Chapter

MAKING INFERENCES AND

DRAWING CONCLUSIONS
 LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

Make inferences
Draw conclusions

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 INTRODUCTION

 Good readers make inferences and draw

conclusions as they read.

 These are important skills for understanding a

reading text, as authors often imply themes and
ideas without stating them directly.

 An inference is a logical conclusion that is made

based on observation or assumed facts.
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 INTRODUCTION (cont.)

 A conclusion is drawn as the next step after

giving thoughtful consideration to what has
been read.

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 MAKING INFERENCES

 When readers make an inference, they try to

understand what the text is all about by using clues
from the text and also from their prior knowledge,
personal beliefs, experiences and assumptions.

 An inference is a mental process by which we reach

a conclusion based on specific evidence. It is often
described as ‘reading between the lines’, i.e. looking
for or discovering a meaning that is implied rather
than explicitly stated (Oxford Dictionary, 2016).

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 MAKING INFERENCES (cont.)

 Readers find clues in the form of facts or other

supporting details to infer from in the reading
text.

 Thus, an inference must be a logically derived

statement from the available information.

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 MAKING INFERENCES (cont.)

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 MAKING INFERENCES (cont.)

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 MAKING INFERENCES (cont.)

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 MAKING INFERENCES (cont.)

 What can you infer from the paragraph?

– At present, guns are readily available to anyone
who wants to buy them.

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 DRAWING CONCLUSIONS

 A conclusion is reached by readers, after

thorough thought has been given to the facts
and supporting details that are presented by the
author.

 When drawing conclusions, readers go beyond

the literal meaning of the text to derive
interpretative meanings, but at the same time
rely on the facts put forward by the author.
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 DRAWING CONCLUSIONS (cont.)

 Readers should also be aware that inferences

and conclusions may not be present in each
paragraph.

 It is then left to the discretion of the readers,

which is reflected in their ability to think
critically.

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 DRAWING CONCLUSIONS (cont.)

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 DRAWING CONCLUSIONS (cont.)

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 DRAWING CONCLUSIONS (cont.)

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 DRAWING CONCLUSIONS (cont.)

 What conclusion can the reader draw after

reading the paragraph?
– It will not be possible for everyone to own a gun
in the United States if stricter laws are put into
place.

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 CONCLUSION

 Making inferences and drawing conclusions are very

similar skills.

 Each skill requires the readers to fill in the gaps (of

information) omitted by the author.

 An author may not include the information for several

reasons: assuming that the readers are already aware
of it, the omitted information may not seem important
or the author may like the readers to contemplate it.

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 CONCLUSION (cont.)

 Thus, readers have to observe all the facts,

arguments and information given by the author
and incorporate them with their prior knowledge,
personal beliefs, experiences and assumptions
when making inferences and drawing
conclusions.

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