to ace this topic is to practice as many questions as you can since this topic is very scoring.
