Tips and Tricks: Inference | SSC CGL Tier 2 - Study Material, Online Tests, Previous Year PDF Download

Introduction

Inference problems in the examination are often introduced by "the para implies" or "the author infers", where the word "suggests" is at times replaced. To solve inference questions are bit tricky. For clear understanding about the complete topic we have divided this into the three parts mainly: Deduction, Speculation, and Inspection.

Some More Tips and Tricks and Shortcuts To Handle Inference Questions

1. Skimming the Passage: 

Skimming means reading helpful information smartly. Learn to focus on the author’s ideas and opinions, and skip the other details. Always there will be a connection between the paragraphs, mainly with the core idea of passage.

2. Paraphrasing:

Notice the words like words like but, except, and not as they are important for answers. Paraphrasing the question is a very good technique which will definitely take you to the right answer.

3. Read the Options first: 

Reading the options first will save your time. Also you will have an idea that what is going to be there in the paragraph. As correct answer comes from 2-3 sentences information. Hence it will help you to understand which one the Para supports.

4. Removal of the wrong information:

Remove the clearly wrong options as that will help you to go to the right answer. You should know how to avoid the wrong things such as if in any option you see repeat or rephrase information from the passage then that is wrong. Also do practice to understand the distorted information.

5. Generalize words

Words like never, any, always, none, and all should watchful you. These are generalized words which should rarely get support.

Inferred Meaning Tips and Tricks and Shortcuts- Logical Reasoning

Deduction inferences questions are framed to fill in the absent information in the paragraph. Deduction inference is very near to descriptive problems, but you need to create a logical deduction, not that simply relies on the information given in the paragraph. The type of questions which comes under this would be “What is the logical extension, if something is said in the paragraph?” lets understand the same with the sample given below.
Q1: Close at hand is a bridge over the River Thames, an admirable vantage ground for us to make a survey. The river flows beneath; barges pass, laden with timber, bursting with corn; there on one side are the domes and spires of the city; on the other, Westminster and the Houses of Parliament. It is a place to stand on by the hour, dreaming. But not now. Now we are pressed for time. Now we are here to consider facts; now we must fix our eyes upon the procession — the procession of the sons of educated men.
In the above passage, the setting of the bridge was chosen because it?
(a) is favourable to a mood of imaginary thinking.
(b) is figurative of the past legacy and educated men’s present sons.
(c) is contained by scene of historic events to which she talk about.
(d) provides a good view of the procession of the sons of educated men.
Ans: (d)
Usually if we are on the bridge, we do dreaming and have imaginary thinking, but that was not something which supposed to be done at that time. In its place, something else needs to be done. But what is that something else? Fixing our eyes upon the procession of the sons of educated men.

Tips and Tricks and Shortcuts for Inferred Meaning

Type 2. Speculation Inferences
Under speculation inference questions are framed in a way that from the statement or explanations, you need to make a guess about the suggested meaning in the passage. Have a look on the below given sample to understand this better.
Q2: A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other. A solemn consideration, when I enter a great city by night, that every one of those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret; that every room in every one of them encloses its own secret; that every beating heart in the hundreds of thousands of breasts there, is, in some of its imaginings, a secret to the heart nearest it!
In the passage the author discussed about line “in some of its imaginings”. As per you what exactly the author wants to convey?
(a) That even the people who are very close keep secrets from each other.
(b) thoughts of every person are different than the other.
(c) That even if people are close to each other they can keep secrets.
(d) Each individual has an independent identity and existence which does not demand revealing of secrets to others.
Ans: (c)
In the passage the word imaginings is used to express fantasies. Therefore the author speculated that even if people are close to each other, still they can keep secrets inside them. Hence option C is correct.

Tips and Shortcuts for Inferred Meaning- Logical Reasoning

Type 3. Inspection Inferences
The inspection type will ask you about understanding the thought of a particular character in the passage. It means, in the passage you will find the views and beliefs of a specific character and you will have to predict the feelings of the character based on the given information. These are the toughest type of inferences questions because for solving this you need to get into the mind of the author or the character of the passage. The question which often comes in this would be like:

• what is the opinion of the author
• what does X think about Y” format. Or 
• The author implies that all of the following statements about x are true except. Or 
• The questions based on true or false.

Let’s solve the below given sample to understand it.

Q3: Most scientists now believe that the near disappearance of the tiger in the North African forests was due to the widespread hunting down of the poor creature by the ethnics of the forest. During the 70s and the 80s tigers were in great demand for its unique fur which the ethnics exploited greatly, the scientists say.
Which of the following, weakens the above paragraph information?
(a) During the 70s and the 80s scrapes, horns, tusks and other animal parts were in great demand for their uniqueness which prompted most ethnics to kill animals. 
(b)  During 70s and the 80s, the government built a dam in the surrounding area of North African forest. 
(c)  The extensive government sponsored logging operations of the 70s and the 80s in the North African forests led to the immediate disappearance of mouse, a major prey of reptiles. 
(d)  The government undertook a forestation to receive the forests to prevent disappearance of reptiles in the North Africa but failed sadly. 
(e) None of these
Ans: (c)
The correct answer is c as option A, B and D are either irrelevant or out of scope.