Drawing Conclusions from Incomplete Evidence

Study the questions and tasks

Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.

Practice level

C2. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.

Question formats

Single choice, Multiple choice, Fill in the blank (text), Fill in the blank (dropdown), Cloze (text), Cloze (dropdown), Matching, Error correction, Sentence transformation, Sentence reordering

How to approach this practice

Read the complete context. Check both the meaning and the grammar, including word forms, collocations and links between sentences.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Choose the best completion. The absence of contrary evidence should not be … as proof that the explanation is correct.

   1. conferred
   2. conceded
   3. consigned
   4. construed
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   construed

   Construe as means interpret as; the sentence warns against treating absence as proof.

2. Question 2 · Multiple choice

   Choose all the correct answers.

   Choose TWO correct statements based on the information given. The estimate is not necessarily inaccurate.

   1. Inaccuracy cannot simply be assumed from the statement.
   2. The estimate is certainly accurate.
   3. The estimate may be accurate.
   4. The estimate is known to be inaccurate.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Inaccuracy cannot simply be assumed from the statement.; The estimate may be accurate.

   Not necessarily inaccurate leaves accuracy possible without establishing either accuracy or inaccuracy.

3. Question 3 · Fill in the blank (text)

   Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.

   Use an adjective from REFUTE. The argument can still be challenged. It is persuasive, but it is far from ___.

   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   irrefutable

   Far from irrefutable concedes that the argument remains open to challenge.

4. Question 4 · Fill in the blank (dropdown)

   Choose the correct option for each blank.

   The finding is compatible with the hypothesis, but that does not ___ out competing explanations.

   Choices for blank 1

   1. rule
   2. set
   3. cast
   4. draw
   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   rule

   Rule out means exclude; compatibility does not itself exclude alternatives.

5. Question 5 · Cloze (text)

   Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.

   Form a word from each capitalised word. The conclusion rests on an 1___ (VERIFY) assumption: it could be checked, but nobody has checked it yet. The apparent 2___ (CONSISTENT) of the results is encouraging, but their general 3___ (APPLY), meaning whether they are valid in other contexts, remains uncertain.

   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   unverified

   Blank 2

   consistency

   Blank 3

   applicability

   Unchecked requires unverified; consistency and applicability are abstract nouns describing agreement and reach.

6. Question 6 · Cloze (dropdown)

   Choose the correct option for each blank.

   The authors make no claim 1___ the effect is universal. Their conclusion holds only 2___ the stated assumptions remain valid. Even then, the finding does not amount 3___ proof of a causal mechanism.

   Choices for blank 1

   1. what
   2. whether
   3. which
   4. that

   Choices for blank 2

   1. whereas
   2. in order to
   3. despite
   4. insofar as

   Choices for blank 3

   1. for
   2. with
   3. to
   4. as
   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   that

   Blank 2

   insofar as

   Blank 3

   to

   A claim that introduces its content; insofar as limits the conditions; amount to means be equivalent to.

7. Question 7 · Matching

   Match each item to the correct choice.

   Match each beginning to its only suitable ending. Completing qualified research statements.

   Answer choices

   • with the stated methodological limitations.
   • from treating correlation as causation.
   • that the sample reflects the target population.

   Items

   • The conclusion is valid only to the extent
   • The authors explicitly refrain
   • The finding should be read in conjunction
   Check answers and explanations

   1. The conclusion is valid only to the extent

   that the sample reflects the target population.

   2. The authors explicitly refrain

   from treating correlation as causation.

   3. The finding should be read in conjunction

   with the stated methodological limitations.

   To the extent that, refrain from and in conjunction with form the required structures.

8. Question 8 · Error correction

   Rewrite the sentence, correcting the grammatical error.

   Correct the one language error. Write the complete corrected sentence. Had the missing cases been included, the estimate would be different last year.

   Check answers and explanations

   Accepted answers

   Had the missing cases been included, the estimate would have been different last year.

   The explicit past time last year requires would have been in this past counterfactual.

9. Question 9 · Sentence transformation

   Rewrite or complete the second sentence as instructed, keeping the same meaning unless the task asks you to change it.

   Complete the second sentence so that it has the same meaning as the first. Use the given word unchanged. The data do not prove the hypothesis, but they do not disprove it either. The hypothesis is ___ by the data.

   Check answers and explanations

   Accepted answers

   neither proved nor disproved / neither proven nor disproved

   Neither proved nor disproved retains both absences of proof; proved and proven are accepted participles.

10. Question 10 · Sentence reordering

    Arrange these parts into the correct sentence.

    Put the chunks in order to make one complete sentence. Keep the capitalised opening first and the punctuated ending last.

    Sentence parts

    • However compelling the initial pattern may appear,
    • for assuming that the relationship
    • holds in every setting.
    • it provides no warrant
    Check answers and explanations

    Correct order

    However compelling the initial pattern may appear, it provides no warrant for assuming that the relationship holds in every setting.

    However plus adjective introduces a concession; no warrant for limits the inference.

11. Question 11 · Single choice

    Choose one answer.

    Choose the best completion. Had the sampling error been recognised at the outset, the team … such a categorical conclusion.

    1. had not drawn
    2. would not draw
    3. will not draw
    4. would not have drawn
    Check answers and explanations

    Answer

    would not have drawn

    A past counterfactual uses would not have plus the past participle drawn.

12. Question 12 · Multiple choice

    Choose all the correct answers.

    Only some of the reported benefits have been independently verified. Choose TWO statements that must follow from this information.

    1. No reported benefit has been independently verified.
    2. At least one reported benefit remains without independent verification.
    3. Every reported benefit has been independently verified.
    4. Independent verification covers some benefits, but not all of them.
    Check answers and explanations

    Answer

    At least one reported benefit remains without independent verification.; Independent verification covers some benefits, but not all of them.

    Only some excludes both all and none; it leaves at least one benefit unverified.

13. Question 13 · Fill in the blank (text)

    Complete each blank with the missing word or phrase.

    Use an adverb from JUSTIFY. The effect cannot ___ be described as negligible merely because it failed one significance test.

    Check answers and explanations

    Blank 1

    justifiably

    Justifiably means with adequate grounds; it modifies be described.

14. Question 14 · Error correction

    Rewrite the sentence, correcting the grammatical error.

    Correct the one language error. Write the complete corrected sentence. The authors' failure to detect an effect is not equivalent with proving its absence.

    Check answers and explanations

    Accepted answers

    The authors' failure to detect an effect is not equivalent to proving its absence. / The authors' failure to detect an effect isn't equivalent to proving its absence.

    Equivalent takes to when expressing equal meaning or status.

15. Question 15 · Sentence transformation

    Rewrite or complete the second sentence as instructed, keeping the same meaning unless the task asks you to change it.

    Complete the second sentence so that it has the same meaning as the first. Use the given word unchanged. The observed association does not, by itself, establish a causal link. The observed association is not, by itself, ___ a causal link.

    Check answers and explanations

    Accepted answers

    sufficient to establish / enough to establish

    Not sufficient or not enough to establish preserves the limit on the evidence.

What to review next

Explain why each answer fits the meaning and structure. Record useful phrases and write a new example using each pattern you found difficult.

A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.