Critical Reasoning: Inference Questions
Unlike most Critical Reasoning questions, in which the argument consists of both a premise and a conclusion, in Inference Questions, the argument consists of premises only - there's no conclusion. The question stem asks you to draw a conclusion based on these premises.
Example:
John was late for work 6 times during the past month. Moreover, John's new boss does not like him. Finally, John's company has recently lost close to $24,000 as a direct result of a mistake John had made.
Which of the following conclusions can most properly be drawn from the information above?
Tip #2 for Inference questions
The same **tone** (positive, negative, neutral) that is felt in the **argument** should also be present in the **correct answer**.For example, the data in example 1 presents John in a negative light, so the conclusion should also be negative. This enables us to eliminate answers such as the following:
Incorrect: John is likely to be voted employee of the year.
We identify this question type by its common phrasings which often use the words conclude, conclusion, infer or inference.
Examples:
1. The statements above, if true, best support which of the following as a conclusion?
2. Which of the following inferences is best supported by the statement made above?
3. Which of the following conclusions can most properly be drawn from the information above?
4. Which of the following can properly be inferred from the statement above?
5. If the statements above are correct, they most strongly support which of the following?
6. If the statements above are true, which of the following must be true?
Common Distractors for Inference Questions
1. An answer choice that introduces a new premise rather than draws a conclusion on the basis of the existing premises. An example of such an answer choice to the question above could be:
Distractor: Jane repeatedly tells John that he should make an effort to get to work on time.
2. An answer choice that draws a far-fetched conclusion, one that goes too far from the premises presented in the argument. We saw an example of such an answer choice in the above example:
Distractor: Jane will break up with John after he loses his job.
You now know everything you need to know about Inference Questions. Good luck!
Tip #1 for Inference questions:
The correct answer choice is the one that makes a small step beyond the premises. The inference is not a giant leap, and should not presuppose any assumptions, but rather be the immediate, closest conclusion that directly results from the premises.
For example, a possible answer to the question in example 1 is the following:
Correct: John is unlikely to get a promotion or a raise any time soon.
The following sentence, on the other hand, is unlikely to be a correct answer to the question:
Incorrect: Jane will break up with John after he loses his job.
In other words, we are looking for the conclusion that must stem from the argument, not for a conclusion that could stem from it.
