1. TEN STEPS to ADVANCED READING
SECOND EDITION
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2. TEN STEPS to ADVANCED READING
SECOND EDITION
TEN STEPS to ADVANCED READING
John Langan
© Townsend Press

3. Chapter 6
INFERENCES

4. Inferences are ideas that are not stated directly.
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences
are ideas that are not stated directly.
They are conclusions we draw based on
things we see, hear, and read.
See page 227 in textbook
Conclusions
See
Hear
Read

5. CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Which inference is most logically based on the information suggested by this cartoon?
A. The dog requires more than one leash to keep it securely tied to the parking meter.
See page 227 in textbook
ANSWER: B
The next two slides show and explain the answer.
B. The dog has eaten the other dogs tied up at the parking meter.

6. CHAPTER 6 Inferences
A. The dog requires more than one leash to keep it securely tied to the parking meter.
See pages 227 and 228 in textbook 3
B. The dog has eaten the other dogs tied up at the parking meter.
Three leashes are in the mouth of this big, hostile-looking dog.
This is a logical inference.

7. CHAPTER 6 Inferences
A. The dog requires more than one leash to keep it securely tied to the parking meter. 7
The owner has used only one leash to tie the dog to the parking meter.
The other leashes are in the dog’s mouth.
This is not a logical inference.
See pages 227 and 228 in textbook 3
B. The dog has eaten the other dogs tied up at the parking meter.
Three other leashes are in the mouth of this big, hostile-looking dog. This is a logical inference.

8. CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Which inference is most logically based on the information suggested by this cartoon?
C. The dog is ordinarily a friendly dog.
See pages 227 and 228 in textbook
ANSWER: D
The next two slides show and explain the answer.
D. The dog is waiting for its owner to return.

9. 3 C. The dog is ordinarily a friendly dog.
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
C. The dog is ordinarily a friendly dog.
See pages 227 and 228 in textbook 3
D. The dog is waiting for its owner to return.
It is a reasonable inference that the owner who tied up the dog will return—and will be in for a surprise!

10. 3 C. The dog is ordinarily a friendly dog. 7
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
C. The dog is ordinarily a friendly dog. 7
It may or may not ordinarily be a friendly dog, but it doesn’t look friendly here, and it obviously has not been friendly to other dogs.
See pages 227 and 228 in textbook 3
D. The dog is waiting for its owner to return.
It is a reasonable inference that the owner who tied up the dog will return—and will be in for a surprise!

11. • Making inferences • Drawing conclusions
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Discovering the ideas in writing that
are not stated directly is called
• Making inferences or
See page 227 in textbook
• Drawing conclusions

12. In reading, we make logical leaps from information stated directly
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Reading
In reading, we make logical leaps from
information stated directly
to ideas that are not stated directly.
See page 228 in textbook
Information Stated Directly
Ideas Not Stated Directly

13. CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Reading
To make inferences, we use all the clues provided by the writer, our own experience, and logic.
Clues
Provided
Experience
Logic
Inference
See page 228 in textbook

14. CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Reading
You have already practiced making inferences in the chapter on implied main ideas.
See page 228 in textbook

15. CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Reading
See page 228 in textbook
There we made an inference when we figured out that the implied point of this cartoon is that the newlyweds’ marriage has broken down, just like their car.

16. CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Reading
In the chapter on implied main ideas, you used the evidence in selections to figure out main ideas that were implied rather than stated directly.
See page 228 in textbook

17. Inferences in Short Passages
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Reading
Inferences in Short Passages
See page 228 in textbook

18. Read this passage and think about the inferences Twain makes.
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Reading
/ Inferences in Short Passages
Read this passage and think about the inferences Twain makes.
Mark Twain said: “When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.”
See page 229 in textbook

19. Which inference is logically based on the information provided?
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Reading
/ Inferences in Short Passages
Which inference is logically based on the information provided?
Mark Twain said: “When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.”
A. Teenagers tend to think they know it all and that adults do not.
See page 229 in textbook
ANSWER: A
The next two slides show and explain the answer.
B. Even old people are capable of learning a great deal.

20. Twain’s observation is a humorous statement of this truth.
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Reading
/ Inferences in Short Passages
Mark Twain said: “When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.” 3
A. Teenagers tend to think they know it all and that adults do not.
Experience tells us that teenagers often think they know more than their parents’ generation.
Twain’s observation is a humorous statement of this truth.
See page 229 in textbook
B. Even old people are capable of learning a great deal.

