Inference Questions: Immediate Inferences Themainproblemstudentshavewithinferencequestionsisthattheytendtooverthink.TheSAT realizes this and exploits the inclination for students to over think every chance they get. Whenstudentsoverthinktheymakehighinferencesbasedonsubjectiveassumptions.Inorderto prevent the aforementioned predilection, that urges every crevice of our brain to process information anddeducebasedoneverydetailandknowledgeonemaypossess,studentsshouldrelyon immediate or direct inference. An immediate inference is an inference which can be made from only one statement or proposition. For instance, from the statement "All toads are green." we can make the immediate inference that "No toadsarenotgreen."Thereareanumberoflogicaloperationswhichcanvalidlybemadeasan immediate inference (Wikipedia). The Following questions and passages are from real SAT exams. I.AlthoughaRomanwastoremaininsupremecharge,AntonyandCleopatrasawthe RomanswhooccupiedthewesternpartoftheareaandtheGreekswholivedinthe easternprovincesandalliedkingdomsasmoreorlessequalpartners.Asanemperor Augustus felt otherwise. Immediate Inference Antony and Cleo did not see the Romans and the Greeks as unequal partners. Augustus, the Roman Emperor, felt that the Romans and the Greeks were not equal. ***NotemanystudentswilloftenjumpthegunanddeducethatAugustusfeltthatRomansare superior over the Greeks. Based on the statements above however, the immediate and direct inference wouldbethatAugustusfelttheywereunequal.Wewouldhavetorelyonthetextfollowingthe above two statements to determine whether Augustus felt that the Romans were superior. II.Thephysicsofmotionprovidesoneoftheclearestexamplesofthecounterintuitiveand unexpected nature of science. Imagine a bullet being in the center of a very large flat field. Ifonebulletisdroppedfromyourhandandanotherisshotforwardhorizontallyat exactly the same time, which will hit the ground first? They will, in fact, hit the ground at thesametime,because,ignoringanyeffectsofairresistance,thebulletsrateoffallis quiteindependentofitshorizontalmotion.Thatthebulletthatisshotforwardis traveling horizontally has no effect on how fast it falls under the action of gravity. The authors discussion of the example above implies that intuition would predict which result? a)Both bullets will hit the same ground at the same time. b)Gravity will have no effect on either bullet. c)The effects of air resistance on the bullets will be significant. d)The bullet that is dropped will hit the ground before the one that is shot forward. e)The height from which the bullets are released will determine which one hits the ground first. This question also tests a students skills to make immediate inferences. First, the paragraph details an example demonstrating Counter-intuition. The question asks us to provide an example of intuition. So theanswermustbethedirectoppositeoftheexamplegivenintheparagraph.Theexamplestates thataccordingtocounterintuitivethinkingthebulletsWILLfallattheSAMEtime.Thus,the immediate inference of intuition is that the bullets WILL NOT fall at the same time. Thus, the answer must indicate that the bullet will not fall at the same time or that one will fall faster than the other. The only answer choice that states one bullet will fall faster than the other is D. III.Underlyingallthesignalsthatlivingbeingexchangeisacontinualmusicthathas becomethefocusofarelativelynewsciencecalledbioacoustics.Theindividualparts played by the instrumentalists crickets or earthworms, for instance may not have the sound of music by themselves, but we hear these individual performances out of context. If we could listen to themall at once, fully orchestrated, in their immense ensemble, we mightbecomeawareofthecounterpoint,thebalanceoftonesandtimbresand harmonics,thesonorities.Therecordedsongsofthehumpbackwhale,filledwith tensionsandresolutions,ambiguitiesandallusionsincomplete,canbelistenedintoas part of music, like an isolated section of an orchestra. If we had better hearing and could discernthemelodiesofseabirds,therhythmictimpaniofschoolsofmollusks,oreven the distant harmonics of midges hanging over meadows in the sun, the combined sound might lift us off our feet. In the paragraph above, the author implies that the whales song could best be heard. A)In combination with the songs of human beings. B)In combination with musical sounds of other animals. C)When scientists are able to isolate its song from other sounds. D)When the whales is in a state of jubilation. E)When the whale is exchanging information with other whales. Thisquestionasksyoutoinfersomethingfromthefirstparagraph.Indoingsoonemayoverthink and off shoot the BEST answer. The