Inferences

Writers sometimes expect readers to do more than understand and remember the meaning of what they have written. Writers expect readers to predict or to assume an unwritten message. For example, if a person you know arrives late for every class, you might be inclined to assume that the person is generally late for most other things. It is a logical based on other facts or details. Making inferences is like putting a puzzle together which is missing a few pieces. You can still recognize the picture.

In addition to fiction writers, advertisement writers also use this type of writing. For example, they might write about a specific automobile company: young people drive their car; their car is fast and powerful; their car is the latest design. The inference, or assumption, is that if you drive their car, you will be young, powerful, fast, and in style. The details about their car are stated. The inference they want to make is not stated. This type of inference is based on emotions and desires rather than logic. Making good inference is not only important to help you be able to understand and remember, but also to help you make good decisions.

What are inferences?

Inferences are guesses or assumptions. Unlike context clues, where the meaning of written words or phrases are guessed from other written words, inferences are guesses, predictions or assumptions made about ideas which are not written. Making these types of assumptions is sometimes called “reading between the lines”.

Writers may expect you to infer the main idea of a paragraph or a story. You may also need to infer what will happen next. Often a character’s personality can be inferred from details the writers give. These types of inferences move from the known to the unknown, or they move from specific details to general qualities.