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Inference: reading between the lines
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Writers do not tell you everything. Good readers spot clues and work out what is really going on. This is called inference, and it is one of the most important reading skills you will use all the way to GCSE.
What is inference?
Retrieval is finding information that is stated: 'Maya is on a bus.'
Inference is working out what is suggested: 'Maya is nervous about her new school.'
You make an inference from clues in the text, then you back it up with evidence.
Inference is working out what is suggested: 'Maya is nervous about her new school.'
You make an inference from clues in the text, then you back it up with evidence.
Practice extract
Read this original extract and look for clues about how Maya feels.
Point, Evidence, Explain
A clear way to write about an inference:
Point: Maya is nervous.
Evidence: she holds her bag straps 'so tightly that her knuckles turned white'.
Explain: gripping hard shows tension, so the reader can tell she is anxious even though the writer never uses the word 'nervous'.
Point: Maya is nervous.
Evidence: she holds her bag straps 'so tightly that her knuckles turned white'.
Explain: gripping hard shows tension, so the reader can tell she is anxious even though the writer never uses the word 'nervous'.
What can you infer from 'Twice she took a breath to speak to the girl beside her, and twice she let it out again without a word'?
- Clue: she wants to speak but does not.
- Doing it twice shows she keeps trying and failing.
- So she is shy and wants to make a friend, but cannot find the courage.
Answer: Maya wants to make friends but feels too shy or nervous to start a conversation.
Inference means working out what a writer suggests but does not say. Find a clue, quote it as evidence, and explain what it reveals.
The interactive lesson includes the diagrams for this topic.
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