Logical Reasoning Questions for CLAT | QB Set 112 [Premise, Conclusion, Assumption]

Passage

Reservation remains one of the most debated instruments of social policy in India. Critics often argue that reservation should gradually be reduced because several decades have passed since its introduction and because public institutions should increasingly prioritise merit. This argument, however, rests on an incomplete understanding of both merit and inequality.

Academic marks and examination scores do not arise in a social vacuum. Access to good schools, experienced teachers, private coaching, books, technology, stable housing and even uninterrupted study time can significantly affect performance. Two candidates who obtain different scores may therefore have competed under very different conditions. If public institutions treat their marks as the sole measure of merit without considering these differences, they may preserve existing advantages rather than create genuinely equal competition.

Reservation is not intended to prove that every member of a disadvantaged group is individually deprived or that every member of an unreserved group is privileged. Its broader justification lies in addressing patterns of historical exclusion and inadequate representation. Therefore, pointing to a few successful individuals from historically disadvantaged communities does not by itself establish that structural disadvantage has disappeared.

At the same time, reservation should not be insulated from scrutiny. A policy created to remedy exclusion must be periodically evaluated to determine whether it is actually reaching groups that remain underrepresented and whether its design requires modification. Such evaluation, however, should rely on credible evidence concerning representation, educational access and continuing barriers rather than merely on the passage of time.

Some critics contend that reservation itself creates social division because it continuously reminds citizens of caste identities. Yet ending a remedial policy does not necessarily eliminate the inequality that made the policy necessary. If social disadvantages continue independently of the policy, withdrawing reservation may remove a remedy without removing the underlying problem.

The more defensible position, therefore, is neither that reservation must continue forever in exactly its present form nor that it should disappear simply because many years have passed. Public policy should instead ask whether measurable forms of exclusion continue and, if they do, whether reservation remains an effective and appropriately designed response. Reform should follow evidence about social conditions, not assumptions that time alone has produced equality.

Questions

1. Which of the following most accurately states the main conclusion of the passage?

(A) Reservation should continue permanently because examination scores can never measure merit accurately.

(B) Reservation should be abolished once individuals from disadvantaged communities begin succeeding in public institutions.

(C) The continuation or reform of reservation should depend on evidence of continuing exclusion and the effectiveness of the policy, rather than merely on how long it has existed.

(D) Reservation is justified only because candidates from different social groups receive different levels of educational support.

2. Which of the following functions as an important premise supporting the author’s argument that examination scores alone may not reflect genuine merit?

(A) Reservation policies have existed for several decades.

(B) Candidates may have unequal access to schools, coaching, technology and conditions conducive to study.

(C) Social policies should never be continued indefinitely.

(D) Successful members of disadvantaged communities sometimes obtain high examination scores.

3. The author’s argument that the success of some individuals from historically disadvantaged communities does not prove that structural disadvantage has ended depends most strongly on which assumption?

(A) Every member of a disadvantaged community faces exactly the same degree of disadvantage.

(B) Individual success can coexist with broader patterns of disadvantage affecting a group.

(C) Successful candidates from reserved categories usually receive greater educational support than other candidates.

(D) Structural disadvantage can be identified only through examination results.

4. Which of the following findings, if true, would most strengthen the author’s overall argument?

(A) A national study finds that several historically disadvantaged groups remain significantly underrepresented in higher education and public employment even after controlling for basic educational qualifications.

(B) Many students believe that competitive examinations should become more difficult.

(C) Some reserved-category candidates obtain marks higher than the cut-off applicable to unreserved candidates.

(D) Public discussions concerning reservation frequently become politically controversial.

5. Which of the following, if established by reliable long-term evidence, would most weaken the author’s case for continuing reservation in its present form?

(A) Caste remains an important topic in public and political discussions.

(B) Candidates from different regions have unequal access to private coaching.

(C) Groups currently receiving reservation have achieved representation, educational access and socioeconomic outcomes broadly comparable to the general population, while the policy no longer materially improves their representation.

(D) Some citizens oppose reservation because they believe it affects opportunities available to them.

6. A government argues: “A scholarship scheme introduced twenty-five years ago should now be discontinued because enough time has passed since it was created.” Which feature of this argument most closely resembles the reasoning criticised in the passage?

