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Chapter 11: Inferences
Effective reading requires understanding the vocabulary and sentences you read and determining the essay’s organization (Thesis Statement & Support), so you can see how the sentences are put together to make a whole. We’ve covered the foundations of effective reading in previous chapters. The next step is to move beyond what is actually written in the essay to understand what the author believes to be true but does not directly express. You discover the writer’s unstated assumptions through Inference. Think of an inference as an educated guess* about the writer’s assumptions (what he believes or assumes you’ll understand, but does not actually state). Inference is an important part of reading.
*The Encarta Encyclopedia defines an educated guess as an “informed guess:a guess that is based on a degree of experience, knowledge, or information.”Inferences are not limited to reading. We actually make lots of inferences every day. Whenever we do not have complete information about people, situations, or events, we make inferences to fill in the gaps. People who tend to be correct in their inferences are said to be perceptive, while people who tend to be mistaken in their inferences are said to be clueless. So it’s helpful to be good at inferences in reading and in life.
The following are real life examples about which we could and do make inferences. See which Inferences you would make:
· A student comes into class wearing a baseball cap. You could infer any of the following:
1. Wearing a baseball cap is a fashion statement. It’s how he wants to be seen by others.
2. It’s sunny outside. He’s wearing the baseball cap to keep the sun out of his eyes as he walked to class.
3. It’s a Colorado Rockies baseball cap, so he’s a Colorado Rockies fan.
What inference would you make?
· Your professor seems to frown when you ask a question. You could infer:
1. He’s having a hard day and is just trying to make it through.
2. He’s tired of your questions because he thinks they are not very good.
3. He’s behind in what he needs to cover and wants to limit the questions and move on.
4. He’s not really frowning; you’re insecure about this class, and now you’re overreacting.
What inference would you make?
· While taking an exam, you notice another student looking toward your paper. You infer:
1. He’s not cheating. He’s tired and stretching his neck and can’t help but look in different directions.
2. He’s intending to cheat because he hasn’t done his homework and doesn’t know the answers.
3. He’s intending to cheat, but he looks like someone who studies hard and wouldn’t cheat unless he has no other way of passing the class.
4. He has a foreign sounding name, and people like that are more likely to cheat.
What inference would you make?
To know which inference is correct, you need evidence, but you do not usually have complete knowledge of people, situations, or events. The trick is to effectively use the knowledge you do have to make an educated guess. In the previous examples, you had to use your thoughts and experience to guide your conclusion. You also needed to have enough evidence, or else you might find yourself jumping to incorrect conclusions.
In reading, inferences should be based on the support and vocabulary, with the understanding that you need to test your assumptions against the evidence. That’s what we mean by being perceptive.
One 19th century fictional detective who made a living and became famous by making correct inferences was Sherlock Holmes in England who cracked difficult cases in the crime stories of Arthur Conan Doyle. Here’s an example of Sherlock Holmes’ ability to make inferences:
A lady dressed in black and heavily veiled, who had been sitting in the window, rose as we entered….Her features and figure were those of a woman of thirty, but her hair was shot with premature grey, and her expression was weary and haggard. Sherlock Holmes ran her over with one of his quick, all-comprehensive glances.“You must not fear,” said he soothingly, bending forward and patting her forearm. “We shall soon set matters right, I have no doubt. You have come in by train this morning, I see.”
“You know me, then?”
“No, but I observe the second half of a return ticket in the palm of your left glove. You must have started early, and yet you had a good drive in dog-cart [a small two-wheeled horse drawn carriage], along heavy roads, before you reached the station.”
The lady gave a violent start and stared in bewilderment at my companion.
“There is no mystery, my dear madam,” said he, smiling. “The left arm of your jacket is spattered with mud in no less than seven places. The marks are perfectly fresh. There is no vehicle save a dog-cart which throws up mud in that way, and then only when you sit on the left-hand side of the driver.”
“Whatever your reasons may be, you are perfectly correct,” said she.
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle1892
http://www.enotes.com/best-sherlock-holmes-text/the-advantage-of-the-speckled-band
A drawing of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson by Sidney Paget.
Photograph: Time Life Pictures/Getty Images
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/jun/30/thomas-carnacki-supernatural-detective
Practice 1. Form an inference from the following scenarios:
1. You’re picking up some cereal and milk at a 7-11. Three people enter after you. One positions herself at the door and keeps an eye towards the outside. The second wears a heavy coat and disappears into the aisles. The third approaches the clerk and starts a loud argument with him.Your Inference:
2. An 18 year old student named Liz Watson has shopped at a clothing store a couple times in the last year and has been satisfied with the help she’s received and her purchases. At college, Liz meets a girl from Costa Rica, named Andreina Acosta, and they become friends. One day, Liz and Andreina go to the clothing store to buy a dress. To Liz’s surprise, the clerk is not friendly. She follows them around the store with her eyes, but does not offer any help. When they bring up a dress to buy, the clerk is almost rude. Unsmiling, she drops the change on the counter instead of handing it to either Liz or Andreina, and stuffs the dress into a bag without folding it.
