How to make inferences and draw conclusions from a passage
TEAS 7 outline: Infer and draw conclusions about a text's purpose and meaning
Also covers HESI A2 Reading (Inferences)
- An inference is a conclusion the passage supports but does not state.
- Combine the clue sentences with everyday common sense.
- Pick the answer you can point to in the text.
- The best inference is usually modest, not dramatic.
- Reject choices with outside knowledge, extreme words, or leaps past the evidence.
Key facts
- A stated fact appears in the words of the passage; an inference is a conclusion the words support without saying it directly.
- An inference combines clues in the text with everyday background knowledge.
- Method: find the clue sentences, ask what they add up to, point to the proof for each choice, and pick the best-supported choice.
Show all 6 key factsShow fewer
- The best inference is usually a modest claim the text strongly supports, not a dramatic one.
- Common purposes are to inform or explain, to persuade, to instruct, and to entertain; one text can have more than one purpose.
- Purpose clues: neutral facts suggest informing, should and must suggest persuading, numbered commands suggest instructing, and stories or humor suggest entertaining.
Quick check1 question · 2 more at the end
The Garden on Level 6
Two years ago, the top level of Westbrook Medical Center's parking garage was bare concrete. Today it holds twenty raised beds of tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and flowers. The garden was the idea of Rosa Delgado, a pharmacy technician who started with four beds and a borrowed hose. This year, more than seventy employees, from billing clerks to surgeons, signed up to help.
Volunteers work in pairs during their breaks or before and after their shifts. Each pair waters and weeds its own bed, and anyone may pick from the shared herb boxes near the stairwell. The harvest goes to the staff cafeteria and to a free produce table in the main lobby every Friday.
Members say the garden has given them more than vegetables. Respiratory therapist Kwame Asante says he used to spend his breaks scrolling on his phone. "Now I know half the people in the lab by name," he said. The cafeteria has noticed a change, too. Since the garden began, it has run out of fresh herbs far less often, and the chef now plans a weekly special around whatever is ripe.
The garden committee has asked the medical center to install a second water spigot and a shade awning over the far beds. The request is under review.
Interested? Sign-up sheets for next season are posted outside the Employee Health office.
Based on the passage, why has the cafeteria most likely run out of fresh herbs less often since the garden began?
Correct answer: D.
An inference combines clues the passage gives you. The passage says the harvest goes to the staff cafeteria and that the garden grows herbs; it then says the cafeteria runs out of fresh herbs less often since the garden began. Putting those clues together supports the conclusion that the garden is supplying the cafeteria, while the other choices depend on facts the passage never gives or contradicts.
A The passage never mentions the cafeteria's supplier, so this relies on information that is not in the text.
B Nothing in the passage suggests fewer people eat in the cafeteria; this is an unsupported guess.
C This contradicts the passage, which says the chef now plans a weekly special around whatever is ripe.
D Correct: the garden grows herbs, its harvest goes to the cafeteria, and the shortages eased after the garden began.
Full lesson
Each part starts with its main idea. Open a part when you want the details.
The short answer: An inference is a conclusion that a passage supports but does not state directly. To make one, find the clue sentences, combine them with everyday common sense, and choose the answer you can point to in the text. Reject choices that rely on outside knowledge, use extreme words, or go further than the evidence allows.
1 What is an inference, and how is it different from a stated fact?An inference is a conclusion the text supports but never states outright. 1 min
An inference is a conclusion the text supports but never states outright. A stated fact is right there in the words. An inference comes from putting those words together with everyday knowledge.
Everyday example: the staff parking lot is full at 6:45 a.m., and the break-room coffee pot is already empty. Nobody told you, but you can infer that many coworkers came in early. Drawing a conclusion is the same move applied to a whole passage: what do all the clues add up to?
2 How do you make an inference in four steps?A reliable inference comes from text clues, not from what sounds true in real life. 1 min
A reliable inference comes from text clues, not from what sounds true in real life. Use these four steps.
- Find the clue sentences. Go to the lines the question points to, and read one sentence before and after.
- Ask what the clues add up to. Combine them with plain common sense, such as "a full lot means many people are here."
- Point to the proof. For each choice, find the exact words that support it. No words, no answer.
- Pick the best-supported choice. It is usually a modest claim the text clearly backs, not a dramatic one.
3 What does a worked example look like?The four steps quickly sort true-sounding choices into supported and unsupported ones. 1 min
The four steps quickly sort true-sounding choices into supported and unsupported ones. Read this short example.
Last year, the Ridgeway parks department put water-bottle refill stations in 40 parks. Since then, crews have collected about 30 percent fewer plastic bottles from park trash cans. This year, the department plans to add stations to every recreation center.
Question: Which inference is best supported?
| Answer choice | Verdict |
|---|---|
| The department believes the stations helped cut bottle waste. | Supported; it is expanding the program after fewer bottles showed up |
| Ridgeway no longer has a plastic waste problem. | Goes too far; one kind of trash in one place dropped |
| Refill stations make residents healthier. | Outside knowledge; health is never mentioned |
| All park visitors now carry reusable bottles. | Extreme word; the drop was about 30 percent, not total |
The clue chain is short: fewer bottles plus a decision to expand means the department sees the stations as working.
4 How do you infer an author's purpose?You infer purpose by asking what the author wants readers to know, believe, or do. 1 min
You infer purpose by asking what the author wants readers to know, believe, or do. Common purposes are to inform or explain, to persuade, to instruct, and to entertain.
| Clue in the text | Likely purpose |
|---|---|
| Facts, definitions, numbers, neutral tone | Inform or explain |
| Should, must, opinion words, a call to action | Persuade |
| Numbered steps and commands (press, wait, sign) | Instruct |
| A story, humor, vivid scenes | Entertain |
A text can have more than one purpose, so check the ending: a closing invitation or call to action often shows the main goal. For "Why does the author include this detail?", ask what job the sentence does. Is it an example, a contrast, evidence, or the setup of a problem?
5 Which wrong answers look like inferences?Wrong inference choices usually sound reasonable but need facts the passage never gives. 1 min
Wrong inference choices usually sound reasonable but need facts the passage never gives. Cross out any choice that fits one of these patterns.
| Trap | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Outside knowledge | True in real life, missing from the text |
| Goes too far | Turns fewer into none, or one place into everywhere |
| Extreme words | always, never, all, proves |
| Contradicts a detail | Clashes with a line you skimmed past |
| Reverses cause and effect | Swaps which event led to which |
Common mistakes
The traps students fall into most. Read these before you practice.
Watch out: Choose what the passage supports, not what is true in real life; outside knowledge is not evidence.
Watch out: Extreme words such as all, never, and proves usually push a choice beyond the evidence, not toward the answer.
Watch out: A small change in the text is not a total change; fewer is not none.
Watch out: Keep cause and effect in the author's direction, not reversed.
Watch out: Judge purpose from the whole passage, especially its ending, not from one sentence in the middle.
How to remember it
Use the phrase "point to the proof" for every inference question. If you cannot put your finger on the words that support a choice, cross it out, even if it is true in real life.
Self-check:
- Read a short news story and write one thing it suggests but never says.
- Underline the two clues that support your inference.
- Add an extreme word (all, never) to your inference and notice how it stops being supported.