"Inference" questions - MUST be true?

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srfn: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 20; Joined: Mon Feb 24, 2014 7:22 am

by srfn » Mon Jul 28, 2014 6:58 am

I remember from my Knewton course the instructors saying that the answer to an inference question on in the CR section (or reading comp. for that matter) will always be something that MUST be true. Is that the case? I'm now using the Economist course, and there was a practice question that went something along the lines of "Billy has been late to work this month 4 times, doesn't get along well with his co-workers, and recently made an error costing the company $10,000. What can be inferred?"

The correct answer ended up being "It's unlikely that Billy will be promoted." Yes, that certainly makes sense, and one would definitely think that per that set of facts it is indeed unlikely that Billy will be promoted - BUT, it is definitely not for SURE.

My question is - whenever you need to infer something on the GMAT, must it be 100% fact based on the text?

Thank you.

Edit: It appears I've posted this in the wrong place. My apologies.

Source: Beat The GMAT — Critical Reasoning | Mon Jul 28, 2014 6:58 am

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by [email protected] » Mon Jul 28, 2014 1:32 pm

Hi srfn,

Inference questions provide you with a certain amount of information, then ask you to select an answer that logically "comes next." Inference questions can vary in difficulty level (some are really easy while others can be layered and complex). An inference can be based on one word, a sentence or a combination of sentences.

You're referencing a question from memory; if you post the full prompt (along with it's answers), then I'll be happy to walk you through it. From what you've described, this inference question is a bit "sloppy", in that it just tells you 3 things that Billy did. It does not give you a way to measure an employee's likelihood of getting a promotion. However, the answer itself isn't necessarily terrible...IF the other 4 answers have nothing to do with the prompt.

GMAT questions are carefully worded and tested/validated so that there is 1 correct answer and 4 incorrect ones. As such, you can expect that the inference should be based directly on the text.

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Rich

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David@GMATPrepNow: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 147; Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2014 3:52 pmFollowed by: 21 members; Thanked: 53 times

by David@GMATPrepNow » Tue Jul 29, 2014 7:44 am

Hi sfrn,

Rich does a good job answering your question. At the heart of it is that GMAT questions are reliable. What I mean is that they really are well-crafted and carefully reviewed to ensure that there is 1 correct answer, and 4 incorrect ones. This is important because it gives you confidence that there is 1 right answer to be found (or, conversely, 4 incorrect answers to be eliminated). My advice when you come up against a question that seems like it has no right answer is as follows:

1. Take a deep breath (this actually helps, more than most people would believe possible).
2. Remind yourself that there is 1 right answer.
3. Try the question again, re-reading carefully to see if you missed any critical information.

If you still can't see the 1 right answer, flag the question and come back to it. With a little fresh perspective, you will be able to get it.

Good luck!

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by GMATGuruNY » Tue Jul 29, 2014 8:51 am

srfn wrote:I remember from my Knewton course the instructors saying that the answer to an inference question on in the CR section (or reading comp. for that matter) will always be something that MUST be true. Is that the case? I'm now using the Economist course, and there was a practice question that went something along the lines of "Billy has been late to work this month 4 times, doesn't get along well with his co-workers, and recently made an error costing the company $10,000. What can be inferred?"

The correct answer ended up being "It's unlikely that Billy will be promoted." Yes, that certainly makes sense, and one would definitely think that per that set of facts it is indeed unlikely that Billy will be promoted - BUT, it is definitely not for SURE.

My question is - whenever you need to infer something on the GMAT, must it be 100% fact based on the text?

Thank you.

Edit: It appears I've posted this in the wrong place. My apologies.

As you have noted, the correct inference is WHAT MUST BE TRUE, given the information in the passage.
One way to determine whether an answer choice must be true is to apply the NEGATION TEST.
When the correct answer choice is negated, the passage will be contradicted.
Answer choice X: Billy is not likely to be promoted.
Negation of X: Billy IS likely to be promoted.
If the negation of X contradicts the given information about Billy, then answer choice X is the correct inference -- WHAT MUST BE TRUE, given the information in the passage.

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