Practice Questions: Fact, Inference, and Judgment

Boost your Verbal Ability (VA) skills with this focused practice on Fact, Inference, and Judgment (FIJ) questions, a key part of CAT's VA section. Solve each set in 2-3 minutes to ace CAT's time pressure and aim for top B-school scores!

Tips for FIJ Mastery

• Spot Keywords: Look for 'is' (fact), 'suggests' (inference), or 'should' (judgment) to classify statements quickly.
• Eliminate Subjectivity: If a statement has opinion-based words like 'best' or 'must,' it's likely a judgment, not a fact.
• Cross-Check Facts: For facts, ask: Can this be verified with data? If not, it's an inference or judgment.
• Validate Inferences: Ensure inferences are directly supported by facts in the statement, not assumptions.
• Review Mistakes: After solving, analyse errors. If you marked a fact as an inference, confirm it's not verifiable. For judgments, check for subjective tone.

  Quick reference guide: 

• Fact: Verifiable, objective (e.g., "The exam was held on January 5, 2025").
• Inference: Logical conclusion from facts (e.g., "The exam's difficulty suggests fewer high scores").
• Judgment: Opinion, subjective (e.g., "The exam should be easier").

EduRev Tip: Look for keywords: 'is' (fact), 'suggests' (inference), 'should' (judgment).

Practice Questions

Question.1. Mark the following statement with F, I, and J for Fact, Inference, and Judgement, respectively.
Statement I. The re-election of Barack Obama shows that skin colour is of lesser significance in electing the head of state of the most popular country in the world. 

Statement II. Today, even demographically small countries like Sweden, Norway and Finland are becoming culturally and ethnically diverse. 

Statement III. Justice delayed is justice denied. 

Statement IV. Nothing makes an Indian happier than Sachin Tendulkar scoring a century.

(a) FJJI
(b) IFJJ
(c) IFJI 

(d) FJJF

Ans. (b)

Explanation:

• 'The re-election of Barack Obama' is a fact, whereas the remaining part is the inference. Therefore, statement I is an inference.
• Statement II is a verifiable fact.
• Statements III and IV are only opinions or judgments and not verifiable facts.

Question.2. Mark the following statement with F, I, and J for Fact, Inference, and Judgement, respectively.
Statement I. Those who do not read good books have no advantage over those who can not. 

Statement II. 'Bring Up the Bodies' was the second part of a planned trilogy of novels by Hilary Mantel, charting the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell, the powerful minister in the court of King Henry VIII.

Statement III. The violence of 1947 must not be divorced from the larger context of that time.

Statement IV. As India grows population-wise as well as culturally, the larger issues like poverty alleviation and urban redevelopment should not be ignored.

(a) FFJJ 

(b) FJJF 

(c) FJFJ 

(d) JFJJ

Ans. (d)

Explanation:

• Statement I is an individual opinion, i.e., judgment.

• Statement II is a fact that can be independently verified.

• Statement III is the opinion of the author and thus, only a judgment.

• Statement IV, 'Should not be' makes it an opinion, and thus, only a judgment.

EduRev Tip: For CAT, eliminate options with subjective language (e.g., 'should') for facts, as they indicate judgment

Question.3. Mark the following statement with F, I, and J for Fact, Inference, and Judgement respectively.
Statement I. Cricket is akin to a religion in India. 

Statement II. The Berlin Wall, which divided West Berlin and East Germany, lasted from 1961 to 1989 and came to symbolise the boundary between democracy and communism during the Cold War. 

Statement III. Delhi has recently decided to add 20,000 buses, which will lead to a decrease in traffic woes.

Statement IV. Epidemics and pandemics are like Earthquakes. Tragic, inevitable and unpredictable.

(a) JFJJ

(b) FFIJ 

(c) JFIJ 

(d) JFIF

Ans. (c)

Explanation:

• Statement I is the opinion of the author, and not a fact. Thus, it is a judgment.

• Statement II is an independently verifiable fact.

• Statement III's first half is a fact. The second half is an inference that is derived from the first half. Thus, it is an inference.

• Statement IV is the opinion of the author. Thus, it is a judgment.

Question.4. Mark the following statement with F, I, and J for Fact, Inference, and Judgement, respectively.
Statement I. 'Algebra of Infinite Justice', a book by Arundhati Roy, discusses several perspectives of global and local concerns, among them one being the abuse of Nuclear bomb showoffs. 

Statement II. Reading a book a month for a year should lead to wisdom acquired otherwise only after meeting a lot of great men. 

Statement III. You never know what results your efforts are going to yield, but you should keep going nevertheless. 

Statement IV. More people using auto rickshaws will be a strong step towards building a greener Delhi. 

(a) FIJJ

(b) IJJJ

(c) JJJJ 

(d) FJJJ

Ans. (d)

Explanation:

• Statement I is an independently verifiable fact.

• 'Should lead to' in Statement II makes it a judgment. (Note: 'Would lead to' would have made it an inference, as would denotes a logical conclusion, whereas should denotes something which may or may not be true and is only an opinion of the author.)

• Statement III is only an individual opinion or judgment. 

• Statement IV is only an individual opinion or judgment.