21. Which inference is logically based on the information provided?
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Reading
/ Inferences in Short Passages
Which inference is logically based on the information provided?
Mark Twain said: “When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.” 3
A. Teenagers tend to think they know it all and that adults do not.
See page 229 in textbook 7
B. Even old people are capable of learning a great deal.
Twain was 14 when he thought his father was ignorant. At 21 he is astonished at the “old man’s” learning.
These are clues that it is Twain who has changed, not his father. But statement B says the opposite—that it was the father who changed.
Therefore, this is not a logical inference.

22. Inferences in Paragraphs
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Reading
Inferences in Paragraphs
See page 231 in textbook

23. Read this passage and think about the inferences it suggests.
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Reading
/ Inferences in Paragraphs
Read this passage and think about the inferences it suggests.
Suppose that you have a ticket to fly to some exotic destination. There will be 200 passengers plus crew on board your plane. But on the way to the airport, the radio program you are listening to is interrupted by an announcement that five U.S. jets will be hijacked that day. All will crash—and all passengers and crew will die. There is no doubt that five planes will go down, that 1,000 terrified passengers and crew will plunge to their deaths. In spite of the threat, the airlines have decided to stay open for business. Do you still fly? After all, the chances are good that yours will not be one of the five planes. My best guess is that you turn around and go home, that U.S. airports will be eerily silent that day. Nicotine kills about 400,000 Americans each year. This is the equivalent of five fully loaded, 200-passenger jets crashing each and every day—leaving no survivors. Who in their right mind would take the risk that their plane will not be among those that crashed? Yet that is the risk that smokers take.
See page 231 in textbook

24. Which inference is logically based on the information provided?
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Reading
/ Inferences in Paragraphs
Which inference is logically based on the information provided?
Suppose that you have a ticket to fly to some exotic destination. There will be 200 passengers plus crew on board your plane. But on the way to the airport, the radio program you are listening to is interrupted by an announcement that five U.S. jets will be hijacked that day. All will crash—and all passengers and crew will die. There is no doubt that five planes will go down, that 1,000 terrified passengers and crew will plunge to their deaths. In spite of the threat, the airlines have decided to stay open for business. Do you still fly? After all, the chances are good that yours will not be one of the five planes. My best guess is that you turn around and go home, that U.S. airports will be eerily silent that day. Nicotine kills about 400,000 Americans each year. This is the equivalent of five fully loaded, 200-passenger jets crashing each and every day—leaving no survivors. Who in their right mind would take the risk that their plane will not be among those that crashed? Yet that is the risk that smokers take.
See page 231 in textbook
ANSWER: A
The next four slides show and explain the answer.
A. The author implies that many Americans don’t like to think about the harmful effects of smoking.
B. The author implies that chances are good that fewer Americans will smoke in the future.

25. The author presents statistics showing the harmful effects of smoking.
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Reading
/ Inferences in Paragraphs
Suppose that you have a ticket to fly to some exotic destination. There will be 200 passengers plus crew on board your plane. But on the way to the airport, the radio program you are listening to is interrupted by an announcement that five U.S. jets will be hijacked that day. All will crash—and all passengers and crew will die. There is no doubt that five planes will go down, that 1,000 terrified passengers and crew will plunge to their deaths. In spite of the threat, the airlines have decided to stay open for business. Do you still fly? After all, the chances are good that yours will not be one of the five planes. My best guess is that you turn around and go home, that U.S. airports will be eerily silent that day. Nicotine kills about 400,000 Americans each year. This is the equivalent of five fully loaded, 200-passenger jets crashing each and every day—leaving no survivors. Who in their right mind would take the risk that their plane will not be among those that crashed? Yet that is the risk that smokers take.
See pages 231 and 232 in textbook
A. The author implies that many Americans don’t like to think about the harmful effects of smoking.
The author presents statistics showing the harmful effects of smoking.
B. The author implies that chances are good that fewer Americans will smoke in the future.

26. CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Reading
/ Inferences in Paragraphs
Suppose that you have a ticket to fly to some exotic destination. There will be 200 passengers plus crew on board your plane. But on the way to the airport, the radio program you are listening to is interrupted by an announcement that five U.S. jets will be hijacked that day. All will crash—and all passengers and crew will die. There is no doubt that five planes will go down, that 1,000 terrified passengers and crew will plunge to their deaths. In spite of the threat, the airlines have decided to stay open for business. Do you still fly? After all, the chances are good that yours will not be one of the five planes. My best guess is that you turn around and go home, that U.S. airports will be eerily silent that day. Nicotine kills about 400,000 Americans each year. This is the equivalent of five fully loaded, 200-passenger jets crashing each and every day—leaving no survivors. Who in their right mind would take the risk that their plane will not be among those that crashed? Yet that is the risk that smokers take.
See pages 231 and 232 in textbook
A. The author implies that many Americans don’t like to think about the harmful effects of smoking.
Life experience tells us that few people like to think about the negative consequences of their behavior.
B. The author implies that chances are good that fewer Americans will smoke in the future.

27. CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Reading
/ Inferences in Paragraphs
Suppose that you have a ticket to fly to some exotic destination. There will be 200 passengers plus crew on board your plane. But on the way to the airport, the radio program you are listening to is interrupted by an announcement that five U.S. jets will be hijacked that day. All will crash—and all passengers and crew will die. There is no doubt that five planes will go down, that 1,000 terrified passengers and crew will plunge to their deaths. In spite of the threat, the airlines have decided to stay open for business. Do you still fly? After all, the chances are good that yours will not be one of the five planes. My best guess is that you turn around and go home, that U.S. airports will be eerily silent that day. Nicotine kills about 400,000 Americans each year. This is the equivalent of five fully loaded, 200-passenger jets crashing each and every day—leaving no survivors. Who in their right mind would take the risk that their plane will not be among those that crashed? Yet that is the risk that smokers take.
See pages 231 and 232 in textbook 3
A. The author implies that many Americans don’t like to think about the harmful effects of smoking.
This is a logical inference.
B. The author implies that chances are good that fewer Americans will smoke in the future.

28. CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Reading
/ Inferences in Paragraphs
Suppose that you have a ticket to fly to some exotic destination. There will be 200 passengers plus crew on board your plane. But on the way to the airport, the radio program you are listening to is interrupted by an announcement that five U.S. jets will be hijacked that day. All will crash—and all passengers and crew will die. There is no doubt that five planes will go down, that 1,000 terrified passengers and crew will plunge to their deaths. In spite of the threat, the airlines have decided to stay open for business. Do you still fly? After all, the chances are good that yours will not be one of the five planes. My best guess is that you turn around and go home, that U.S. airports will be eerily silent that day. Nicotine kills about 400,000 Americans each year. This is the equivalent of five fully loaded, 200-passenger jets crashing each and every day—leaving no survivors. Who in their right mind would take the risk that their plane will not be among those that crashed? Yet that is the risk that smokers take.
See pages 231 and 232 in textbook 3
A. The author implies that many Americans don’t like to think about the harmful effects of smoking.
There is nothing in the passage to indicate that fewer Americans will smoke in the future. 7
B. The author implies that chances are good that fewer Americans will smoke in the future.
This is not a logical inference.

29. Guidelines for Making Inferences in Reading
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Reading
/ Guidelines for Making Inferences in Reading
Guidelines for Making Inferences in Reading
1 Never lose sight of the available information.
For instance, in the passage about the risks of smoking, we are told that most Americans would refuse to fly if they knew that jets were to be hijacked.
have decided to stay open for business. Do you still fly? After all, the chances are good that yours will not be one of the five planes. My best guess is that you turn around and go home, that U.S. airports will be eerily silent that day. Nicotine kills about 400,000 Americans each year. This is the equivalent of five fully loaded, 200-passenger jets crashing each and every day—leaving no survivors. Who in their right mind would take the risk that their plane will not be among those that crashed? Yet that is the risk that smokers take.
See page 232 in textbook

30. 1 Never lose sight of the available information.
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Reading
/ Guidelines for Making Inferences in Reading
1 Never lose sight of the available information.
For instance, in the passage about the risks of smoking, we are told that most Americans would refuse to fly if they knew that jets were to be hijacked. But that many Americans continue to risk their lives despite the known dangers of smoking.
have decided to stay open for business. Do you still fly? After all, the chances are good that yours will not be one of the five planes. My best guess is that you turn around and go home, that U.S. airports will be eerily silent that day. Nicotine kills about 400,000 Americans each year. This is the equivalent of five fully loaded, 200-passenger jets crashing each and every day—leaving no survivors. Who in their right mind would take the risk that their plane will not be among those that crashed? Yet that is the risk that smokers take.
See page 232 in textbook