Your Inference:
3. You’re student at Front Range Community College, driving in a rural part of Colorado. As you descend a hill on the way into a town, you see the speed limit is 45. Around a turn, you notice a policeman following you. He turns on his siren and pulls you over. After waiting for 10 minutes while he checks your license on his computer, he gives you a ticket for going 45 in a 25 mph zone. You tell him coming down the hill the speed limit sign read 45 mph. He says you’re mistaken that the sign at the turn reads 25. He writes a $100 ticket, but says if you do not contest the fine, you can send in $40 instead.
Your Inference:
4. You pass a corner on the way home from work each evening. One day you see a man standing at the corner. Another man approaches. He gives the man something and receives something in return. From that day on, you often find the same man at the corner and occasionally people come up to him to exchange what looks like money for something in return.
Your Inference:
5. Your first day on the job at a large department store the supervisor takes you around to meet the other salespeople and see the different departments. As he introduces you to the salespeople in sporting goods, a woman comes up the aisle from the escalator. She is professionally dressed and walks in a confident, determined fashion. Your supervisor and the sales people immediately turn their attention away from you and toward her. You notice that when she talks, they listen, and when she laughs, they laugh in response. In a minute or two, she leaves sporting goods, without buying anything, and only then do they return their attention to you.
Your Inference:
Just as we make inferences in our day-to-day lives, we also must make inferences about what we read. Inferences are based on the writer’s unstated assumptions, embedded in his writing. The writer might assume that you, the reader, know her assumptions, so she doesn’t need to actually state them in her essay. She also might base her assumptions on prejudgments (prejudices) she has about a person or situation, ideas she assumes the reader will accept without question. In either case, inferences give you the best chance of understanding these unstated assumptions. It’s what is sometimes called, “reading between the lines.” Accurate inferences are critical to becoming an effective reader in college.
Read the following examples of unstated assumptions embedded in essays and the inferences that can be made based on those assumptions:
· If an essay explains the terrible consequences of smoking, we can infer that smoking is a bad idea or that the author does not want us to smoke.
· If a writer makes the point that he does not want any part of health care reform, we can infer that he fears increasing government control of our lives, or that since he has health care, he is not concerned with the millions of Americans who do not.
· If a writer gives an example of how he turns on multiple burglar alarms and locks his doors whether he is in or out of his house, we can infer that he fears a robbery, or we that he lives in a high crime neighborhood, or that he is overreacting and a bit paranoid.
See if you can identify the unstated assumptions in the following paragraphs.
Practice 2. Read the following paragraphs and answer the questions that follow.
As you read, notice your thoughts, especially the three kinds of thoughts covered in Chapter1:
1. Random Thoughts that just pop into your mind. “I wish I had some coffee like the girl has at the table across the aisle. It sure looks good!” “I wonder if it’s going to rain because I need to walk to the bus after class.” “I’ve got to remember to call my mother this afternoon to see if I can borrow the car,” and on and on.
2. Judgments about people, events in your life, or the essay. “This essay [or just one idea in the essay] is good or bad, interesting or boring, worthwhile, or worthless,” and so on.
3. Negative self-thoughts. “I’m not understanding any of this stuff because I’ve never been any good at reading and never will be! It’s better to give up now and cut my losses.”
Choose one instance as you read the passage when you had one of above types of thoughts and record it here:Practice letting go of the thought and bringing your attention back to the reading.
Use the following scale to rate how difficult it was for you to let go of the thought and return your attention to the reading._____ Easy _____ Somewhat Easy
_____ Somewhat Hard _____ Hard
Paragraph 1:
Rocks and animals are different in a number of ways.An animal can move under its own power; a rock cannot. An animal responds to stimulation; a rock does not. An animal takes in nutrients and breathes; a rock does not. An animal excretes wastes; a rock does not. An animal grows and develops; this is not true of a rock. An animal can reproduce—that is, have offspring—whereas a rock can't. And finally, an animal, but not a rock, can and will die.
Part 1. Underline the Topic Sentence of the paragraph.
Part 2. What can you infer about the author’s beliefs about rocks and animals from the paragraph?
a. The author favors rocks over animals.
b. The author favors animals over rocks.
c. The author believes you can use animals and rocks as examples to make more general statements about living and nonliving things.
d. The author use rocks and animals as metaphors.
Paragraph 2:
In one study, the researchers found that 80 percent of class time involved questioning by the teacher. Primary and elementary school teachers, for instance, asked three to six or even seven questions per minute. According to another estimate, these teachers asked an average of 350 questions a day. In fact, teachers were so engaged in asking questions that they often did not even wait for students to reply. There might be only one second between the end of one question and the start of the next, and this was true even though students' answers are known to improve when more time is allowed. By contrast, the typical student would ask, on average, one question per month. The research found that that asking questions is the predominant method that teachers use in the classroom.
Part 1. Underline the Topic Sentence of the paragraph.
Part 2. What can you infer about the author’s evaluation of the question method in the classroom?
a. The author had a bad experience with the question method when she was in school.
b. The author believes that the question method is just one of many methods used in the classroom.
c. The author is positive about the question method as its used in the classroom.
d. The author is negative about the question method as its used in the classroom.
Paragraph 3:
Jonathan Haidt of the University of Virginia argues that this moral sense is like our sense of taste. We have natural receptors that help us pick up sweetness and saltiness. In the same way, we have natural receptors that help us recognize fairness and cruelty. Just as a few universal tastes can grow into many different cuisines, a few moral senses can grow into many different moral cultures.Part 1. What do the following terms or phrases in the paragraph mean: