Reading & Writing · Information and Ideas
Inferences
Combine the text's facts into the smallest conclusion they support. An inference may be unstated, but it must follow from the passage without a new cause, motive, or universal claim.
Separate a supported conclusion from a possible story
A passage says a library extended its hours and attendance during the added hours exceeded expectations. You can infer that patrons used the newly available time. You cannot infer that every visitor preferred evenings or that the extension caused all library attendance to rise.
Those broader claims could be true, but the supplied facts do not establish them. Look for the choice that needs the fewest additional assumptions.
Combine clues that point to the same conclusion
Suppose a species was observed only where the soil stayed moist, and it disappeared from sites after those sites dried. Together, those observations support a connection between its presence and moisture.
They do not establish that moisture is its only requirement, or that it can survive in every wet environment. The conclusion should preserve what was observed and leave untested conditions open.
Preserve the passage's uncertainty
If the text says an artifact may have been used for trade, a choice claiming it definitely served as currency changes a tentative possibility into certainty. Keep "may," "some," and other limits when they affect the argument.
A conclusion can be firm about a narrow fact: a later discovery means the earlier evidence was incomplete. It need not become a sweeping claim that all earlier interpretations were false.
Complete a scientific argument by following the variables
If an experiment measures seed germination at several temperatures and germination peaks at 20 degrees, a supported conclusion is that 20 degrees was most favorable among the tested temperatures. It does not identify the best temperature among every possible temperature.
For a miss, list the supporting facts and draw the single inferential step between them and the answer. If you need two invented steps, narrow the conclusion.
Check your understanding
Try it yourself
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Sample inferences questions
Inferences · Easy
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Inferences · Easy
Wheat varieties are classified by the season in which they are sown. Spring wheat is planted in spring and flowers soon afterward. Winter wheat is planted in fall, and its heading, the emergence of the grain-bearing spike, is delayed until the plant has gone through vernalization, a period of roughly 30 to 60 days of cold winter temperatures. A grower sows a winter wheat variety in late spring, after the cold weather has passed. Because the plants will miss vernalization, the grower can expect them to ______
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Inferences · Easy
The yeti crab Kiwa puravida lives about 1,000 meters below the ocean surface near seeps off the coast of Costa Rica, where hydrogen sulfide and methane escape from the seafloor. The crab feeds on bacteria that grow on its hairlike bristles. These bacteria get energy from the chemicals released by the seeps, but they also need oxygen, and they grow only when water carrying these substances keeps flowing over them. The crab supplies that flow by rhythmically waving its claws. A yeti crab that stopped waving its claws for a long time would therefore likely ______
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Practice this skill
- List the facts before completing the conclusion.
- Circle words that express certainty or scope in the choices.
- Explain the one step that links the text to your selected inference.
Print the inferences worksheet and worked answers.
Then use a mixed practice module to check whether you can choose this method among other question types.
Source and question labels
The bank label for this guide is "Inferences" in Information and Ideas. The worked examples above are written for this guide.