<p>As I have been taking practice tests for the SAT, I have realized that one type of question that I consistently miss a lot is any question that ask you to ascertain what the author wants to suggest/infer/imply/agree in the passage. Although I've been trying to learn how to improve on this, I have not yet figured out any ways to do so. Are there any tips or strategies when dealing with such questions?</p>
<p>no. These are the questions that most people have difficulties with. You have to be a better reader and have a strong reading comprehension.</p>
<p>I know this sounds obvious, but the truth is that the answer REALLY IS IN THE PASSAGE! Don’t take that statement for granted. Every single correct answer choice must be fully backed up by the passage. “Inference” questions on the SAT are not really inference questions. They are more similar to “can you find specific back-up in the text supporting the question and then find an answer choice that says the same thing (maybe and probably in different words)” questions. Keep taking practice tests and remember this advice. I promise you will get better!</p>
<p>Thanks for the tip, thats what i normally try to look for. However, what throws me off is that the answer is some small detail in the passage, and they have a very appealing answer that seems right (but usually has like a word in it that makes it the wrong answer supposedly). Also, alot of the time, I often eliminate a correct answer that seems incorrect since it is a broad answer, but is ultimately supported in the passage. Is there any way to avoid this without sacrificing a lot of precious time on the SAT exam?</p>
<p>Answer these questions and other general questions last, after you have already covered the majority of the passage in answering the other questions (i.e., the line-based ones and the like). If you still have trouble, you likely simply did not comprehend the passage and likely did not get all of the other questions right. You just have to understand it. Normally some of the answer choices of an inference-based question can be proven wrong through the passage. Eliminating the rest is based on your own reasoning. Try to do a bunch of them (next time you read a passage, just skip to the inference-based question(s)) and see if there is some pattern not necessarily just in the answer choices themselves but also in your way of thinking or approach. It’s up to you to see what you are doing wrong. If you post a specific question, and explain your thought process and your answer choice, some of us may be able to help you.</p>
<p>I havent worked too much on this, but I did a section of reading for practice. I got all the other questions right, but I still managed to miss three inference questions. However, I managed to narrow it down to the right two answers for two of the questions. I know that I must be missing something obvious, but the final answer in both cases that I picked still seems to make sense. I can understand why the other answer is also correct, but I dont see how to tell which one is the right answer</p>
<p>Ok I have tried to fix my inference question problem through lots of practice, but I still can’t seem to find any sort of pattern to getting these questions right.</p>
<p>I currently have a 670 CR (normally 2 or 3 wrong on sen completion thanks to Direct Hits, and 10-15 wrong on passages). A large percentage of the questions I miss are inference questions, so are there any ways that I can get to the 750+ level? I know that all questions can be proved somehow in the passage, but I cant seem to find the balance between an extreme answer and one that is wrong because of some small detail? I have tried to use the Rocket Review, Barrons 2400, and the Grammatix Book (didn’t like this strategy too much). What should I start with so I can fix this problem, and get to the next level?</p>
<p>Bump for the above post please ^^^^</p>
<p>The problem I used to have with inference problems is that I overthought or overinfered. Don’t think too much about things that are not explicitly stated in the passage unless every answer isn’t stated.</p>
<p>^^ thank you I will try to do that when i practice CR next. are there any other things I can do to improve my score to a mid 700?</p>
<p>Any other tips? I’ve been trying this in the barrons book, but I can’t tell if I’m still missing some because I haven’t mastered inference questions yet, or because barrons is harder</p>
<p>please guyss, this is the main thing that is holding me back on the SAT. if I knew what to look for while practicing, I’d be able to get better at it</p>
<p>Hey. I’m almost the exact opposite of you: I get a bunch of the SC problems wrong and only 3-4 of the passage based questions wrong. An above poster has already given the advice I use… and that is to look in the passage for the answer. Seriously. Everything you need to know is in the passage. You just need to be able to recognize it. For inference questions, I usually just ask, “Which answer makes the most sense based on what is provided in the passage and what the question is asking for?” You can eliminate most of the answers this way and it usually leads to the correct one.</p>
<p>By the way, I wasn’t a voracious reader up until this past year. I rarely read in elementary/middle school. I didn’t do very well on my first SAT (540 CR), but on the next couple of practice tests, I got better at passage based questions (I’m currently at ~630). So, the advice I can offer is to just practice. Don’t worry.</p>
<p>Collegeboard Blue book Test 10 Second CR section… Can anyone please give me the explanation of its inference questions…</p>
<p>@"hope for good" I hate to sound a bit rude… but you didn’t really need to bump this thread >_> from 2010…</p>
<p>manhattan11 is right–there really is no inference because ALL answers are in the passage.</p>