Question

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Lesson 6 - Inferences

Duration: (4:31)
User: n/a - Added: 8/28/14

View the video and complete the following activities:

List some words or phrases which help you recognize inferences.

List some techniques that can help you make valid inferences.

Explain the analogy, “Inferencing is like reading between the lines.”

Answer 1

1. Inferences are ideas that are not stated directly. They are conclusions we draw based on things we see, hear, and read. Inferences in literature can be identified by the use of certain words. These phrases are used to compare an entity/feeling, directly or indirectly.Words such as like, as, as if, etc are examples of Simile, wherein a direct inference is made. Another type of inferences are made using Metaphor, wherein the phrases like,as, as if are omitted.

2. There are some techniques that are to be kept in mind, to make valid inferences like:

• Never lose sight of the available information
• As much as possible, base your inferences on facts
• Use your background information and experience, to help you making inferences
• The more you know about the subject, the better inferences you are likely to make
• Consider the alternatives
• Don't simply consider the first inference that comes to your mind

3. Inferencing is often stated as to reading between the lines. To read between the lines means to pick up ideas that are not directly stated in what you are reading. It means, discovering the ideas, that are not stated directly.