Statement & Conclusion
🔒 Log in to trackCourses of action
🔒 Log in to trackThe statement describes a problem. A course of action is a step to deal with it. A step follows if it is practical, proportionate and related to the problem, and the right authority can take it.
What a course of action is
The statement describes a problem. Each course of action is a proposed step. A step follows if a sensible authority would take it. It must be practical, proportionate and related to the problem. It should solve the problem, reduce the harm, or find the cause.
Think of yourself as a calm district officer. You do not panic. You do not punish everyone for one person's fault. You do not ignore the problem.
The three filters
- Relevance. Does the step touch the problem? Poor maths results: appoint a maths teacher. Widening the village road is unrelated.
- Practicality. Can the right authority do it in reasonable time? Moving a whole city's people because of a water shortage cannot be done.
- Proportion. Is the step the right size? A few students copying: act against them and tighten watch. Cancelling every result is too much.
Steps that usually follow
- Investigate: an inquiry, a test, an inspection, tracing the people responsible.
- Repair: mend streetlights, correct display boards, improve drainage.
- Relief: rescue stranded families, send water tankers, keep hospital beds ready.
- Warn and regulate: give warnings, ration supply, control traffic until safety is checked.
- Rule-based action against those actually responsible.
Steps that usually fail
- Blanket bans. Banning all private buses because one operator overcharged.
- Permanent shutdowns for a one-time or local problem.
- Punishing everyone for the fault of a few.
- Unrelated steps that deal with a different problem.
- Impossible steps. Stopping the monsoon, or never going out after dark.
Short-term relief and long-term fix
A problem often needs both. Low areas are flooded. Send rescue teams now. Improve drainage for the future. Neither cancels the other.
Tip: Do not reject a relief step because it is not permanent. Do not reject a long-term fix because it is not immediate.
Investigate before punishing
If the cause is not known, an inquiry is the sensible first step. A bridge cracks after two years. Order an inquiry, then act against those found responsible. Punishing a named person without an inquiry is too early. Banning all bridges is too much.
A worked example
Statement: The reservoir that supplies a city has fallen to a very low level after poor rainfall.
- I. Ration water and urge people to save it. It is practical and related, so it follows.
- II. Send tankers to areas with severe shortage. It is relief, so it follows.
- III. Shift the population to another city. It is absurd, so it does not follow.
Answer: only I and II.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
A practical fix against a blanket ban
One step targets the cause. Another bans or removes something across the whole system.
Find the size of the problem.
Match the size of each step to it.
Reject a step that is far too big.
A local problem needs a local step.
Statement: Fake ₹500 notes are circulating in a district. Actions: I. Trace the gang printing them. II. Withdraw all ₹500 notes in the country.
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I goes after the cause.
II is a nationwide step for a district problem.
Only I follows
Short-term relief plus long-term fix
The problem has an urgent side and a lasting side, and both are offered as steps.
Find the urgent need.
Find the lasting cause.
Accept a step for each if it is sensible.
The two steps work on different parts of the problem.
Statement: Low-lying areas are flooded and families are stranded. Actions: I. Send rescue teams. II. Improve drainage in these areas.
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I helps stranded families now.
II prevents a repeat later.
Both follow
An unrelated step
One of the steps deals with something the statement does not mention.
Name the problem in one line.
Ask if the step touches it.
Reject steps that do not.
A step must be linked to the stated problem.
Statement: Passengers miss trains because display boards show wrong platforms. Actions: I. Check and correct the display system. II. Reduce ticket prices.
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I fixes the display problem.
II has no link to wrong platforms.
Only I follows
Punishing all against acting on those responsible
One step punishes a whole group. Another targets only those at fault.
Find who is at fault.
Check if the step reaches only them.
Reject a step that punishes the innocent.
A fair step targets only those at fault.
Statement: A few students were caught copying. Actions: I. Cancel the results of all students. II. Act against those caught and tighten invigilation.
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I punishes students who did nothing wrong.
II targets the guilty and stops repeats.
Only II follows
Inquiry before action when the cause is unknown
The statement gives a fault but not its cause, such as a collapse or a crack.
Check if the cause is stated.
If it is not, an inquiry is sensible.
Punish only after the inquiry.
You cannot fairly blame anyone until you know the cause.
Statement: A newly built bridge developed cracks within two years. Actions: I. Order an inquiry and act against those found responsible. II. Close all bridges in the state permanently.
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I finds the cause and acts on it.
II is far too big for one bridge.
Only I follows
Permanent shutdown for a local problem
A step shuts down a service or a business for good, and the problem is limited.
Ask if a smaller step would solve it.
Prefer a limit or a fix.
Reject the permanent shutdown.
A fix or a limit solves the problem without destroying the service.
Statement: Noise from a factory disturbs nearby residents at night. Actions: I. Ask the factory to fit noise barriers and limit night work. II. Shut the factory permanently.
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I lowers the noise and keeps the factory open.
II is out of proportion.
Only I follows
Awareness, repair and regulation together
The problem is a health or safety risk, and steps include warnings, repairs and controls.
Match each step to the risk.
Accept sensible steps, even if more than one.
Reject steps that limit people's lives without reason.
Several steps can help, as long as each is practical and in proportion.
Statement: Dengue cases have risen in a town after heavy rain. Actions: I. Start fogging and clear stagnant water. II. Run an awareness campaign about mosquito breeding. III. Stop people from leaving their homes for a month.
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I removes the mosquitoes' breeding places.
II teaches people how to help.
III is out of proportion and cannot be done.
Only I and II follow
Shortcuts that save time
Ask: would a sensible official do this tomorrow? Inspecting, repairing, warning, supplying and treating usually pass. Banning, shutting forever and blaming everyone usually fail.
Statement: A few buses on a city route broke down this week. Action: Scrap the entire bus fleet. Does it follow?
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A few breakdowns call for inspection and repair.
Scrapping every bus is out of proportion.
Does not follow
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Picking a strong step because it sounds firm.
Pick the step that is practical and in proportion.
Rejecting a relief step because it is not permanent.
Relief and a long-term fix can both follow.
Accepting a step that punishes everyone.
Act against those responsible. Do not punish the innocent.
Accepting a step unrelated to the problem.
Check that the step touches the stated problem.
Punishing a person before an inquiry when the cause is unknown.
Order an inquiry first. Then act against those found responsible.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
A step follows if it is practical, in proportion and related to the problem.
Good verbs: investigate, repair, relieve, regulate, warn, act as per rules.
Poor verbs: ban all, shut forever, punish everyone, do something unrelated or impossible.
Short-term relief and a long-term fix can both follow.
Unknown cause: inquiry first, then action against those responsible.
Practice: 13 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 13 questions
Suggested time 11 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.