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One area which has continually troubled all test-takers is Verbal Reasoning. Not only is the subject matter of the questions dense, the options are extremely close too. This renders one incapable of marking a particular answer option with conviction, as the correct
one. Here are some tried and tested methods to reduce the ambiguity in 3 specific question types: -

1. Fact, Inference, Judgement

These question types, after making a surprise comeback in CAT 2006, have irritated a lot of test-takers to the end of their tether. A 'Fact' is easy to identify. The choice between a 'Judgement' and 'Inference' is somewhat tricky. A few tips to keep in mind while solving this question type: -

a) Always work with answer options. Locate a statement that is definitely a Fact or a Judgement, then eliminate the options that do not classify it as such.

b) Words that are used in the comparative or the superlative degree often qualify statements as Inferences. For example highest, taller, largest, heaviest, etc., can only be arrived at after verifying data; hence, the statements involved are inferences.

c) Identify where the emphasis is in the sentence structure. It is possible that the latter part of a statement may be a Fact, but the emphasis is on the former part, which is a Conclusion derived from that Fact. Clearly, such a statement qualifies as an Inference.

d) Statements that use a lot of adjectives and adverbs; words like 'should', 'must', 'only', 'never', 'always', 'all', etc., have a tendency to be Judgements.

Consider this question from CAT 2006: -

Instructions: Classify each of the statements into: -
F. Facts, which deal with the pieces of information that one has heard, seen or read, and which are open to discovery or verification, or
I. Inferences, which are conclusions drawn about unknown, on the basis of the known, or
J. Judgements, which are opinions that imply approval or disapproval of persons, objects, situations and occurrences in the past, the present, or the future.

1. Given the poor quality of service in the public sector, the HIV/AIDS affected should be switching to private initiatives that supply anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) at a low cost.

2. The government has been supplying free drugs since 2004, and 35000 have benefited upto now - though the size of the affected population is 150 times this number.

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