🔍 What Are Inference Questions?

• Inference questions ask what logically follows from the passage—even if it isn’t directly stated.
• You’re not reading between the lines. You’re reading to the edge of the line, then logically stepping over it.
• These questions usually appear at the end of a short passage and ask which answer most logically completes the text.

🔁 Common Patterns in Correct Answers

• Logical Extension: The answer continues or completes the argument naturally.
• Cause & Effect: The text implies a cause or result not explicitly stated.
• Evidence-Based Conclusion: Based directly on a stated observation or data point.
• Shift in Belief: Reflects a reevaluation or rethinking of a concept over time.
• Filling the Gap: Connects ideas that are stated but not yet explicitly linked.
• Conditional Logic: Follows “if this, then that” reasoning already set up in the passage.

❌ Common Types of Wrong Answers

• Contradiction: Goes against the passage’s evidence or tone.
• Out of Scope: Brings in unrelated or unmentioned ideas.
• Too Specific or Extreme: Includes unnecessary detail or strong words like “always” or “the only reason.”
• Reverse Logic: Flips cause and effect or misreads the reasoning structure.
• Misinterpreted Example: Treats a specific case as a universal rule or vice versa.

🔧 How to Solve Inference Questions

• Step 1: Read the entire short passage carefully—especially the final sentence.
• Step 2: Paraphrase the point in your own words. What idea is the text leading toward?
• Step 3: Anticipate what the next logical statement should be before reading answer choices.
• Step 4: Test each choice. Does it logically follow from the passage?
• Step 5: Eliminate aggressively—wrong answers often add, twist, or exaggerate.

🧭 Key Mindsets to Develop

• You are proving the answer, not guessing it.
• Stick to what’s implied by the passage—no outside knowledge.
• Partial understanding is fine. Focus on logic, not total comprehension.
• The right answer will feel plain and direct—not imaginative.

🧪 Common Themes in Inference Passages

• Scientific Studies: Surprising findings or contradictions to expectations.
• Historical/Cultural Shifts: Reassessment of overlooked people, artifacts, or events.
• Behavioral Science/Economics: Human behavior explained through new studies or experiments.
• Literary/Artistic Analysis: Reframing a figure or work’s meaning or impact.
• Evolutionary/Developmental Ideas: Proposing new theories based on emerging data.

📝 Practical Practice Strategy

• Train your “if-then” brain: After reading, say: “If all this is true, then what else must be true?”
• Label wrong answers: Don’t just cross them out—note if they’re too broad, out of scope, or distorting evidence.
• Write your own inference: Before looking at choices, finish the sentence yourself.
• Drill by theme: Practice inference passages grouped by science, history, behavior, etc., to notice patterns.

🎯 Final Advice

• Inference questions don’t reward creativity—they reward precision.
• The best answers follow clearly from what’s stated, even if they aren’t exciting.
• Slow down and trust your logic.