What this lesson covers
- The proof gate: stated, follows necessarily, likely, outside the text
- Why "most logically completes" is not permission to guess
- The difference between a pattern and a cause
- A practice question with the clock running
Questions worked in the video
- 0:17A city replaced metered parking on one commercial street with a flat all-day rate. Cars parked rose slightly; distinct cars fell by a third; shop owners reported no change in customer counts. It can most reasonably be inferred that ...
- 2:19A library began lending hand tools. Tool borrowers made four visits on average against nine for book-only borrowers, but were three times as likely to be first-time visitors. It can most reasonably be inferred that ...
Worked examples
The questions the video works, written out: the setup, each step, the answer and the trap.
0:17Example 1
A city replaced the metered parking on one commercial street with a flat all-day rate. Over the following year the number of cars parked on the street rose slightly, while the number of different cars parked there fell by a third. Shop owners on the street reported no change in customer counts. It can most reasonably be inferred from the text that A) cars on the street stayed parked longer, on average, than they had before B) the flat rate caused drivers to stay longer C) the shops on the street lost revenue D) the city adopted the flat rate in order to help local businesses
- Set the bar before reading the choices: the answer must be forced by the text, not merely sensible. Sort each choice by how far past the text it travels: stated, follows necessarily, likely, or outside the text. Anything past follows necessarily is wrong however reasonable it sounds.
- A: cars present rose slightly while the number of different cars fell by a third. Slightly more parked cars spread across a third fewer distinct cars means each car, on average, occupied its space longer. That is arithmetic, not judgment. It follows necessarily.
- B: the flat rate caused drivers to stay longer. The passage shows a pattern that followed the change; it never establishes the cause. Likely, not certain.
- C: the shops lost revenue. The owners reported no change in customer counts, so the text points the other way. Not in the text.
- D: the city adopted the rate to help businesses. Nothing in the passage mentions the city's motive. Outside the text.
Answer: A
A is the only completion the numbers guarantee: fewer distinct cars accounting for more parked cars can only mean longer average stays. The trap is B, which sounds like the smartest reading of the passage; students pick it because it explains the pattern, but the text only reports the pattern, and a cause the text never gives cannot be inferred from it.
2:19Example 2
A library began lending hand tools alongside books. In the first year, tool borrowers made four visits on average, while book-only borrowers made nine. Tool borrowers, however, were three times as likely to be visiting the library for the first time. It can most reasonably be inferred from the text that A) the tool programme reached people who had not been using the library B) tool borrowers will go on to borrow books regularly C) the library should expand the tool programme D) tool borrowers value the library less than book borrowers do
- Same bar. The wording, can most reasonably be inferred, sounds soft; it is not permission to pick the most sensible answer. The text has to guarantee the completion.
- A: three times as likely to be first-time visitors is stated outright. People visiting for the first time had not been using the library. A is inside the gate.
- B: a prediction about future borrowing. The text covers one year and says nothing about what comes next.
- C: a recommendation. The passage reports figures; it never says what the library should do.
- D: a judgement about how much borrowers value the library. Four visits against nine is a count, not a measure of value, and first-time visitors have had less time in which to visit.
Answer: A
A restates a fact the passage gives directly, so it clears the strictest bar there is. D is the trap: fewer visits looks like less interest, and students who bring in what they already know about how the world works accept the leap, but the text itself supplies a reason (first-time visitors) that the judgement ignores.
Chapters
- 0:04Three sensible answers
- 0:17The setup
- 0:49The proof gate
- 1:45The wording trap
- 2:19Your turn
- 2:53Three ways this goes wrong
- 3:27Must be true, not probably true
Lesson transcript
The narration of the video, word for word, under its chapter headings.
0:17The setup
Inference questions ask what must be true. Not what is likely, not what a reasonable person would conclude. What the text guarantees. Here is a short passage, and four completions.
0:49The proof gate
Sort every choice by how far past the text it goes. A says cars stayed longer on average. Cars present rose slightly, distinct cars fell by a third, so the average stay must be longer. That is arithmetic, not judgment. B says the flat rate caused it. The passage shows the pattern, never the cause. C says shops lost revenue, but the owners reported no change in customer counts. D invents the city's motive. Only A is inside the gate.
1:45The wording trap
Watch the wording. Most logically completes the text. Can be reasonably inferred. That language sounds soft, and students read it as permission to pick the most sensible answer. It is not. The bar never moves. The text has to guarantee it.
2:19Your turn
Your turn. A library starts lending tools. Which one must be true? Ten seconds. A. Three times as likely to be first-time visitors is stated outright. Everything else is a prediction, a recommendation, or a motive.
2:53Three ways this goes wrong
Three ways this goes wrong. Choosing the most insightful answer instead of the guaranteed one. Accepting a cause when the text only shows a pattern. And bringing in what you already know about how the world works.
3:27Must be true, not probably true
Must be true. Not probably true.
Read the written version: the Inferences strategy guide, then try 25 hard Inferences questions with full explanations. Both are free, no account needed.