POETRY
UNIT 2
Inference
Video
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Inference is not guessing, predicting or giving an opinion. It is finding exact clues from the text and using your own background knowledge to come up with an idea not stated obviously in the text. Making an inference is like assembling the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Once all of the pieces are together you can see the full picture.
Inference
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Etymology: from sixteenth-century Latin, meaning ‘bring in’ or ‘carry in’
Definition: a conclusion reached, based on reason and evidence
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Example: The boy slammed the door as he left the room, so his friends made the inference that he was upset.
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Why do we need inference skills?
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As a student of English, one of your most important reading tasks will be making sense of poems, short stories, plays and novels. In order to figure out the deeper meaning of these texts, you will need to develop your inference skills.
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The process is straightforward – first skim and scan the text to look for clues. Then connect these clues with your own background knowledge, before reaching a conclusion about what the text might be trying to say.
Clues from the text
Your own background knowledge
Your inference
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The text
My mother is a witch
My mother is a witch
Witch = evil and scary
This person’s mother is a scary and evil person
My heart is like a singing bird
My heart is like a singing bird
Heart – associated with love/feelings
This person is experiencing great happiness that is uplifting
Singing bird – uplifting, beautiful
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