About Making Judgments
A making judgments question gives a few reported facts and asks which of four statements is supported by them. The answer states what the facts show and no more; the wrong options read a cause into two things that happened together, turn the facts into advice, or make a claim about motive, quality or the future. Rows in this topic often contain a second difference as well, so the causal reading is not merely unproven but premature, and the explanation shows where that second difference is.
What you need to understand
- The judgment the facts support is the one that states what they show and does not go beyond them. That is the whole discipline of the topic.
- Two things happening together is not one causing the other. A line that is serviced less often and breaks down more often gives the association; the cause is not in the figures.
- Where the facts themselves give a second difference, the causal reading is premature rather than merely unproven. In the table here, the insulated houses are also the newer ones.
- A recommendation is not a judgment the facts can support. No set of facts by itself shows what should be done, because that requires a view about what is worth doing.
- A forecast is not supported by facts about the past, however steady the trend in them.
- A claim about motive, care or quality needs evidence the facts do not contain. That patients who missed appointments are careless is not in a count of missed appointments.
- The correct option usually keeps the population the same. Two factories do not speak for an industry, and one town does not speak for every town.
- The correct option usually keeps the comparison the same. If the figures compare this year with five years ago, a judgment about a single year goes beyond them.
- Wording matters. A judgment may say that two things went together, that one group differed from another, or that a change followed a change. All three are supported by the corresponding facts, and none of them says why.
- Watch for options that turn some into all, or that turn a difference into a cause.
- Where the facts record a change at a point in time and both things changed then, the judgment can only say that both changed then.
- The dullest option on the page is usually the right one, because the interesting options are written by adding a cause or a recommendation to the facts.
- A judgment may be qualified. Option wording such as tend to, went together or occurred at the same times is a sign that the option is keeping to the facts.
How to work through these questions
- List the facts and nothing else. Two or three short items will do.
- For each option, ask what extra fact it would need in order to be true. The option that needs nothing beyond the list is the answer.
- Strike out the options that name a cause. This alone removes most of them in most questions.
- Strike out the options that recommend, forecast or judge a person's character.
- Check that the option keeps the population and the period that the facts describe.
- Where the passage gives a second difference, notice it and use it: that is the passage telling you that the causal reading is premature.
Mistakes that cost marks
- Accepting a causal claim because the two facts fit it neatly.
- Overlooking a second difference that the passage itself supplies.
- Accepting a recommendation because it seems sensible.
- Accepting a forecast because the figures point that way.
- Accepting a claim about somebody's motives or care where the facts are only counts.
- Letting the option widen the population, so that two cases become a rule.
- Letting the option narrow the population, so that a general finding becomes a claim about one person.
- Choosing the most interesting option rather than the one the facts support.
Worked example
A factory's two production lines were installed in the same year. Line A has been serviced every six months, Line B every two years, and Line B has had three times as many breakdowns. Which of these judgments is best supported by the facts given?
- List the facts: same year of installation, different servicing intervals, different numbers of breakdowns.
- The line serviced less often is what makes it break down says more than the facts do. Two lines in one factory cannot separate servicing from everything else that differs between them.
- The factory should service both lines every six months is a recommendation, and the facts do not show what servicing would achieve.
- Line B is older than Line A contradicts the passage, which says the two were installed in the same year.
- What remains is that the line serviced less often has broken down more often, which is exactly the association that the facts contain and nothing more. That is the answer.
Answer: The line serviced less often broke down more often
Practice questions with answers
A few Making Judgments questions with the full solution shown, so you can see
how the method is applied before you attempt the timed set.
Question 1
A town's library lends more books in January than in any other month, and its reading groups begin in January.
Which of these judgments is supported by what has been reported?
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A
The library is at its busiest in the summer.
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B
Book borrowing in the town is rising.
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C
Joining a reading group leads people to borrow more books.
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D
January has both the most borrowing and the new groups.
Answer: Option D — with explanation
The passage puts two of January's features together, and that is the whole of it. The others read a cause into the month, contradict the passage or claim a trend from a monthly comparison.
The judgment the facts support is the one that states what the facts show and no more. Two things happening together is not one causing the other, and no set of facts by itself supports advice, a reason for somebody's conduct, or a forecast. Where the passage itself gives a second difference as well, that is the passage telling you the causal reading is premature.
Common mistakes
- "The library is at its..." - the passage says borrowing is highest in January: The library is at its busiest in the summer.
- "Book borrowing in the town..." - the passage compares months within a year and gives no trend: Book borrowing in the town is rising.
- "Joining a reading group leads..." - both things happen in January, which cannot separate the groups from the rest of the month: Joining a reading group leads people to borrow more books.
Question 2
A factory introduced a second shift in June. Between June and December its output rose by half and the number of accidents recorded rose by two.
Which of these is the judgment that the facts support?
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A
The second shift should be ended.
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B
In that half-year output and accidents both rose.
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C
The longer hours are what caused the accidents recorded that year.
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D
Output will go on rising.
