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A statement is "True" in the UCAT if — and only if — the passage provides sufficient information to confirm it. This may be through direct statement, valid paraphrase, or logical entailment. This lesson examines the full range of ways a statement can be true and provides practice in distinguishing genuine support from apparent support.
The simplest case. The passage explicitly states something that confirms the statement, using the same or very similar words.
Passage: "The school was founded in 1872 by a group of local philanthropists." Statement: "The school was established in 1872." Answer: True. "Founded" ≈ "established." Direct support.
The passage says the same thing but in different words. This is the most common way "True" statements are constructed in the UCAT.
Passage: "Approximately 45% of respondents indicated that they would support higher taxation to fund public services." Statement: "Nearly half of those surveyed were in favour of increasing taxes for better public services." Answer: True. "Approximately 45%" ≈ "nearly half"; "respondents" ≈ "those surveyed"; "support higher taxation to fund public services" ≈ "in favour of increasing taxes for better public services."
The statement is not directly stated in the passage but follows necessarily from what the passage says.
Passage: "Every employee in the company is required to complete a mandatory health and safety course within their first month of employment." Statement: "An employee who has worked at the company for three months has completed the health and safety course." Answer: True. If every employee must complete the course within the first month, then an employee who has been there for three months must have completed it (assuming compliance with the requirement, which the passage presents as mandatory).
The ability to recognise paraphrased truth is essential. Here are the most common paraphrasing patterns:
| Passage | Statement | True? |
|---|---|---|
| "Revenue increased by 12%" | "Income rose by 12%" | Yes |
| "The committee recommended" | "The panel advised" | Yes |
| "Participants were recruited from" | "Subjects were drawn from" | Yes |
| "A significant improvement" | "A notable improvement" | Yes |
| Passage | Statement | True? |
|---|---|---|
| "The government introduced the tax in 2015" | "The tax was introduced by the government in 2015" | Yes (active → passive) |
| "Because demand fell, prices dropped" | "Prices dropped as a result of falling demand" | Yes (cause-effect reordered) |
| "London, the capital of England, has a population of 9 million" | "The English capital has 9 million residents" | Yes (appositive rephrased) |
| Passage | Statement | True? |
|---|---|---|
| "60% of participants" | "Three in five participants" | Yes |
| "Doubled from 2019 to 2020" | "Increased by 100% between 2019 and 2020" | Yes |
| "A quarter of respondents" | "25% of those surveyed" | Yes |
| "More than 1,000" | "At least 1,001" | Yes |
The passage may provide enough data to confirm a comparison, even if the comparison is not explicitly stated.
Passage: "Hospital A treated 5,200 patients in 2022. Hospital B treated 3,800 patients in the same year."
Statement: "Hospital A treated more patients than Hospital B in 2022." Answer: True. 5,200 > 3,800. The comparison is not stated but is a necessary logical consequence of the given numbers.
When a statement uses a weaker or broader claim than the passage, it can still be True.
Passage: "The programme was delivered in all 32 London boroughs."
Statement: "The programme was delivered in at least 20 London boroughs." Answer: True. "All 32" includes "at least 20."
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