Recognising Assumptions Practice

Practice bank for UCAT Decision Making questions that ask you to identify hidden assumptions in arguments.

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Quick-Reference: What is an Assumption?

An assumption is an unstated premise that must be true for the argument's conclusion to hold. It bridges the gap between the stated evidence and the conclusion.

How to Identify Assumptions

1. Read the argument and identify the conclusion
2. Identify the stated evidence/premises
3. Ask: "What must be true — but is not stated — for this conclusion to follow from this evidence?"
4. The assumption fills the logical gap

The Negation Test

To verify whether something is a necessary assumption:

1. Negate the candidate assumption
2. If the negation destroys the argument, it is a necessary assumption
3. If the argument still works without it, it is not a necessary assumption

Common Assumption Types

Type	Example
Causal	Assumes X caused Y (not just correlation)
Scope	Assumes the evidence applies to the conclusion's scope
Feasibility	Assumes a proposed action is actually possible
No alternative	Assumes no other explanation exists
Representative	Assumes a sample represents the whole population

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Strategy

• Read the conclusion first, then the evidence
• Identify the logical gap between them
• Apply the negation test to each answer option
• Spend no more than 60 seconds per question

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Practice

Complete the 10 assessment questions. Each presents a short argument and asks you to identify the underlying assumption.