LNAT Assumption Identification 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An argument states: 'Students who study abroad perform better in their careers.' What underlying assumption does this argument make?
- Studying abroad is prohibitively expensive for most students
- Career success is solely determined by academic grades
- International experience provides skills and qualities that employers value (Correct answer)
- Students who study abroad are inherently more intelligent
Correct answer: International experience provides skills and qualities that employers value
The argument assumes that studying abroad develops skills or qualities employers value, which is what links it to career success.
Question 2: Consider the argument: 'All citizens should pay taxes because government services benefit everyone.' What core assumption underlies this reasoning?
- Government services are always delivered efficiently
- Those who benefit from public services have an obligation to contribute to their cost (Correct answer)
- Tax rates are designed to be fair and proportional to income
- All government expenditure is necessary and justified
Correct answer: Those who benefit from public services have an obligation to contribute to their cost
The argument assumes a principle that those who benefit from services bear an obligation to fund them through taxation.
Question 3: The argument states: 'Since crime rates fell after the new policing policy was introduced, the policy must be working.' What assumption does this make?
- Crime statistics recorded by police are always accurate
- The policy was implemented consistently across all areas
- The new policing policy caused the reduction in crime rather than other factors (Correct answer)
- All police officers support and enforce the new policy
Correct answer: The new policing policy caused the reduction in crime rather than other factors
The argument assumes a causal relationship between the policy and crime reduction rather than mere temporal correlation.
Question 4: 'The university's ranking has improved, so its quality of education must have improved.' What is the underlying assumption?
- University rankings are published and updated every year
- Higher rankings accurately and reliably reflect genuine educational quality (Correct answer)
- Students consistently prefer to attend higher-ranked universities
- The university raised its tuition fees to fund improvements
Correct answer: Higher rankings accurately and reliably reflect genuine educational quality
The argument assumes that ranking systems are a valid and accurate measure of real educational quality.
Question 5: 'We should ban violent video games because they cause children to behave violently.' What assumption is being made?
- Children currently spend too much time playing video games
- All commercially available video games contain violent content
- There is a proven causal link between playing violent games and engaging in violent behavior (Correct answer)
- Parents are unable to control what games their children play at home
Correct answer: There is a proven causal link between playing violent games and engaging in violent behavior
The argument assumes that exposure to video game violence directly causes real-world violent behavior, which must be true for the ban to be justified.
Question 6: 'The new medicine reduced symptoms in clinical trials, so doctors should prescribe it to all patients with this condition.' What assumption does this make?
- The medicine produces no significant side effects in any patient
- The trial results will generalise to all patients, not just those in the trial (Correct answer)
- Doctors are legally authorised to prescribe newly approved medicines
- The condition is common enough to justify developing a new treatment
Correct answer: The trial results will generalise to all patients, not just those in the trial
The argument assumes that outcomes observed in trial participants will apply equally to the wider patient population.
Question 7: 'This law has been in place for 100 years, so it must be a good law.' What assumption underlies this reasoning?
- Laws that have existed for a long time must have proven their value and effectiveness (Correct answer)
- Old laws are never reviewed, amended, or repealed by legislators
- Lawmakers in the past possessed greater knowledge and wisdom than current lawmakers
- Society has not changed significantly enough in 100 years to require new laws
Correct answer: Laws that have existed for a long time must have proven their value and effectiveness
The argument assumes that longevity alone is sufficient evidence of a law's quality or effectiveness.
LNAT Assumption Identification 1
An argument states: 'Students who study abroad perform better in their careers.' What underlying assumption does this argument make?