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8.8: Making Inferences

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    58365

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    Learning Objectives
    • Use analytical thinking to make inferences

    Making inferences means coming to a conclusion based on evidence and reasoning. Sometimes we need to infer the main idea of a passage, or figure out an implied thesis by carefully “reading between the lines.” This may be necessary if the main idea is not clearly stated, if the reading begins with a question that has no direct answer, when the text compares or contrasts various things, or if the reading is satirical. A satire is a type of humorous writing that relies on exaggeration to make its points, and the effectiveness of this strategy depends on the reader recognizing the details being scrutinized by the writer. This means that the reader will need to read analytically and pay close attention to specific parts of the text.

    Watch It

    Some thesis statements are explicit—stated directly in the text itself. Others are implicit—implied by the content but not written in one distinct sentence. The following video describes these terms and introduces the excellent idea of the reading voice and the thinking voice that strong readers use as they work through a text.

    To help keep you on your toes, the author of this video challenges you to find her spelling mistake in one of her cards along the way!

    A link to an interactive elements can be found at the bottom of this page.

    You can view the transcript for “explicit v implicit” here (download).

    When you are left to make inferences, you can check whether your inference is logical or not by asking these questions:

    • Is it based on words and sentences in the text?
    • Is it based more on the author’s words than on your point of view?
    • Does it manage to avoid contradicting other statements made in the text?
    • Does it align with the author’s attitude or tone about the topic?
    • Could it function as the thesis or topic sentence?

    The video below offers several examples that show how we make inferences in different situations based on the available evidence. Pay close attention to the details that might lead us to a particular interpretation of meanings that are not directly stated. Also be sure to answer the two multiple choice questions that accompany the examples, and to listen carefully to the explanation for how we can arrive at an accurate understanding based on inference.

    Watch It
    A link to an interactive elements can be found at the bottom of this page.

    You can view the transcript for “Inferencing” here (opens in new window).

    GLOSSARY

    implicit: a perspective that is implied without being stated directly in a single sentence

    explicit: a perspective that is directly stated in a single locatable sentence

    Contributors and Attributions

    CC licensed content, Original
    • Modification, adaptation, and original content. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution
    CC licensed content, Shared previously
    All rights reserved content
    • explicit v implicit. Authored by: Michele Armentrout. Located at: https://youtu.be/eHjRogrFZ28. License: All Rights Reserved. License Terms: Standard YouTube License

    This page titled 8.8: Making Inferences is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Lumen Learning via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.