Infer Without Jumping to Conclusions

Use story clues to distinguish a reasonable inference from a guess.

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An inference combines details from the text with careful reasoning. Choose an explanation supported by more than one clue, and do not claim to know an unstated fact.

Worked example

A character who checks the clock and hurries toward a bus stop may be worried about being late. Those clues do not prove the bus has already left.

A stylized green leaf contains three brown spots. A label identifies the visible count, while a separate question asks what caused the spots. — Three brown spots are an observation. Their cause needs more evidence than this picture provides.

Would you believe it?

A palindrome reads the same backward and forward. Try level, radar, and noon.

At the Library Door

Lena arrives at the library with mud on her boots and a blue bag of books. She stops at the doorway, looking from her boots to the freshly cleaned floor. The librarian brings a mat and smiles. Lena wipes each boot carefully, then walks inside and places her books on the return desk.

Question 1 Why does Lena most likely avoid stepping inside at first? She cannot see the door She dislikes every library She does not want to track mud onto the floor

Question 2 Which detail most strongly supports that inference? She carries a blue bag She looks from her boots to the clean floor The book has a title

Question 3 What does the librarian's action suggest? The librarian wants to help her come in The librarian has closed the library forever The librarian knows every place Lena visited

Question 4 Which statement is directly observed rather than inferred? Lena will always be careful Lena is the librarian's favorite visitor Lena wipes each boot on the mat

Question 5 Which claim goes beyond the evidence? The boots are muddy Lena has never visited a library before The librarian brings a mat

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