What are Inferences in Verbal Reasoning Tests
Often, verbal reasoning tests that consist of true, false, cannot tell questions tend to include questions that test your ability to logically infer information from the text. Often referred to as inferences, they are pieces of information that suggest certain idea but don't state it directly. They rather closely mimic specific idea in the text and it is your task to read in between the lines to decide on appropriate conclusion. This section examines inferences in scope of verbal reasoning tests and will demonstrate on simple examples how to answer these types of questions.
 |
How to infer information from the text
As indicated above, questions that test your ability to infer logically certain conclusion are often referred to as inferences. Below we will provide with simple examples to demonstrate this. Take a moment and read the below sentence and evaluate whether the question does or does not support the information provided. Note that for a statement to be true it must closely mimic a certain idea in the text.
- Text sentence: Indigenous rocks are rocks that at one time were melted.
- Statement: It could be suggested that once igneous rocks have been subjected to a tremendous amount of heat.
How did it go? Did you mark the question as true? If yes then your answer was correct, if not don’t become discouraged. You will grasp the concept of verbal reasoning inferences with more practice. Note that the sentence does not specifically state that igneous rocks were under tremendous amount of heat but rather suggests that rocks were melted at one time. From this you could conclude that igneous rocks were likely to be under high degree of heat to melt. Hence, the statement supports the information in the sentence and therefore the correct answer is true.
Tips to succeed in verbal tests
Inferences incorporated into verbal reasoning tests tend to be rather simple but at times can be more difficult to spot hence proceed carefully. It is important to note that to correctly answer questions you cannot bring your own understanding into the subject. Remember, you must base your conclusions only on the information provided in the text. If you have to bring your own opinion or knowledge to justify the argument then your inference is likely to be incorrect. Let’s review another example to demonstrate inferences in verbal reasoning tests. Take no more than 30 seconds to read the sentence along with statement. Once you evaluate the statement read the explanation below to check your answer.
- For many years, scientists discussed the theory of continental drift – the idea that the continents, as we know them now, were situated in different locations in the past and even were once combined into one large continent called Pangaea.
- It can be inferred from the text that continental drift theory was based on the assumption that Earth crust is divided into several plates that move around and change over time.
If you read the extract carefully you can conclude that indeed the information in the statement is supported by information provided in the sentence. You can logically infer that continental drift theory was likely to be based on movements of continental plates as it clearly states that in the past these plates were in different location and once they were combined into one continent.
In verbal reasoning tests you can find number of different types of inferences including predictions, opinions or inferences where you will have to infer the main idea of the passage. To correctly answer such questions, a rule of thumb is not to bring your own understanding, knowledge or extra information into the text.