Some of the most difficult questions to answer during the SAT are inference questions, particularly for long reading passages. To begin with, you may be wondering what exactly an inference is. An inference is a conclusion drawn from evidence that is not explicitly stated in the text of the passage, which requires significantly more thought to answer than many other types of problems.
To make this distinction more clear, let’s contrast the difference between facts, assumptions, and inferences.
Facts
A fact is a direct statement that is known to be true, and can be shown to be true through direct evidence. An example of a fact would be that “There are 26 letters in the alphabet”, or “The sky is blue”. Some easy types of questions will ask you to find the statement that is true among several options, but many more difficult problems will require thought about the entire passage, or at least a significant part of it, to find the correct answer. For example, an inference question might ask you to consider the author’s tone or point of view, in order to find the option that most closely matches the author’s perspective.
Assumptions
An assumption is an underlying supposition or proposition that a writer makes in order to reach a conclusion. For example, in the sentence “The hockey team will get to play at a tournament in Europe if they win the tournament” has the assumption that playing at a tournament in Europe is desirable. This might seem obvious, but many times the chain of reasoning is less clear.
Inferences
An inference, as stated above, is a conclusion that must be drawn through logical reasoning from incomplete evidence. If I state that “The grass is wet”, some possible inferences would be that it rained overnight, or the grass was watered recently. The relative strength of each inference depends on the context of the writing, which can lend credence to a particular argument or disqualify it.
Strategy
So, what methods exist to make answering inference questions less arduous? One method is to take notes regarding larger ideas in the passage as you read it, which has the advantage of providing a quick way to recall important facts and information. However, this method has the downside of taking additional time, and potentially creating a distraction from answering the questions. A second method of highlighting key details is to underline or circle key points that provide insight into the author’s intent, or the tone of the piece. To use this method effectively though, it is necessary to practice this method enough to know exactly what information is worth noting down. After all, there is no purpose to underlining half of the passage, since this will not increase your comprehension of the passage. By choosing a method such as these to assist in answering inference questions, it will become much easier to gather evidence for these challenging questions.
This article was written for you by Tobias, one of the tutors with Test Prep Academy.
