LA - Inference Lesson

 

Inference

To infer means to demonstrate important ideas based on clues or information given. For example, if a person walks up to a business and all of the lights are off, he/she can infer that the business is closed. This person is doing more than guessing because he/she is using clues to come to this conclusion.

Similarly, it is important to demonstrate your inference abilities on the SAT reading sections. These questions are difficult and cannot necessarily be found within the passage stated like a fact. An inference is a big picture question where students have to determine ideas based on given clues - rather than directly being told. These clues are the types of things you should notice while reading actively and annotating the passage.

There are basically two types of inference questions. Author logic or outside inference  asks for you to place the fact in context using common sense. These types of questions look like this:

• "The author would most likely agree that..."
• "The paragraph that most likely precedes or follows would be..."

With this type of question, students must go outside the passage and see where the fact fits in a greater context.

Implication questions  are where you are confined to infer or imply only from the passage. These types of questions may look like this:

• "As a result of this you can say that..."
• "It can be inferred that..."

In this case, you are confined to the use of the word or phrase in the passage. Whenever you have an inference or an implication question, ask yourself if you are confined to the passage, or if you are being asked to go outside of the passage. This will limit your answers immediately. 

Inferring can seem difficult, but we practice this skill every day. How do you know that someone likes or dislikes you? Nonverbal and verbal cues have given you clues to figure out the answer to this question. What is the weather like today? We can look outside to see if it's raining, snowing, sunny, or windy which will help us to determine what clothing to put on.

Let's practice this skill. Consider the following statement:

My neighbor admitted owning the dog that bit my child.

On the surface, we have a simple sentence stating a simple fact. Our understanding of this sentence, however, includes much more that is not stated.

• I have a neighbor.
• He owns a dog.
• I have a child.
• My child was bitten.
• The neighbor admitted owning that dog.

The sentence is a more concise way of conveying the above facts. We can infer much more about the sentence though. The neighbor appears to have a dog that was not on leash. The dog seems to be aggressive or dangerous. My child was injured as a result of the dog. Did my child bother the dog? Was medical treatment needed? What happened to the dog as a result of this incident? Was the neighbor punished in any way for his/her negligence?

Inferences such as these are essential to both written and spoken communication. Writers often only hint at what they mean and mean more than they actually seem to say.

Take a look at the next sentence. What can you infer from the following statement? What do you know for sure? What do you infer to be true?

Example

The principal canceled school due to the snowstorm.

Remember that many of the questions on the SAT will require you to infer information.  The specific answers will not be in the passage.  However, there will be context clues in the passage to help you to determine the answer.  The rest is up to you!

 

Review

The key thing to remember when preparing for the Writing and Language section of the SAT is to examine the language. Look at how words are used. Look at the grammatical structure of the sentence. You will look at the language within the passage as well as the language used in the actual questions. Think about the mood and tone of the passage while ensuring that sentences are written grammatically correct in the questions. Here is a self-assessment which will help you review all of the lessons in this module.

 

Now let's look at an example passage which will expose you to the types of questions you will see on the writing and language section of the SAT.

As many Arthurian scholars know, the distinction between

history and literature was blurred in the Middle Ages.

Consequently, the true identity of Guinevere may never be

known with certainty. Yet regardless of whether Guinevere

was real or fictional, her story 5 had endured

centuries—and through each retelling, she continues to live

on in the imaginations of people around the world.

 Look at section 5, and determine if there is an error in the sentence.

1. 1. No Change
   2. was enduring
   3. would have endured
   4. has endured

The correct answer is D because it is appropriate to use the perfect present tense "has endured" and the present tense "continues" to discuss the longevity of the character Guinevere.  

This sample question shows students how a passage will be used to answer questions about writing and grammar.

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