STEVE JOBS,

ENTREPRENEUR

alerts

Be a yardstick of quality. Some people arent

used to an environment where excellence is
expected.

admission

02

TEACH FOR INDIA

Teach for India is offering an opportunity to
teach full-time for two years at underresourced schools. Eligibility: Young professionals working full-time and students in
their final year with exceptional academic
record, between the age group of 20-35.
To apply, visit www.teachforindia.org for
details or call 022- 2518 5821.

DOCTORAL DEGREE
German Siemens post graduate program is
a doctoral degree in Germany in the field of
engineering science, natural sciences,
mathematics and computer science.
Eligibility: Must be eligible for PhD in the
respective areas. To apply, visit www.daaddelhi.org for details. The last date for applications is March 31.

FELLOW PROGRAMME
IIM, Indore is offering a course in fellow
programme in management (finance/
marketing/ operations/ communications
etc). The eligibility criterion is a Masters
degree with 55 %. Visit the website for
details.
To apply, log on to www.iimidr.ac.in. Last
date for applications is Jan 20.

NATIONAL YOUTH DAY

The Ramakrishna Mission celebrated
National Youth Day on January 12 by
garlanding the statue of Swami
Vivekananda at the Gateway of India. The
The Honourable Governor of Maharashtra
and the Chief Justice of Mumbai High Court
were present at the function that went on
from 5 pm to 7 pm.

HINDUSTAN TIMES, MUMBAI, WEDNESDAY JANUARY 19, 2011

Assumptions and arguments

ILLUSTRATION:
SHRIKRISHNA PATKAR

(Continued from last week)

Assumptions

not be made or will be

meaningless. This is the
only difference between
a conclusion and an
assumption. A conclusion is necessarily true and is
supported completely by the
main statement after the main
statement is made. An assumption is true even before the main
statement is made in other
words the main statement is
based on the assumption.
To recapitulate conclusions, inferences, and
assumptions, let us look at a
sample question:
Statement: The railway
authorities have decided to
considerably increase the
passenger fares of only the
upper classes and marginally
reduce the long distance
freight charges for the next
financial year.
1. The upper class passengers may be able to afford the
higher fares.
2. The railway authorities
have the power to decide the
fare structure.
3. There has been considerable reduction in freight load
in long distance routes.
4. People generally prefer to
travel in low-cost airlines
than by upper class railway
routes.
5. None of these
Q1. Which of the above is an
inference that can be drawn
from the above statement?
Q2. Which of the above is a

htclassifieds
EDUCATION

I WANT TO
PURSUE HR
AS A CAREER

CAUSE EFFECT

Picking up from where they left

off last week, CPL Pvt Ltd tells
you how to differentiate
between assumptions and
conclusions, hypothesis
arguments and
courses of action

Assumption questions in competitive exams, more often

than not, follow the format of
the conclusions questions we
saw earlier. If you have understood how to identify a conclusion, you already know
how to identify an assumption. The reason is that
assumptions and conclusions
are very similar. An assumption is also what is implicit in
the main statement. It is also,
hence, the unstated part of
the main statement which the
writer and the reader take for
granted, leave unexpressed,
and undeveloped. The truth of
what is written or spoken
will depend on the assumptions.
Now, try to uncover the
assumptions behind my writing this article. As a reader
you may say that the writer
believes that someone will
read this article. The article
is written assuming that
someone will read it. The way
we conduct ourselves in our
day to day life i.e. what we
speak and write in the normal
course of daily living contain a
lot many assumptions.
Wouldnt the above qualify
for a conclusion as well? Yes it
would. That is because all
assumptions are conclusions.
However, the reverse is not
true. If we identify the exact
assumption of the speaker, it
becomes an assumption as
well as a conclusion. However,
by analysing the data, we
come to our own conclusions,
which may not be the speakers that conclusion is not an
assumption. In other words,
conclusions follow the data,
assumptions precede the
data. If, for example, after
reading this article you conclude that the syllogisms are
difficult to understand it is
your conclusion , not necessarily the assumption behind
this article.
More elaborately, an
assumption is different from
a conclusion in that the
assumption is true even
before the main statement is
made (Reasoning experts call
them a priori conditions) In
other words, the truth of the
main statement depends on
the validity of the assumption. If the assumption is not
true the main statement can-

STUDENT SPEAK

conclusion that can

be made from the
above statement?
Q3. Which of the above is an
assumption which is implicit
in the above statement?
Answer to question 1 is
option 1. Answer to question
2 is option 2. Answer to question 3 is also option 1.