(A) It assumes that the passage of time by itself establishes that the problem addressed by the policy has disappeared.

(B) It assumes that scholarship beneficiaries are academically weaker than other students.

(C) It argues that all public policies must remain unchanged once introduced.

(D) It concludes that educational disadvantage can never be measured objectively.

Answer Key

1. (C)
2. (B)
3. (B)
4. (A)
5. (C)
6. (A)

Detailed Explanations

1. Correct Answer: (C)

Step 1: The passage considers two extreme positions: reservation should continue permanently without change, and reservation should end merely because many years have passed.

Step 2: The author rejects both positions.

Step 3: The final paragraph states that policy should instead examine whether measurable exclusion continues and whether reservation remains an effective and appropriately designed response.

Therefore, (C) captures the passage’s central conclusion.

Option (A) is too absolute. The author does not argue for permanent reservation or claim that examination scores are useless.

Option (B) contradicts the passage because individual success is expressly said not to prove that structural disadvantage has ended.

Option (D) identifies only one supporting argument regarding unequal conditions and merit; it is not the overall conclusion.

2. Correct Answer: (B)

The relevant claim is that examination marks may not provide a complete measure of merit.

The author supports this by pointing out that candidates may have very different access to schools, teachers, coaching, books, technology, housing and uninterrupted study time.

Thus:

Unequal opportunities and resources → differences in performance may partly reflect circumstances → marks alone may not represent genuine merit.

Therefore, (B) is the relevant premise.

Option (A) concerns the age of reservation, not merit.

Option (C) is not a proposition adopted by the author.

Option (D) does not explain why marks alone may be an incomplete measure.

3. Correct Answer: (B)

The author rejects the reasoning:

“Some members of a disadvantaged group are successful; therefore, the group is no longer structurally disadvantaged.”

For this rejection to work, the author must assume that individual outcomes and group-level conditions are not necessarily the same.

A person may succeed despite barriers that continue to affect many others belonging to the same group.

Therefore, (B) is necessary.

Option (A) is much stronger than required and is inconsistent with the passage, which expressly acknowledges differences among individuals.

Option (C) is neither stated nor required.

Option (D) is incorrect because the passage refers to representation, educational access and other barriers, not merely examination results.

4. Correct Answer: (A)

The author argues that reservation should be evaluated according to evidence of continuing exclusion and underrepresentation.

Option (A) directly supplies such evidence. If disadvantaged groups continue to be significantly underrepresented even after relevant qualifications are considered, this supports the claim that structural disadvantages may remain.

Thus the reasoning becomes:

Continuing underrepresentation exists → structural exclusion may persist → remedial policies may still have a justification.

Option (B) concerns exam difficulty and is irrelevant.

Option (C) shows that some reserved-category candidates perform well, but individual success does not determine whether group-level disadvantage persists.

Option (D) shows political controversy but says nothing about whether reservation remains justified.

5. Correct Answer: (C)

The passage does not argue that reservation must continue regardless of evidence. In fact, the author specifically supports periodic evaluation.

If reliable evidence showed that the groups receiving reservation had achieved broadly comparable representation and access, and that the policy was no longer improving representation, the justification for retaining the policy in its present form would become considerably weaker.

Therefore, (C) most directly challenges the author’s practical case.

Option (A) concerns public debate rather than actual disadvantage.

Option (B) may indicate inequality, but it does not specifically establish that the groups protected by reservation no longer require the policy.

Option (D) describes opposition to reservation but does not provide evidence about whether structural disadvantage continues.

6. Correct Answer: (A)

The government says the scholarship should end simply because twenty-five years have passed.

The passage criticises precisely this form of reasoning in the context of reservation. The author argues that:

Time passing ≠ proof that the original disadvantage has disappeared.

A policy should instead be assessed by examining whether the problem continues and whether the policy remains effective.

Therefore, (A) is the closest analogy.

Option (B) introduces an assumption about academic ability that is absent from the hypothetical.

Option (C) is the opposite of the government’s position.

Option (D) is unrelated because the argument does not concern whether educational disadvantage can be measured.