Answer: Option B — with explanation
Two numbers rose in the same half-year, which is what the figures say. Naming the shift as the cause, advising its end and predicting the next six months are all beyond them.
The judgment the facts support is the one that states what the facts show and no more. Two things happening together is not one causing the other, and no set of facts by itself supports advice, a reason for somebody's conduct, or a forecast. Where the passage itself gives a second difference as well, that is the passage telling you the causal reading is premature.
Common mistakes
- "Output will go on rising...." - the passage gives one half-year and makes no forecast: Output will go on rising.
- "The longer hours are what..." - the second shift is one change among those a factory makes in six months, and the figures cannot separate it
- "The second shift should be..." - this is advice, and the figures do not show that the shift is responsible: The second shift should be ended.
Question 3
Two villages of similar size each built a hall. One hall stands beside the bus stop and the other a kilometre from it, and the first is used twice as often.
Which of these is a judgment that follows from the facts?
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A
Villagers prefer to travel by bus rather than walk.
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B
Putting a hall beside a bus stop is what makes people use it.
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C
The hall by the bus stop is the one used more.
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D
The second village should build a new bus stop beside its hall.
Answer: Option C — with explanation
The facts compare two halls that differ in position and in use. Naming the position as the cause, or advising the second village, both go beyond the comparison.
The judgment the facts support is the one that states what the facts show and no more. Two things happening together is not one causing the other, and no set of facts by itself supports advice, a reason for somebody's conduct, or a forecast. Where the passage itself gives a second difference as well, that is the passage telling you the causal reading is premature.
Common mistakes
- "Villagers prefer to travel by..." - the passage gives the use of two halls and says nothing about how villagers prefer to travel: Villagers prefer to travel by bus rather than walk.
- "The second village should build..." - this is advice, and the figures do not show what a bus stop would achieve
- "Putting a hall beside a..." - two villages are compared and the position of the hall is not the only thing that may differ
Question 4
A factory introduced a second shift in June. Between June and December its output rose by half and the number of accidents recorded rose by two.
Which of these judgments is supported by what has been reported?
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A
The longer hours are what caused the accidents recorded that year.
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B
In that half-year output and accidents both rose.
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C
Output will go on rising.
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D
The second shift should be ended.
Answer: Option B — with explanation
Two numbers rose in the same half-year, which is what the figures say. Naming the shift as the cause, advising its end and predicting the next six months are all beyond them.
The judgment the facts support is the one that states what the facts show and no more. Two things happening together is not one causing the other, and no set of facts by itself supports advice, a reason for somebody's conduct, or a forecast. Where the passage itself gives a second difference as well, that is the passage telling you the causal reading is premature.
Common mistakes
- "Output will go on rising...." - the passage gives one half-year and makes no forecast: Output will go on rising.
- "The longer hours are what..." - the second shift is one change among those a factory makes in six months, and the figures cannot separate it
- "The second shift should be..." - this is advice, and the figures do not show that the shift is responsible: The second shift should be ended.
Question 5
A restaurant added a vegetarian section to its menu in May, and its takings rose in each of the three months that followed, while two nearby restaurants with unchanged menus saw their takings fall.
Which of these is the judgment that the facts support?
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A
Its takings rose while two neighbours' fell.
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B
The two neighbouring restaurants should change their menus as well.
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C
The vegetarian section is what brought in the extra custom.
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D
Restaurant takings in the town are falling.
Answer: Option A — with explanation
The passage gives one restaurant's rise against two neighbours' falls, and that comparison is the fact. What caused the difference, and what the neighbours should do, are not in it.
The judgment the facts support is the one that states what the facts show and no more. Two things happening together is not one causing the other, and no set of facts by itself supports advice, a reason for somebody's conduct, or a forecast. Where the passage itself gives a second difference as well, that is the passage telling you the causal reading is premature.
Common mistakes
- "The two neighbouring restaurants should..." - this is advice drawn from a comparison of three restaurants
- "The vegetarian section is what..." - the comparison shows a difference from two neighbours and does not show what caused it: The vegetarian section is what brought in the extra custom.
- "Restaurant takings in the town..." - the passage says this restaurant's takings rose: Restaurant takings in the town are falling.
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from analyzing arguments?
An argument passage contains a claim and its grounds, and you are asked to find or attack the claim. Here the passage only reports facts and you are asked what can be said on the strength of them, which is why the causal options are the ones to reject.
Why are the causal options so tempting?
Because people read a story into two facts that fit together. The discipline of the topic is to notice that the story is supplied by the reader and not by the figures.
What should I do when the passage mentions a second difference?
Treat it as part of the question. It is the passage telling you that two things changed at once, so neither can be credited with the result on the evidence given.
Is a recommendation never supported by facts?
Facts can show what is the case and what would follow from what. They cannot show what should be done, because that requires a standard of value. In these questions, that means the recommendation options are wrong.
Where does this topic appear in a paper?
In the reasoning sections of bank, SSC and civil services papers, and in several management entrance tests. It is the topic that most rewards slowing down and reading the passage literally.
