Low accuracy in INference based questions

[singalong]

I've been pretty much winging it when it comes tom Inference based questions in RC.My accuracy is pretty good in specific detail, primary purpose questions compared to Inference.Any idea how I can improve it?I cannot help but go with my own intuition.Any/All tips are welcome.

[Geva@EconomistGMAT]

I've been pretty much winging it when it comes tom Inference based questions in RC.My accuracy is pretty good in specific detail, primary purpose questions compared to Inference.Any idea how I can improve it?I cannot help but go with my own intuition.Any/All tips are welcome.

I guess the first step is to try to figure out where you go wrong and why. When you look at the question explanation (assuming that you are working on materials that provide explanation), what do you see? why is the answer choice you choose wrong? Why is the right answer choice right? Analyze this and see if some pattern comes up. Usually the trap answer choices in inference questions take too big a step away from the text. For example, if someone walks into the room soaking wet, it would be too far fetched to infer that it is raining outside based only on the state of his clothes - it is possible that he just washed his car, fell into the pool, etc. GMAT inferences are pretty close to the text: if someone is wet, we can infer that he came in contact with some liquid of some sort, fairly recently.

check out https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/06/ ... n-of-terms

[singalong]

So you mean to say GMAT doesn't make it too obvious but it comes pretty close to the actual answer right?Coz thats what I've been hearing.

For most of the Inference of the questions, I seem to come down to a 2/3 split.And then get it wrong.

[singalong]

One mistake that I do is word matching!

[Geva@EconomistGMAT]

The main thing here, as with all CR questions, is to try and come up with a prediction of the right answer BEFORE you go to the answer choices. This is much harder to do with inference questions (not always will the premises lead to a single, clearly defined, unique conclusion), but you should at least try. Another thing you can do specifically in inference questions is to try and predict what the WRONG answers will be - try to think like a test writer and come up with a possible distractor - inferences that go beyond the scope of the premises given. It's very likely that these will appear in the answer choices, and the fact that you have already predicted their appearance makes it alot easier to eliminate and not fall for the trap.