2017 CSAT, all questions

UPSC Prelims 2017 · CSAT

Question 15: Logical Reasoning and Mental Ability

Consider the following : Statement : Good voice is a natural gift but one has to keep practising to improve and excel well in the field of music. Conclusions :

  1. INatural gifts need nurturing and care.
  2. IIEven though one’s voice is not good, one can keep practising.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statement and conclusions?

aOnly conclusion I follows from the statement.
bOnly conclusion II follows from the statement.
cEither conclusion I or conclusion II follows from the statement.
dNeither conclusion I nor conclusion II follows from the statement.

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (a).

The statement says a good voice is a natural gift, yet practice is needed to improve and excel. Conclusion I generalises this soundly: natural gifts need nurturing. Conclusion II is about someone without a good voice practising anyway; the statement concerns those who have the gift and says nothing about others, so II does not follow. Only conclusion I follows. Do not accept conclusions that bring in people or cases the statement never mentions.

  • I. Restates the point generally: a natural gift needs practice to improve.
  • II. The statement is about those with a good voice; it says nothing about people without one.
Why each option is right or wrong
  • (a) Correct: conclusion I follows, conclusion II does not.
  • (b) Conclusion II brings in people without a good voice, whom the statement never covers.
  • (c) The conclusions are not alternatives to each other; I follows and II does not.
  • (d) Conclusion I follows from the statement, so this is wrong.

Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2017, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.