Arguments

Evaluating an argument to be
strong or weak can sometimes prove very tricky. This
question type apart from
checking your ability to identify a strong argument,
checks also your general
awareness in subtle ways.
The arguments need to be
evaluated the context we live
in. That is the Indian context.
Anything that goes against
this system is to be treated as
a weak argument.
An argument is strong and
logical only if it immediately
addresses the issue raised by
the question. Sometimes
prejudices are dished out as
arguments. Prejudices are
prejudices, not arguments. A
strong argument needs to be
firmly based on facts, without
bias, precise, and objective.
At times, there are emotional

responses to certain questions. These are weak. A

strong argument will not
leave any loose ends. In other
words it will not require any
further explanation to make
its point. It is concise and
clear. Generally, an argument
with a strong fact is taken to
be strong. However, it is not
the fact that makes an argument strong or weak. It is the
presentation of that fact. This
is especially so in situations
where the case itself is weak.
In other words, a weak fact
presented well can be a
strong argument, and a
strong fact not well presented is a weak argument. If you
imagine a courtroom while
evaluating an argument it
helps. The case may be weak,
but as a lawyer you will definitely try to present your
case strongly. Sometimes, a
strong case is lost because of
weak arguments. While evaluating an argument what you
need to bear in mind is that a
strong argument does not
always win the case in the
court, but a strong argument
will always influence the deci-

sion on the
question. Hence,
apart from all that is said
above, if you are able to
decide if the argument can
influence the decision on the
issue raised by the question,
choose it as strong argument.
If you think that it cannot
influence the decision term it
as weak. Each argument is to
be evaluated on its own
merit, not one in relation to
the other. That is why either I
or II is filler in this question
type. It is not that if one argument is strong, the other will
become weak.

Probably True Probably

False
In this question type you are
required to evaluate the
degree of truth and falsity of a
given inference. As evidence
accumulates, it becomes possible to examine the degree to
which the hypothesis derived
from such evidence is true or
false. We can say how far the
hypothesis can be true. This is
what happens in all PTPF
questions. We examine the
data given in the main statements. See the inference
(hypothesis) arrived at from
the given data and try to

THE CAUSE-EFFECT questions

are the easiest. What a cause is,
and what an effect is, probably
needs no explanation. However,
a factor that brings about a result
is called a cause and the result is
its effect. For example, I did not
attend the lecture yesterday
because I was not well. In this
sentence the two events have a
cause effect relationship. I was
not well is the cause and I did
not attend the lecture is the
effect. Observe also that the
word because joins the two sentences. In sentences in English,
what comes immediately after
the word because will always be
a cause. While solving questions
you can see if you can meaningfully join the sentences using
because. If you can, it becomes
easy to identify the cause.
After reading the two sentences,
if you find no relation between
them, choose the option corresponding to independent effects.
If you suspect a relationship,

establish the degree of Truth

and Falsity of it. In the exams
after analysing the data and
the inference as above, we are
required to choose one of the
five options which are:
Definitely true/False;
Probably True/False; Data
Inadequate.
You must examine the
degree of Truth and Falsity of
an inference systematically;
the precondition is that you
must understand the data
very well. Only then can you
understand how far the inference is supported by the data.
The method given below if
mastered can give you complete accuracy in this question type. Hence, at least in
the beginning, stick to the
steps described here while
solving PTPF questions. Once
mastered, you will develop
speed in solving questions.
After reading and comprehending the data completely,
evaluate the conclusion for
definiteness. If you can, mark
Definitely True/False. If you
cannot evaluate definiteness,
eliminate those options and
evaluate data inadequacy, i.e.,
there is insufficient data to
come to the given conclusion,
or is there a logical flaw in the
movement from the data to
the given conclusion. Choose
or eliminate Data
Inadequate accordingly. If
Data Inadequate is eliminated
because there seems to be
sufficient data, consider probability. If the chances are 50%
or more choose probably true;
if the chances are less than
50%, choose probably false.

Courses of Action

Courses of action questions

are small case studies. They
are easy to score. Usually, the
format of the question is: a
problematic situation/crisis is
described in a short paragraph. This is then followed
by three numbered courses
of action which are solutions to that problematic situation. The options ask you
choose the best combination
of the courses of action.
While solving these questions, you need to bear two

quickly check the kind of relationship - whether statement A

causes B or statement B causes
A. At this point, taking the help of
because will be useful. Try to
read the sentences with because
in between. See if it makes
sense. In longer sentences you
may have to think more carefully.
Mark the option that corresponds to the correct relationship between statement A and
statement B. Sometimes you
suspect a relationship, and when
you check with because it does
not make any sense either way.
Yet you see a relationship. The
answer then is probably both the
statements are effects of some
common cause. What that common cause is, dont be bothered.
Since an event can be a cause
only in relationship to its effect,
there cannot be a question for
which you have to mark independent causes, this option may
be treated a filler.

