Inference Questions
How do you answer inference questions in reading comprehension?
Look for a conclusion the passage supports through its facts without ever stating it directly, then check each option for two separate qualities: is it actually supported by something in the text (true), and does it directly respond to what the question asks (relevant)? The correct answer must satisfy both — a true but off-target statement is just as wrong as a plausible-sounding one with no textual support.
Why this is usually the hardest question type in the section
Inference questions ask you to reason a step beyond what's written, rather than locate a stated fact — which is exactly what makes them the most frequently difficult question type in a reading comprehension section. Several answer options will often look almost equally plausible, and the passage rarely states the answer outright. The skill is building a conclusion from evidence, then testing it rigorously against the wording of the question.
Worked example
A short first-person passage in which the narrator, departing from someone close to them, reflects at length on guilt, self-accusation and a resolve to change. "How does the narrator feel about his current situation?" — with options including happy but pessimistic, gloomy and regretful, caring and humorous, joyful, and cheerful and promising.
The opening line expresses relief and happiness at leaving; the closing line resolves to "enjoy the present" and let the past be past. Both ends of the passage point toward optimism, ruling out options built around gloom or regret. There's no humour anywhere in the passage's tone, ruling that option out despite its surface plausibility. Between "joyful" alone and "cheerful and promising," the passage's forward-looking resolution — not just present happiness, but hope about what's ahead — is better captured by the option that names both. The fuller, more precisely descriptive option is correct.
True and relevant — check both, separately
A wrong option in an inference question usually fails one of two checks, and it helps to know which. "True but irrelevant" means the option is a genuine fact from the passage, but doesn't answer the specific question asked. "Relevant but false" means the option would answer the question well, if only the passage actually said it — but it doesn't. Run both checks on every surviving option before deciding.
Steps
- Identify what conclusion the question is asking you to reach beyond the literal text
- Gather the specific details in the passage that support (or rule out) each option
- Check every surviving option against two tests: is it true (supported by the text), and is it relevant (answers this exact question)?
- Where two options both pass, choose the one that most fully and precisely matches the question's wording
This is one chapter of the Scholarship & Entrance English Assessment Guide. The complete guide — every technique, collected in one document — is available as a free PDF from the guide's main page.