Inferences
Information and Ideas is about 26% of the Reading and Writing section (12–14 of 54 questions). In an inference question the text ends with a blank and you choose the sentence or phrase that follows most logically from what the text has said.
What the question asks
The passage gives you some facts, a study or a short story and then stops at a blank. The correct choice is the statement that must be true, or is very probably true, because of what the text says. You do not need outside knowledge, and you should not add your own ideas. The answer is a small, safe step from the text, not a big jump.
Stay inside the text
The right answer uses only the information given. Wrong answers fall into four groups, and you can sort every choice into one of them.
| Wrong answer | What it does | Example (text: a pond dried up after a month without rain) |
|---|---|---|
| Goes too far | Claims more than the text supports (extreme or a big jump) | “All ponds in the country will dry up.” |
| Contradicts | Says the opposite of the text | “The pond stayed full.” |
| Brings in new information | True in life, but not given in the text | “The pond was home to many frogs.” |
| Repeats or half-answers | Restates a fact without drawing the conclusion, or covers only part | “The pond is a body of water.” |
Watch the qualifiers
Small words decide whether a statement is safe. Strong words such as all, always, never, only, completely, proves and impossible need strong evidence. Careful words such as some, often, may, probably, suggests and likely need much less. When the text itself is careful (“many”, “in most cases”, “researchers think”), the correct answer is usually careful too.
| Too strong | Safer |
|---|---|
| always, never, all, none | often, rarely, many, few |
| proves, shows for certain | suggests, may mean |
| only, completely | mainly, partly |
| must have been | probably was |
Use the logic of the text
Look at how the sentences connect. Words such as because, so, but, unlike and if … then show the logic, and the blank usually finishes it. After “because A, so B” the conclusion repeats the cause–effect link. After a contrast (“unlike X, Y …”) the blank describes the opposite of X. After a rule and a case (“every ferry carries bicycles; the Zarnigor is a ferry”) the blank applies the rule to the case. After numbers, do the arithmetic.
A quick test for any choice
Read your chosen sentence straight after the passage and ask: “If the passage is true, is this definitely (or very probably) true?” If you have to imagine extra facts, it is wrong. Then ask: “Is another choice safer or closer to the text?” The correct answer is the one that needs the fewest extra assumptions.
Biologist Feruza Karimova counted nests on two islands. Island A, which has no foxes, had 140 nests of a ground-nesting bird. Island B, which has many foxes, had only 35. These counts suggest that ______
- foxes may reduce the number of nests that survive on Island B.
- foxes are the only reason that fewer birds nest on Island B.
- Island A has more trees than Island B.
- the birds on Island A are larger than the birds on Island B.
- Facts: no foxes, 140 nests; many foxes, 35 nests.
- A safe step: foxes may be one reason for the difference.
- B is too strong (“the only reason”). C and D bring in information that the text does not give.
- A uses a careful word (“may”), like the text (“suggest”).
Every ferry that crosses the bay carries bicycles. Last Tuesday, Jasur crossed the bay on the Zarnigor, which is one of the ferries that crosses the bay. Therefore, the Zarnigor ______
- is the largest ferry in the bay
- carries bicycles
- crosses the bay only on Tuesdays
- carries more bicycles than other ferries
- Rule: every ferry that crosses the bay carries bicycles.
- Case: the Zarnigor is a ferry that crosses the bay.
- Conclusion: the Zarnigor carries bicycles.
- The other choices add facts about size, days or numbers.
Researchers compared two groups of students. Students who slept at least eight hours before a memory test recalled on average 18 of 25 words. Students who slept five hours recalled 12. The two groups had the same age and the same time to study. This suggests that ______
- five hours of sleep makes it impossible to memorize anything
- students who study longer score higher on memory tests
- older students recall more words than younger students
- more sleep may have helped students recall more words
- The only difference between the groups is the hours of sleep.
- The better recall came with more sleep.
- A safe conclusion: more sleep may have helped.
- A is extreme. B and C are about study time and age, which were the same for both groups, so the text gives no support for them.
A river delta grows when the river brings more sediment to the coast than the sea washes away. Since a large dam was built upstream, the river carries much less sediment to the coast. If nothing else has changed, the delta ______
- will probably stop growing or begin to shrink
- will grow faster than before
- will disappear completely within a year
- will become much saltier
- Rule: growth needs more sediment arriving than washing away.
- Change: much less sediment arrives.
- Prediction: growth is likely to stop, or the delta may shrink.
- B contradicts the logic. C is too extreme (“completely within a year”). D is a new idea.
- Choosing an extreme statementLook for all, never, only, impossible, proves. Unless the text is just as strong, prefer the careful choice.
- Adding information that is not in the textA choice can be true in real life and still wrong here. Ask: which sentence in the passage supports this?
- Choosing a choice that contradicts the passageCheck the direction (more or less, before or after). A reversed relationship is a very common distractor.
- Choosing a choice that only repeats a factThe blank should complete the reasoning, not restate a detail that was already given.
- Ignoring the qualifiers in the passageIf the text says “many” or “often”, do not choose a choice that says “all” or “always”. If it says “some”, do not choose “most”.
- Skipping the arithmeticIf the text gives numbers, work them out (for example, 50 − 35 = 15) before looking at the choices.