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INFERENCES

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19 views2 pages

INFERENCES

Uploaded by

Rabiatul
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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INFERENCES

What are inferences?

Making an inference is often referred to as reading between the lines. It is the process of making a
guess about something you don’t know for sure, based on the information available.

For example, you see Aidan bite into a piece of fruit and give a delighted smile. From this
observation, we can infer that Aidan is enjoying the taste of the fruit.

When we read something, we also make inferences. We use previous knowledge acquired, along
with information from the text to draw conclusions, make judgements and interpret the text.

What are inferences?

Making an inference is often referred to as reading between the lines. It is the process of making a
guess about something you don’t know for sure, based on the information available.

For example, you see Aidan bite into a piece of fruit and give a delighted smile. From this
observation, we can infer that Aidan is enjoying the taste of the fruit.

When we read something, we also make inferences. We use previous knowledge acquired, along
with information from the text to draw conclusions, make judgements and interpret the text.

How do we make inferences?

These questions require more than just English skills. They require logical thinking. Here are 5 tips
for answering an inference question:

1. Read the question carefully and understand what you are being asked

2. Make sure you understand the main idea of the whole paragraph.

3. Use the process of elimination. The answer is incorrect if it is beyond the scope of the
information in the passage. In other words, you can't really make this inference based only
on the passage. You must use your logical thinking.

4. Pay attention to answers containing extreme language such as always, forever, never, all,
totally, completely or extreme phrases such as "this is the only (x)," or "this is the limit of
(y)," and so on. They are used as traps and are often INCORRECT.

5. Pay attention to answers only repeating words from the passage but don't answer the
question. These answers look appealing because they contain technical words that you saw
in the passage. But, if you read them carefully, they aren't correct!

Two types of inference

There are two kinds of inferences we can make: logical inferences and reason-based inferences.

1. Logical inference

When we use logical inference, we reach conclusions by going from something specific to something
general. We often begin with an observation and then expand this into a general theory or
conclusion.
For example, your dog hides as soon as the fireworks begin on Bonfire Night. It does so again on New
Year’s Eve when the fireworks start, and then again when the fireworks start on Diwali and Chinese
New Year.

From these specific observations, it would be logical to infer the general theory that your dog is
afraid of the sound of fireworks going off.

Reason-based inference

Reason-based inferences work the other way around. A reason-based inference starts with a general
theory or hypothesis. It then focuses on something specifically observed or stated to prove this
theory.

An example of this is, you might have a general theory that the scheduled fireworks display for your
neighbourhood will be postponed due to the rain forecast. This is based on your specific knowledge
that fireworks can’t perform when it is raining. You have made an inference and come to a conclusion
based on reason.

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