Inference

Inference questions are often prefaced by "the passage implies" or "the author implies", where "suggests" is sometimes substituted.

In some ways, inference and supporting idea questions are similar. They both require you to stick closely to the text and rely on specific facts. However, inference questions tend to go a tad further and ask you to make a very small logical conclusion that is strongly implied based upon information in the passage. Answer choices that require significant assumptions or inferences will NEVER be correct. In inference questions, the answer lies directly in the text and requires a very small logical step (e.g., if the text says that "all the cups in the room are red", an inference would be that "there are no green cups in the room").

In other ways, inference and application questions are similar. They both require you to draw a conclusion, albeit a very small one, based upon what the passage states explicitly. However, the inference question type asks for an answer that is often a near paraphrase of a fact in the passage or a fact that the information in the passage rules out (e.g., if a species of an animal has existed for 1 million years, you can infer that the animal is not new to the earth). On the contrary, the application question type asks you to use the information in the passage as premises and draw a conclusion that is not directly addressed in the passage. In other words, the answer to inference questions is a conclusion made in the passage while the answer to application questions is a conclusion that is applied outside of the passage to an idea or action.

Common Question Stems

• The passage implies that which of the following was true of x
• It can be inferred from the passage that
• The passage suggests which of the following about x
• The author implies that x occurred because
• The author implies that all of the following statements about x are true EXCEPT
• How to Identify Correct Answer

The correct answer to these questions is usually an obvious logical consequence of a sentence in the text. The logical consequence will be extremely clear. The difficulty in these questions resides in finding the specific sentence in the passage that provides the premise for the conclusion in the correct answer. Stay away from answer choices that do not directly and closely follow from a statement in the passage, even if this statement seems plausible based upon the general idea of the passage or commonly accepted knowledge.

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How to Learn Inference Video Tutorial

Video on Inference is a full tutorial for complete understanding to solve on aptitude test MCQs. You must take video lesson in one go. Take the notes on important points discussed. Keenly observe the methods applied to solve the sample questions. After taking the lesson take the practice tests on Inference.