inference questions

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daygoballa: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 10; Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 10:08 am; Location: San Diego, CA

by daygoballa » Sat Apr 25, 2009 3:36 pm

is inference questions = assumption questions?

meaning, does the correct answer contain information directly from the article?

Thanks

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Reading Comprehension | Sat Apr 25, 2009 3:36 pm

Jose Ferreira: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 99; Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2009 5:14 pmFollowed by: 9 members; Location: NYC; Thanked: 43 times; GMAT Score:800

by Jose Ferreira » Thu Apr 30, 2009 10:24 am

Not necessarily. There are some similarities, in that both question types ask you to read between the lines, but there are some crucial differences.

An assumption is a necessary link between a piece or pieces of evidence and a conclusion. Therefore, you are looking for the answer choice that you think the author must believe for the author to stand by her argument.

If the author says, "I am going to buy food tonight. Therefore, my family will enjoy dinner." One assumption is that the author is going to bring the food to the family. Another assumption is that the family will be willing to consume this food. Yet another assumption is that the family will take pleasure in eating the food once it is brought to them.

If the author does not believe all of these assumptions, and other assumptions you can come up with, then the argument does not hold.

Inference questions, however, ask us to interpret subtexts. There is no subtext in the argument above about family strife or a previous pattern of food hatred. But in a reading comp passage, there very well may be.

Generally speaking, assumptions are "missing," whereas inferences take information that is "hidden."

Additionally, Reading Comp passages use flawed logic far less often than do critical reasoning passages. If an author is arguing for or against something in a Reading Comp passage, chances are there is not much missing from that passage.

Jose Ferreira
Founder and CEO, Knewton, Inc.
https://www.knewton.com/gmat

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bigwilliestyle: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 6; Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2009 9:36 am

by bigwilliestyle » Sun May 03, 2009 2:59 pm

Does anyone have tips and strategies on how approach inference questions for reading comprehensions? I am noticing that these are the type of RC questions I keep getting wrong consistently.

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tashu: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 6; Joined: Thu Oct 02, 2008 1:50 am

by tashu » Tue May 05, 2009 1:44 am

What I found is , usually inference questions have some reference in passage. So first you need to find the lines in passage which gives you information about question asked. Then infer that information.

Analyze OG explanation of inference questions, it usually give line no, which you need to look to answer the question. Once you able to find correct lines, inference will be easy.

These are just my 2 cents.

Thanks,
tashu

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vinaynp: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 154; Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2009 12:55 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 5 times

by vinaynp » Fri May 15, 2009 7:54 am

bigwilliestyle wrote:Does anyone have tips and strategies on how approach inference questions for reading comprehensions? I am noticing that these are the type of RC questions I keep getting wrong consistently.

I have started to think of inference questions as CR questions. This has really helped me. You should figure out which line numbers refer to the inference question. Read 2-3 lines above and below it. Also, you should check whether the inference question topic has been discussed in another paragraph. I think you should be all set.

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