The Complete Guide to Inferential Questions
What is an Inferential Question?
STEP 1: Identify key words or ideas
Step 2: Understand the context and gather relevant clues
Step 3: Craft your answer: Rephrase the question and use clues from Step 2
For a more detailed explanation on how to use these steps, watch this video:
Now let’s take a more in-depth look at the different types of inference questions.
Look at this example below. Can you identify the clues in the text?
‘There was a box with maps in it on the back seat, and next to it on a folded newspaper was a pair of shoes, placed neatly side by side, with one striped sock tucked into the top of each.'
(2019 O Level Section B)
What does this tell us about the sort of person Harriet was? [1]
Note: The passage doesn’t specifically tell us what kind of person Harriet was but it gives us clues so we can infer the answer.
Check your answer below
From all this, we can deduce that Harriet was attentive and took the time to ensure that everything was neat and tidy and, therefore, we can conclude that she was a neat person.
Answer: It tells us that Harriet was a neat person.
Did you manage to identify the same clues and arrive at the same answer?
For a more detailed explanation on how to answer a Direct Inferential Question, watch this video:
Look at this example below. Can you identify the clues in the text?
The hungry wolves were now more open in their pursuit, trotting sedately behind Henry, like walking skeletons, with their red tongues hanging out. They were, by this time of the year, mere skinbags, close to starvation. So lean were they, their muscles like strings, that Henry marvelled how they still kept on their feet and did not collapse in the snow. The gloom and cold increased the grimness of his journey, and he knew that he would not be safe until he reached Fort McCurry. (2017 O Level Section B)
At the beginning of this text there is a description of the lean appearance of the wolves which were following Henry. Explain how the language used in paragraph 1 emphasises their leanness. Support your ideas with three details from paragraph 1. [3]
Note: To answer this question, we need to correctly identify the parts of the text that describe the wolves’ “leanness”, and use those descriptions to support our answer.
Check your answer below
Answer: The language used shows how the wolves looked emaciated, covered by a thin layer of skin with very little flesh and having thin, wiry muscles. This is supported by the details ‘walking skeletons’, ‘mere skin bags’ and ‘muscles like strings’.
Did you manage to identify the same clues and arrive at the same answer?
Look at this example below. Can you identify the clues in the text?
His thoughts drifted to the times when he used to do this with his father. `Take her home, Joe,' Pappa Mikkel would say, and they would sail between the rocky islands along the coast, with Joe at the wheel. Sometimes the wind would roar and buffet, as if charging at them. 'Trim your sails, Joe,' Pappa Mikkel would yell from below, and sometimes he did, but often reckless, he would disobey, and he'd feel the little vessel rising up in the water like a speedboat, skimming over the waves.
(2018 O Level Section B)
In paragraph 3, we are told that the wind sometimes 'would roar and buffet, as if charging at' Joe and his father. What is the writer comparing the wind with? [1]
To answer this question, we need to understand what the main keywords mean and include them in our response.
Check your answer below
Answer: He is comparing it to a wild animal like a tiger or lion.
If your answer included:
living thing or animal → too general as not all living things or animals
predator → not all predators roar
elephant or another animal which can charge at something → it needs to be an animal that roars
Did you manage to identify the same clues and arrive at the same answer?
For a more detailed explanation on how to answer this type of Vocab Inferential Question, watch this video:
Look at this example below. Can you identify the clues in the text?
That second night he set to work to carry out a new plan that had come to him. He still had enough wood to extend the fire into a large circle, which he then crouched inside, his sleeping suit under him to protect him from the melting snow. When he had disappeared into his shelter of flame, the whole pack came curiously to the rim of the fire to see what had become of him. Then they settled down to enjoy the unaccustomed warmth.
(2017 O Level Section B)
What did he hope would happen because he had a ‘shelter of flame’? [1]
To answer this question, we need to first understand the meaning of the phrase and the context of the text, and then deduce what the character’s intention was.
Check your answer below
Answer: He was hoping that the wolves, not being able to see him clearly due to the flames blocking their view as well as keeping them from crossing over would give up and leave.
Did you manage to identify the same clues and arrive at the same answer?
For a more detailed explanation on how to use these steps, watch this video:
Want More Help With Compre?
If you’d like more practice, do check out my free comprehension cheat sheet here
Final Thoughts on Answering Inferential Questions
Inferential questions require deep reading and careful analysis of texts, and it takes time to develop such skills.
The key things to remember are:
Find clues in the passage that relate to the question
Rephrase the question and combine that with the clues and context given in the passage to craft your answer
Remember to focus on what you know about the answer rather than focusing too much on what you don’t know about it
Lastly, my suggestion is that you try to read a wide range of texts (even headlines or short summaries) and constantly ask yourself questions about what you read. For more about this, please read my next blog on reading strategies.
Keep practicing these techniques mentioned in this article and you will find that answering inference questions gets easier over time.