31. 1 Never lose sight of the available information.
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Reading
/ Guidelines for Making Inferences in Reading
1 Never lose sight of the available information.
On the basis of those facts, we would not conclude that fewer Americans will smoke in the future.
have decided to stay open for business. Do you still fly? After all, the chances are good that yours will not be one of the five planes. My best guess is that you turn around and go home, that U.S. airports will be eerily silent that day. Nicotine kills about 400,000 Americans each year. This is the equivalent of five fully loaded, 200-passenger jets crashing each and every day—leaving no survivors. Who in their right mind would take the risk that their plane will not be among those that crashed? Yet that is the risk that smokers take.
See page 232 in textbook

32. BackgroundInformationand Experience
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Reading
/ Guidelines for Making Inferences in Reading
1 Never lose sight of the available information.
2 Use your background information and experience to help you in making inferences.
BackgroundInformationand Experience
See page 232 in textbook
Available
Information
Inference

33. 1 Never lose sight of the available information.
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Reading
/ Guidelines for Making Inferences in Reading
1 Never lose sight of the available information.
2 Use your background information and experience to help you in making inferences.
Experience
People don’t like to dwell on the negative consequences of their behavior.
See page 232 in textbook
For instance, life experience tells us that people don’t like to dwell on the negative consequences of their behavior.

34. 1 Never lose sight of the available information.
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Reading
/ Guidelines for Making Inferences in Reading
1 Never lose sight of the available information.
2 Use your background information and experience to help you in making inferences.
Experience
People don’t like to dwell on the negative consequences of their behavior.
See page 232 in textbook
Available
Information
be silent that day. Nicotine kills about 400,000 Americans each year. This is the
The increased risk of death is a negative consequence of choosing to smoke.

35. 1 Never lose sight of the available information.
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Reading
/ Guidelines for Making Inferences in Reading
1 Never lose sight of the available information.
2 Use your background information and experience to help you in making inferences.
Experience
People don’t like to dwell on the negative consequences of their behavior.
See page 232 in textbook
Available
Information
be silent that day. Nicotine kills about 400,000 Americans each year. This is the
American smokers don’t like to think about the harmful effects of smoking.
Inference

36. 1 Never lose sight of the available information.
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Reading
/ Guidelines for Making Inferences in Reading
1 Never lose sight of the available information.
2 Use your background information and experience to help you in making inferences.
3 Consider the alternatives.
See pages 232 and 233 in textbook
Don’t simply accept the first inference that comes to mind.
Instead, consider all of the facts of a case and all the possible explanations.

37. Inferences in Literature
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Literature
Inferences are very important in reading literature.
Writers of factual material usually state directly much of what they mean
Factual Material
Point directly stated
Creative writers, however, often provide verbal pictures that show what they mean.
See page 237 in textbook
Creative Material
Point must be inferred

38. A nonfiction writer might write:
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Literature
A nonfiction writer might write:
It would be really hard to feel the pain that others feel. It is better not to know.
Compare the nonfiction version with this passage from George Eliot’s novel Middlemarch:
If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel’s heart beat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence. As it is, we walk about well wadded with stupidity.
See page 237 in textbook

39. Eliot uses vivid images.
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Literature
These vivid images help us infer a profound human truth—that behind the surface we often carry around a great deal of pain.
We protect ourselves with ignorance and stupidity so that we will not die from experiencing the pain of others.
Eliot uses vivid images.
If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel’s heart beat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence. As it is, we walk about well wadded with stupidity.
See page 237 in textbook

40. The two most common figures of speech are similes and metaphors.
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Literature
A Note on Figures of Speech
Creative writers often use comparisons known as figures of speech to imply their meanings.
The two most common figures of speech are similes and metaphors.
See page 237 in textbook

41. A simile is a comparison introduced with like, as, or as if.
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Literature
/ Figures of Speech
Simile
A simile is a comparison introduced with like, as, or as if.
Can you identify the simile in this cartoon?
See page 237 in textbook
ANSWER: eyes are like two supper dishes
The next animation shows the answer.
Snoopy writes about a pair of beautiful eyes that they are “like two supper dishes”!

42. In the quotation from Middlemarch, George Eliot uses two similes.
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Literature
/ Figures of Speech
Simile
In the quotation from Middlemarch, George Eliot uses two similes.
If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel’s heart beat….
See page 238 in textbook

43. A metaphor is an implied comparison, with like, as, or as if omitted.
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Literature
/ Figures of Speech
Metaphor
A metaphor is an implied comparison, with like, as, or as if omitted.
The 23rd Psalm in the Bible is the source of some of the world’s best-known metaphors, including:
The Lord is my shepherd.
See page 238 in textbook
The comparison suggests that God is like a shepherd who looks after his sheep.

