GAMSAT: Importance of Assertion-Reason Statements in GAMSAT Section III

Section III of GAMSAT is about Reasoning in Biological and Physical Sciences. As the content matter suggests, the objective of this section is to test the logical reasoning ability of GAMSAT aspirants in Biological and Physical sciences. All the questions in Section III are in the form of Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs).

Now, there are many approaches designed by ACER to test your reasoning ability in individual units. Most of the multiple choice questions (MCQs) are included in units containing text passages or schematic diagrams or graphical representations. In addition to these, there are a few units consisting of Assertion-Reason based statements.

This type of unit contains two Statements, generally one is Assertion and the other is Reason. But there are occasions when both the statements are assertions or both are reasons.

In comparison to the other passage or figure based questions, Assertion-Reason Statements type questions require higher levels of logical reasoning along with the basic knowledge on the subject to figure out which one is assertion and which one is reason. This is because all the other types of units contain some passages or diagrams or graphs, but here you will have no additional information to depend on or to analyze and come to some conclusion. The one and only approach to get the correct answer is by analysing the two Statements thoroughly and subsequently identifying, which one is assertion and which one is reason.

For example,

Statement I: Physiological phenomenon like sweating and shivering, are important in maintaining homeostasis in the body temperature.

Statement II: Sweating and shivering, normally maintain body temperature near an ideal normal value, or set point.

In the above set of statements you have to identify which one is assertion and which one is reason. However, since no background passage or flow chart is given, so deducing a correct conclusion is much tougher. In this case, Statement I is more about stating a phenomenon rather than an analytical explanation, therefore it can be considered to be an assertion statement. Statement II is more about explaining a physiological process rather than simply stating. Therefore, it can be considered to be a reason statement.

In conclusion, from GAMSAT point of view (where the main emphasis is on testing the logical reasoning of aspirants) Assertion-Reason based Statements are unique as well as highly important though they are fewer in number as compared to the other types of questions. The limited quantity signifies that these questions are designed specifically for those candidates who possess greater levels of logical reasoning skills than the average aspirants. Hence, it is possible that these questions carry more marks than the easier ones. Therefore, it is highly advisable for GAMSAT aspirants like you to take this piece of information seriously and start practicing more Assertion-Reason based questions for your GAMSAT preparation.