To infer means to draw a conclusion on the basis of evidence and reasoning

Inference is not...

• Stating the obvious

• Repeating what is easily seen

• Making a prediction

An inference is a conclusion you draw based on the evidence available

Requirements for Inferential Questions

• Look for clues in the text, then make certain deductions based on these clues

• Read between the lines to figure out what the writer is implying or suggesting

• Check the mark weightage of the question. This will decide the amount of detail necessary for the answer.

How do you know it is an inferential question?

• “What do you think...?”

• “What is so surprising about…?”

• “Suggest a reason why…”

• “Why might it be difficult to…?”

Steps to answer inferential questions

1. Identify key words in the question.

2. Locate/pick out clues from the passage. 

3. Read between the lines in the passage. Try to guess what the author implies or suggest based on the clues or lines detected. 

4. Write out answer.

Read the following extract carefully

Every Friday morning without fail, a dead body would be found in the same bed in this hospital. Nobody knew why, so a doctor went undercover to find out more. He observed a cleaner entering the room at 8 am for the weekly vacuum cleaning. However, this room only has one electrical plug at the corner which was used for the life support machine, next to the bed where the dead body would be found. The cleaner was all smiles and nonchalantly plugged out the cable for the life support machine so he could plug his vacuum cleaner and cheerfully greeted the doctor undercover good morning, while the doctor panicked and called the nurses in for a quick medical intervention. This left the cleaner bewildered.