Skill: Making Inferences--How to "Read between the Lines"
 "Reading" between the lines |
Inference (n.) The process of deriving logical conclusions from known premises. The act of reasoning from observation or evidence.
What is observation? Observation is what someone is actually seeing, hearing, or sensing. If you walk outside on a cloudy fall day and feel the north wind cutting through your clothing, you would observe that it is cold outside.
What is inference? Inference is a reasoned conclusion based upon observation or other evidence. If you stand inside your nice warm house on the same fall day and see the branches bending southward with the wind and the fallen leaves blowing about your yard, you might infer that it is cold outside. You are basing this conclusion on the things you observe (the wind, the time of year, the overcast sky.)
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Here's a little online quiz to help you with the difference between direct observation and inferences...
You are walking down a sidewalk when an adolescent boy sprints past you wearing jeans, loafers, and dangling a beaded purse from his arm. Which of these is an inference? |
Assignment: Discussion Board: “Observation and Inference”
Go to the Discussion Board "Observation and Inference", there will be an example image with sample responses. Review the image and sample responses closely, then select and post an appropriate image• Write two paragraphs about the picture.
| The first paragraph should consist only of observations regarding the picture. The second paragraph should focus on inferences that you can make based upon the observations in the first paragraph. |
NEXT: BEGINNING THE BEAN TREES by BARBARA KINGSOLVER
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