Inference and Implication
Inference questions ask what the passage suggests, implies, or allows you to conclude. The answer is not written down, but it must be forced by the text: you should be able to defend it by pointing to a specific sentence and explaining the logical step.
The necessity test
Ask: does the passage make this conclusion unavoidable, or merely possible? ISEE wording such as "most reasonably infer" and "the passage suggests" points to the strongest supported conclusion, not the most dramatic one. If a choice requires a fact from outside the passage, or requires an assumption about motives the author never hints at, it is wrong even if it sounds sensible.
Where inferences hide
- Contrasts: "Unlike the earlier model, this one..." tells you the earlier model lacked the feature.
- Cause and consequence: an outcome is reported without its reason, and the reason is stated elsewhere.
- Tone words: "grudgingly admitted" implies reluctance.
- Silence: a character's failure to respond can imply discomfort, if the passage signals it.
Worked example
"When the museum announced free admission on Sundays, weekday attendance fell by a third, and the director began to worry about the budget." A defensible inference is that free Sunday entry drew visitors away from paid weekdays, threatening revenue. It is not defensible to infer that the museum will close, that the director dislikes visitors, or that the policy will be reversed - the passage says none of this.
Traps that cost marks
- Over-inference: a plausible story the passage does not support.
- Choosing a restated detail, which answers a detail question instead of an inference question.
- Moral judgments the author never makes.
- Absolute language: proves, always, everyone, never.