44. Here are some other metaphors:
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Literature
/ Figures of Speech
Metaphor
Here are some other metaphors:
• The movie was a bomb.
• Her disapproval was an ice pick to my heart.
• To people searching for information, the Internet is a vast candy store of facts.
See page 238 in textbook

45. Inferences in Tables and Graphs
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Tables and Graphs
At the beginning of this presentation, you made inferences about a picture—this cartoon of the dog:
See page 242 in textbook
Other “pictures” that require inferences are tables and graphs.

46. Tables and graphs combine words with visual representations.
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Tables and Graphs
Tables and graphs combine words with visual representations.
See page 242 in textbook
To infer the ideas presented in tables and graphs, you must consider all the information presented.

47. CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Tables and Graphs
Steps in Reading a Table
or Graph
See page 242 in textbook
Following a few simple steps will help you find and make sense of the information in a table or graph.

48. Inferences in Tables and Graphs / Steps in Reading a Table or Graph
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Tables and Graphs
/ Steps in Reading a Table or Graph
See pages 242 and 243 in textbook

49. It will tell you what the table or graph is showing in general.
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Tables and Graphs
/ Steps in Reading a Table or Graph
See pages 242 and 243 in textbook
1 Read the title.
It will tell you what the table or graph is showing in general.

50. What is the title of this graph?
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Tables and Graphs
/ Steps in Reading a Table or Graph
See pages 242 and 243 in textbook
ANSWER: Stages of Sleep
The next animation shows the answer.
1 Read the title.
What is the title of this graph?

51. CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Tables and Graphs
/ Steps in Reading a Table or Graph
See pages 242 and 243 in textbook
2 Check the source.
At the bottom of a table or graph, you will usually find the source of the information, an indication of the reliability of its material.

52. What is the source of this graph?
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Tables and Graphs
/ Steps in Reading a Table or Graph
See pages 242 and 243 in textbook
ANSWER: Dianne Hales, An Invitation to Health, 11th ed.
The next animation shows the answer.
2 Check the source.
What is the source of this graph?

53. 3 Read any labels or captions at the top, the side, or underneath.
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Tables and Graphs
/ Steps in Reading a Table or Graph
See pages 242 and 243 in textbook
3 Read any labels or captions at the top, the side, or underneath.
These tell exactly what each column, line, bar, number, or other item represents.

54. 3 Read any labels or captions at the top, the side, or underneath.
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Tables and Graphs
/ Steps in Reading a Table or Graph
Label 5
Label 1
Label 2
Label 3
Label 4
See pages 242 and 243 in textbook
3 Read any labels or captions at the top, the side, or underneath.
This graph has five labels.

55. A. Our deepest sleep occurs early in the sleep cycle.
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Tables and Graphs
See pages 243 and 244 in textbook
ANSWER: A
The next three slides show and explain the answer.
Based on the information in the graph, which statement is a logical inference?
A. Our deepest sleep occurs early in the sleep cycle.
B. Our REM (rapid eye movement) sleep occurs at about the same time as our deepest sleep.

56. 3 A. Our deepest sleep occurs early in the sleep cycle.
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Tables and Graphs
See pages 243 and 244 in textbook 3
A. Our deepest sleep occurs early in the sleep cycle.
The graph shows that we are in our deepest sleep in the first three hours or so.
Statement A is a logical inference.
B. Our REM (rapid eye movement) sleep occurs at about the same time as our deepest sleep.

57. 3 A. Our deepest sleep occurs early in the sleep cycle.
CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Tables and Graphs
See pages 243 and 244 in textbook 3
A. Our deepest sleep occurs early in the sleep cycle.
Our REM sleep occurs in the second part of our sleep cycle, but our deepest sleep occurs in the first part. 7
B. Our REM (rapid eye movement) sleep occurs at about the same time as our deepest sleep.
Statement B is not a logical inference.

58. CHAPTER 6 Inferences
Inferences in Tables and Graphs
See pages 243 and 244 in textbook
Our deepest sleep occurs early in the sleep cycle.
Again, we have made a leap from information presented directly to an idea that is not presented directly.

59. CHAPTER 6 Inferences
See page 246 in textbook