UCAT Verbal Reasoning Inference Questions: "Most Likely" and "Best Supported"
Verbal ReasoningUCAT ANZ
Inference questions ask which statement is most likely true, best supported, or what the author would agree with. Unlike True/False/Can't Tell, one option is always the best — your job is to find the one the passage supports most strongly.
How to judge the options
Directly supported: the passage gives a clear reason to believe it.
Over-reaching: it takes a small point and turns it into a big claim. Usually wrong.
Contradicted: the passage says otherwise. Always wrong.
Irrelevant: it may be true but the passage does not touch on it.
A four-step method
Read the question stem carefully — "the author" and "the passage" are not always the same.
Cross out any option that contradicts the passage.
Cross out any option with strong words (always, never, proves) unless the passage is equally strong.
Choose the remaining option most closely tied to a specific sentence.
💡 Modest wording is your friend. "Some patients may benefit" is easier to support than "All patients will benefit".
Try it now
✏️ Practice question 1Verbal Reasoning
Passage: Since the city introduced free buses for students, school attendance on rainy days has risen. Principals say fewer students now arrive late.
Which statement is best supported by the passage?
✏️ Practice question 2Verbal Reasoning
Passage: The author notes that the new library is busy every weekend, but warns that weekday visits have fallen since it moved further from the train station.