1. Making Inferences

2. What are inferences?
We make an inference when we take a piece of information given and combine it with our background-knowledge of the topic to find out something from the information that is not explicitly given.
Making inferences is like being a detective: we are given clues throughout the novel about the characters, events and objects and we have to use what we already know about these things and what they have done before in order to come up with ideas about what they might be like, be for, or might do next.
Making inferences can help us to better understand our novels, the characters, and the world and events that are occurring in the story.

3. Some examples
A boy is walking into English class and he trips and falls, spilling his books and pencil case everywhere. What might we infer?
We know that clumsy people trip and fall a lot. We might infer that he is clumsy, especially if we have seen him trip and fall before.
Katniss offers herself as tribute for the Hunger Games, where she knows she might die. What might we infer?
Depending on our background-knowledge, we could infer a number of things about Katniss as a character. Maybe she is a good-hearted person because she does it to save her sister, who she knows would die. Perhaps she is a risk- taker, or seeking action. If we didn’t know her character, we might think that she could be bloodthirsty.

4. Be careful…
As our last example pointed out, the value of our inferences depends upon our background-knowledge of the character, novel or events. If we didn’t know Katniss we might think she was out for blood. But if we have read the novel up to that point carefully, we should know that this is not the kind of character Katniss is, and so this is not a good inference.
Like a good detective, we must use all of the clues and facts available to us in order to make important inferences about our novels, the characters and the plot, as far as what is going on in the story.

5. Remember…
Making inferences is an important part of reading a novel. By applying what happens in the novel to what we already know, we can better understand the characters and what is going on in the novel, as well as predict what might happen next.
As you read, use your inferencing abilities to be a reading detective. Use the clues and evidence that the novel provides you, think about what you already know concerning such things (from what you have read already or from you life and experiences), and deepen your understanding to uncover the mysteries that the novel might hold!