Making Inferences and Drawing Conclusions

 Don't we do this all the time?

When you come across this blog, you are already making inferences when you read the topic. Most likely, you are here because you are one of my students from my English for Critical Academic Reading class from my degree courses. Or perhaps, you are here because you are searching for the skills on making inferences and drawing conclusions. You might be thinking why I said that we have been doing this all the time. Well, don't we read all the time? Of course the reading materials vary. It also depends on your purpose and levels of education. 

My focus here is on academic reading.

What is the logical inference that you can draw based on the evidence and information that you have?

Based on that the author has stated, what is presumed to be true?

In order to remember the points for making inferences and drawing  conclusion, I'd like to share a chant created by Professor Kathleen Riley, Polk Community College (Winter Haven, Florida). 

Please read aloud repeatedly.

"Making inferences is one name;

Drawing conclusions means the same.

Details are things that authors write.

Inferences are out of sight.

Details: underline  in ink.

Inferences: you've got to think.

Inferences make you a star.

Don't pick a choice that goes too far!

Base inferences on what you've read.

Not on the ideas in your head!

Source: Exercise Your College Reading Skills (p223)J.Elder

What is an  inference?

"Inference is a logical conclusion that is based on what an author has stated."

What is a definition of conclusion?

     "Conclusion is defined as a decision reached upon careful consideration of materials  that you have read.

What is the logical inference the author aims to convey?

Inferences and conclusions exceeds what is stated in the paragraph by the author.

What are the differences between imply and infer?

Imply means to hint while infer refers to understand a message that has been implied.

A simple example to give better comprehension is when you receive a message through your smartphone now, imply is given by the sender of the message while infer is done by the receiver of the message.

Got it?

Evaluating Author's Argument

Issue
What is the controversial topic discussed by the author?

Author's argument
What is the author's point of view about the issue?

What are the steps in evaluating the author's argument?

1. Assumptions-things that the author takes for granted without providing any proof.
2. Type of support-the kind of evidence the author uses to support the argument
1. Facts
2. Expert opinions
3. Research
4. Observations
5. Personal experiences
3. Relevance of the support-
1. How relevant is the support?
2. If it's directly related to the argument, it is relevant.
4. Objectivity-
1. The authors argument is objective if they present facts.
2. If the authors are experts on the topic or issue, then the recommendations are meaningful.
5. Completeness-
1. An argument is complete if the author presents enough support and has counter-arguments.
2. The argument is incomplete if the author does not present the counter-arguments.
6. Validity-The argument is valid if it is logical and well-reasoned.
7. Credibility-The argument has credibility if it is believable or convincing.

Stated Main Idea and the Supporting Details

Only ONE sentence can be the stated main idea of a paragraph.

Stated main idea sentence

1. Must always contain the topic
2. Must make complete sense by itself
3. Must be a general sentence that sums up the details in the paragraph

When you identify the stated main idea in a paragraph, it must be exactly the same sentence without changing the words in the sentence.

It must not be the specific details.

Supporting details in a paragraph can be divided into major and minor details or primary and secondary details

1. Major supporting details explain the main idea.
2. Minor supporting details explain the major supporting details.

How do you differentiate between major and minor supporting details?

You ask yourself if that sentence explains the main idea or major supporting details.

Reread that sentence and ask yourself,

"Does this sentence explain the main idea or the supporting details?"

A sentence that contains statistics and findings is NOT the main idea.

What about implied main idea?

Topic

Who or what is it about?

Four Clues

1. heading or title
2. special print such as bold and italics or colour
3. repeated words or phrases
4. a word or phrase mentioned at the beginning, and repeatedly referred to by using other words or pronouns

Sounds simple, right?

It may look simple but this is the most important item to identify as it leads you to determining the main idea of a paragraph next.

Word Structure Analysis

Understanding the meanings of the word parts will assist you in understanding the unfamiliar words faster. You need to learn the meanings of the word parts first in order for you to do the word structure analysis. Ideally,you learn them individually at your own time. However,depending on your learning styles, you may form a group or a pair to divide the task of memorizing the meanings to facilitate the process of learning and building the vocabularies.

First you need to understand the terms and meanings below.

Prefix-word parts before the root word
Root-base words
Suffix-word parts after the root word

Nevertheless, there's no shortcut in the remembering the meanings.

Identify your learning styles so that you can learn them effectively.

So,what's your learning style?

I'll write about learning style in my future entry.

(Do remind me  if I have not written about it.)

Dictionary or Context clues?

My assumption is you most probably do not have your hard copy of the thick dictionary with you all the time. Definitely not carrying the dictionary everywhere you. Maybe you have your electronic dictionary with you or nowadays,having your smart phones to search for the meanings of words. with the internet connection, you can just google a word and get the results in less than a second. However, you can't do that all the time. Especially not when you are sitting for a test or examination! So,what should you do? Knowing how to identify the types of context clues can help you to determine the meaning of an unfamiliar word.

Type of Context Clues

1. Definition/Synonym Clue
2. Contrast Clue
3. Example Clue
4. General Sense of the Sentence
5. Clue from another Sentence

Context Clues include words in a sentence and a paragraph that allow readers to understand the meaning of unfamiliar words.

You may ask yourself,

"What would it must mean in this sentence for me to understand?"

Understanding the context clues help you to understand the materials you read without having to constantly checking the meanings of the unfamiliar words.

1. Definition/Synonym- search for: is defined as,means,that is, in other words
2. Contrast - search for : but,such as, however,contrast
3. Example - search for: for example, to illustrate, like, such as
4. General sense of the sentence: something that you can relate with your own general knowledge and experience
5. Clue from another sentence: another sentence that explains the unfamiliar words

                Source:Elder,J Exercise Your College Reading Skills

So,the next time you want to search for the unfamiliar words,try using context clues instead.