Student: V E E N A

B A SU (22)

finished my BCom two

Isecond
years ago, and this was my
attempt at the CAT.

things in mind. First, you

need to identify whether each
of the given courses of action
is a part of your answer.
Second, in order to mark
your answer correctly, you
need to work with the
options.
A course of action is not a
subjective solution to a problem, so that the solution can
differ from person to person.
A course of action is an
administrative step (you
assume the role of the administrator) undertaken to
immediately tackle the problematic situation. The right
course of action should
attempt to solve the problem
as quickly as possible. At
times, the main problem may
not be solvable immediately.
In such cases the right
course of action will attempt
to minimise the damages.
Once you bear these two
points in mind, choosing the
right combination that scores
becomes easy. Remember
that you need to think positively. The steps undertaken
should be constructive. It
should reflect the responsibility that you have assumed
under those circumstances.
Next to remember is the
urgency of the situation. The
course of action should
address the problem with the
right degree of importance it
deserves. A right course of
action is one that immediately acts on the problem. It
should be practical and not
idealistic. Well known timetested solutions are practical
and need to be accepted.
Practicality also means that
it should not be too mild or
too strong. The next step is to
work with the options. The
moment you have identified a
course of action, eliminate
the options that do not contain that particular course of
action. Work only with
remaining options. This way
you can sometimes get the
answer very quickly and
avoid the confusion arising
out of a particular combination.
Sujit Kumar, Head
Verbal Department, CPLC

Im aiming to get into a

good college, a top B-school
to pursue human resources
as a profession later.
I have always thought
myself to be good with people
and feel that such a profession would help get my management and people skills
together.
Of course, getting through
a good college with a good
CAT score is difficult because
my exam did not go off very
well. However, my SNAP
exam was perfect. I managed
my time really well, and
found the data interpretation
section this time far easier
than last year. I had also prepared really well. Hopefully
I'll get into a good college
such as Symbiosis.
I have started preparing
for the CET exam now. My
math is not very strong, and I
am going to continue coaching to polish up on my quantitative section.

news
brief

MCT

Oz has relaxed student visa rules.

Aus-US education fair

IDP Education, a student

placement organisation for
higher education is holding a
virtual fair for Indian students till January 28. Harmeet Pental, regional director
- South Asia, IDP Education
India said, Having been associated with Australian universities for over 15 years now, we
can say that the situation in
Australia has improved and
recently the visa rules have
been relaxed for Indian students. 18 Australian universities are participating in the
virtual fair. Log on to
www.idpvirtualfair.com or call
on (city STD code) 44118888
or SMS IDP at 58558.

Schulich B-school to open in India

This will be Schulichs

first full-fledged
campus abroad with a
mix of students

COURTESY: SCHULICH BUSINESS SCHOOL

Will be 25 acres in Hyderabad, with

accommodation and facilities available, in partnership with GMR Group
The campus is slated to open by
September 2012
The programme is research-intensive, which will be reflected in the
architecture. Each classroom will
have breakout rooms attached for
group discussions, for instance.
Students will have access to
Schulichs Toronto campus for
exchanges, research, library facilities
and faculty interactions, as necessary

Pankti Mehta

chulich Business School,

part of Canadas York
University, has acquired 25
acres in Hyderabad to set up a
full-fledged campus for a global
MBA programme the same that
is offered at their Toronto
campus. Were just waiting for
the Foreign Universities Bill to be
passed, says Dr. Dezs J.
Horvth, Dean, Schulich Business
School. We hope to have our
Hyderabad campus operational by
September 2012.
This campus will admit MBA
students, and plans are on course
to include international students
as well. Initially, we will open to
120 students. Having international
students adds a very important
degree of diversity that managers
need to learn from, says Horvth.
International faculty, too, will be

Highlights: Schulichs campus

A classroom designed by Schulich, at the S P Jain campus in Mumbai.

recruited. The standards will be

the same as those in Toronto.
Schulichs MBA programme has
been rated among the top 10 in the
world as per The Economists 2010
rankings, and 6th among non-US
schools by Forbes. The same
opportunities offered at the
Toronto campus will be available
here, promises Horvth.
Including research facilities, an
extensive library, video-conferencing lectures with the worlds best
leaders, and an opportunity to go

as an exchange student to
Toronto, or to partner campuses
in other companies, at any time
through the two-year course.
While Schulich has partners
overseas, in France, Korea,
Thailand, China and other places,
this will be its first full-fledged
campus abroad.
So far, the school has had ties
with S P Jain for an MBA twinning programme, where students
study half the course at S P Jains
Mumbai campus and the other

half in Toronto.
The demand in India is endless,
considering the population demographic, and the emerging economy, adds Horvth. Every year,
India spends $4 billion on overseas education. This will be beneficial to both countries in terms of
relations and for cultural and business exchanges. The Indian campus will demand full tuition fee of
$6000 for two years. We cant
compromise on cost, at the quality
were hoping to offer, he says.