Collegeboard tests us on what we can gather from the text. They wantustoknowwhatisinthetext.Theydonotwantyoutothinkandimplementyourpersonal thoughts and ideas rather they want you to interpret the text accurately. Intheparagraphaboutanimalsoundseachsentencesupportsoneidea.Theideathattheauthorof theparagraphdrivesistheideathatanimalsoundscanbestbeheardwhenweheartheseanimal sounds in context as if we are listening for a particular instrument in an orchestra. Theauthorusesanalogytocompareanimalsoundstothatofasymphonyandindoingsomakesa point that animal sounds need to be heard in combination with other animal sounds. Choice B Thisquestionisinasenseamainideaquestionindisguise.Iwillalsodiscusslaterhowmainidea questions can be immediate inference questions in disguise. More than meets the eye. IV.There are, of course, other ways to account for the songs of whales. They might be simple down to earth statements about navigation, sources of krill (planktonic food), or limits of territory.Buttheproofhasnotbeenestablished,anduntilitisshownthattheselong, convoluted, insistent melodies repeated by different singers with ornamentations of their own,arethemeansofsendingthroughseveralhundredmilesofunderseawaterssuch ordinary information as whale here, I shall believe otherwise. The author implies that if the explanation of whales songs in the first two sentences were correct then he would expect the songs to be A)Easy to decode B)Highly ornamental C)Short, simple and unremarkable in form D)Capable of being transmitted over long distances by a single whale E)Devoted solely to communicating information about food sources. Create an immediate inference of the first two, underlined sentences. There are other ways to think about the songs of whales. They are not complicated or lofty statements about where to go, food, or boundaries. A)Would not be the best answer because we can infer that something that can be decoded must becodedinthefirstplace.Thetextstatesnothingabouthowthewhalessongsarespecial codesandthatthesecodesareeasytodecipher.Ifyouchosethisansweryouareguiltyof over thinking the question. B)Choice bwould be the oppositeof whatwe want. We want something simple and downto earth. C)Is our choice because it directly deduces the statements simple and unremarkable D)And E) would be out of context. The sentences do not convey the idea that whale songs can becarriedlongdistanceorthatthesongsareusedSOLELYforcommunicatingaboutfood sources. Bottom line Inference questions are going to test you on how well you can make immediate inferences or test your knowledge of the main ideas of the paragraph. V.A failed structure shows us unquestionably what cannot be done, while a structure that standswithoutincidentoftenconcealswhateverlessonsorwarningsitmightholdfor the next generation of engineers. Immediate inference Wecanlearnwhatcannotbedonefromafailedstructure.Wecantlearnanythingfroma structure that shows us no failings. Notice even when writing sentences writers will often use direct comparisons to make their point. Learn from failure. Dont learn from success. The implication of the statement is that A)The flaws in an engineering design do not become apparent until long after the structure is built. B)It is easier to analyze the weaknesses of bridges than of other structures. C)It is easy to identify the design weakness that has caused the a structure to collapse D)Engineers are often the last to know whether a design is feasible E)Engineering schools should emphasize safety more than aesthetics ChoiceCistheonlyanswerthatmakesadirectinferenceofthetext.Wecanlearnwhyadesign collapsedortheweaknessesthatcausedthestructuretocollapseifthestructuredidcollapse.Butif the structure is still standing it is impossible or difficult to find the weakness. With immediate inferences you want to make sure that the answer is basically restating what is said in the text. VI.Hewasyoung,anditrapidlybecameobvioustomethathewaslaboringunderan illusion of his own, that he thought animals and people were still living in the Garden of Eden. Inference - This young muskrat thinks that people and animals were living in a state of perfect harmony. -AnoldoraNOTyoungmuskratmightNOTthinkthatpeopleandanimalswereNOTlivingina state of perfect harmony. In this sentence the author suggests that A)In this lake, few muskrats have the chance to reach maturity B)An older, wiser muskrat would have learned to fear people C)The muskrat was only one of several types of animals living in the lake D)At one time the lake had been home to a variety of animals E)Some parts of the lake had remained unchanged for centuries Which choice is closest to the inferences mentioned above?