Inference

Inference is where the reader makes conclusions based on evidence in the text.

Something may be written and understood without specifically being explained. For example:

What is written  What is understood

He was carrying a briefcase  He is a businessman

She ran to catch the train  She was running late

Her house was messy  She is lazy, too busy to clean

He wanted a glass of water  He is thirsty

She waddled like a penguin  She walks awkwardly

What you conclude from the inference depends on your own beliefs and attitudes. Be careful when reading a text as you may wrongly interpret what the writer is trying to say. For example:

A man and his son are driving in a car. The car crashes into a tree, killing the father and seriously injuring his son. At the hospital, the boy needs to have surgery. Upon looking at the boy, the doctor says (telling the truth), "I cannot operate on him. He is my son."

In the above example you may think ‘how can the doctor not operate on the boy as his father was killed in the crash? If you think carefully you realise that the doctor is his mother but due to sexual prejudice we automatically assume the doctor is a man.

The CV

 

Look at the two following descriptions of a person’s job. Which one impresses you the most?

 

I am responsible for all the legal documentation and invoices for the company and ensure that all the paperwork is correct before signing it off.

 

I am a pen pusher who sits juggling mounds of paperwork all day.

 

Both of these descriptions are of the same job but person one implies that their job is important and that they do well. The second person implies that they are bored at work and find it hard to keep up with all the paperwork.

Therefore we can infer that person 2 hates their job and finds it boring and person 1 likes the responsibility of their job.