What strategies help you make inferences from a text?

• A. Read only the explicit statements and ignore prior knowledge.
• B. Use clues in the text plus prior knowledge to make logical conclusions that are not stated outright.
• C. Infer solely from images or headings.
• D. Rely on your personal experiences without evidence.

Answer: (B)

Inferring in reading means using clues from the text together with what you already know to figure out meaning or ideas that aren’t stated outright. It’s about reading between the lines and drawing a logical conclusion that the author implies through details, word choice, actions, and outcomes.

A helpful way to do this is to notice evidence the text provides—things like how a character acts, what they say, the sequence of events, and the way the setting is described—and then combine that with your own background knowledge about people and situations. If these clues point to a conclusion that fits what’s described, that’s your inference. For example, if a story describes dark clouds, hurried footsteps, and a character glancing at a clock, you can infer that something about time running out or an approaching event is happening, even if the text doesn’t say it directly.

It’s important to rely on evidence from the text rather than just what you feel or imagine. Inferring from images or headings alone often misses important context. And basing a conclusion on personal experiences without any textual support can lead you away from what the author is conveying.

So the best strategy is to blend textual clues with what you already know to make a reasonable, supported inference—one that the text makes plausible through its details.