Remember, with Inferences:
"¢ Accept each piece of evidence as true.
"¢ Don't worry if there's no conclusion in the passage.
"¢ Pre-phrase your own answer BEFORE looking at the answer choices.
Keep in mind that an "inference" on the GMAT is not like an "inference" in real life. You have to PROVE something beyond reasonable doubt on the GMAT, so don't allow your own outside "ideas" to lead you to an answer choice that "seems reasonable" but is not supported by the info in the passage. If anything in the premise contradicts an answer choice, it cannot be a logical inference. And beware of "extreme" language!
Let's check out a practice question:
Of the archaeologists working in major digs in Africa and Asia Minor, approximately 12% are women, according to statistics published in an anthropological periodical recently. But there were less than half that number of women working archaeological digs twenty years ago, even though the number of total archaeologists working in Africa and Asia Minor has doubled in that time. With more women joining the archaeological professions than ever before, and an increasing number of aging archaeologists retiring, it's likely the total number of archaeologists working in Africa and Asia Minor will remain constant over the next five years.
Which of the following can be properly inferred given the above statements?
(A) Baby boomers are retiring at the exact same rate as female archaeologists are entering their field of study.
(B) There is a growing proportion of women studying archaeology in higher education.
(C) A higher proportion of women work in archaeology today than did twenty years ago.
(D) There are no female aging archaeologists expected to retire in the next five years.
(E) In four years, there will be a higher percentage of female archaeologists working in major digs in Africa and Asia Minor.
(A) and (B) may be tempting, but the passage only mentions women "joining the archaeological professions." It could be true that women joining the profession are not necessarily graduating from archaeological programs at an increasing rate. They could be moving laterally towards archaeology. (C) is also incorrect: if the percent doubled and the total doubled, then the proportion of women stayed the same. If you chose (D), be wary of words like "no" in CR - extreme answer choices are often incorrect! (E) must be correct. If the total number remains constant, but more women are joining than "ever before," it's reasonable to infer the demographic will shift towards a higher total percentage of women in the field.
Hope this gives you some ideas of what to look out for!
Best,
Vivian
