Causation and External Knowledge
Avoid adding causal explanations, definitions or real-world facts that the passage does not provide.
How to prepare for the CSVT
Use 601 original passage-and-statement questions to locate relevant wording, preserve scope and qualifiers, distinguish support from contradiction, and stop assumptions filling evidence gaps.
Core concepts
Concept 1
causation
Exam cue: Separate what happened together from what the passage says caused what.
Concept 2
association
Exam cue: Pretend unfamiliar subject matter is fictional unless the passage defines it.
Concept 3
outside knowledge
Concept 4
unstated explanation
Risk pitfalls and guardrails
Inferring causation from sequence or association.
Guardrail: Do not copy official questions, invent a fixed test length or weighting, replace passage evidence with outside knowledge, treat unsupported as False, infer score from difficulty or rely on returning to an earlier item.
Using professional or common knowledge to complete the argument.
Guardrail: Do not copy official questions, invent a fixed test length or weighting, replace passage evidence with outside knowledge, treat unsupported as False, infer score from difficulty or rely on returning to an earlier item.
Memory anchors
Together is not because
Association and sequence do not prove causation.
Passage defines the world
Use its facts even when outside knowledge differs.
Expertise stays parked
Subject knowledge cannot supply missing evidence.
Explanation needs a link
The passage must state or necessarily imply causation.
Familiarity can mislead
Recognising a topic does not broaden the evidence.
Checkpoint rule
Do the check-up only after you can summarize each concept in one sentence and identify one dangerous pitfall from memory.
Knowledge Check (after reading)
Short check-up to confirm understanding of this module.
Check-up Questions
Passage: Sales rose after the advert. The report did not investigate causes. Statement: The advert caused the rise.
Passage: The valve failure directly flooded the room, according to the engineer. Statement: The valve failure caused the flooding.
Answer all questions to submit.
Next step personalized recommendations
Continue learning
Move forward only after this module is stable.
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