Making Inferences in Reading
Making Predictions
Reflecting on the past and on trends, make your own predictions, each supported by three reasons. Choose five of the following categories for a total of five projections: travel, medicine, space, technology, Earth’s future, the economy, politics, the environ-ment, your own life. (5 x 3 marks = 15 marks)
Making Inferences in Reading
We often hear about having to “read between the lines”. Such a skill is really the result of being able to make inferences, logical deductions based on given facts or situations. When one becomes perceptive and good at making inferences, the benefits are seen not only in academics, but also in the workplace and in the world, in general.[unique_solution]
A doctor makes inferences when she reviews a patient’s symptoms. Based on the symptoms and her past experience, she makes a guess as to what the cause of those symptoms might be. A mechanic makes inferences based on the noises coming from under a car’s hood. A police officer makes inferences based on the evidence and cir-cumstances in a case.
Consider the following passage:
“I can’t believe you just did that! I spent hours cleaning that rug and you just spilled your can of pop all over it. Back in my day, we weren’t even allowed to have food out of the kitchen. I was going to go out shopping this afternoon, but I guess I can’t now! Thank you for your consideration.”
From this passage, we can answer several questions by making inferences.
- Is the rug easy to clean?
- Because the person “spent hours cleaning” it, we can conclude that it is dif-ficult to clean.
- How old is the person who cleaned the rug?
- Because the person who cleaned the rug said, “Back in my day, we weren’t even allowed to have food out of the kitchen” we can is conclude that the person is older than the one who spilled the can of pop.
- Who will clean the rug now that it has been soiled by the spilled pop? When
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English – ENG4C Unit 1 – Lesson 1
will it be cleaned?
- The older person who originally cleaned the rug will do so again, that very afternoon. The person states, “I was going to go out shopping this afternoon, but I guess I can’t now!” These words lead us to believe that this person will stay home to re-clean the rug.