Inferences in Non-Fiction Texts

Similar to fiction texts where feelings and motivations can be implied through hints, non-fiction texts can also have hints but the outward result may not be said.

Non-fiction texts usually implies:

• consequences
• results
• processes

This means the reader needs to infer, based on the information given.

Questions that require you to make inferences are those with keywords/phrases like:

• implied
• suggest
• ascertain

How do you answer such questions?

The key lies in finding ‘hints’ in the text or the ‘background information’.

And…where are the hints? Well, they’re within the words themselves.

To answer these questions, follow the general approach and then locate certain keywords that would lean towards a certain option.

For example, a question like this:

What do you think is a likely implication from doping bans? (Doping is when an athlete takes a performance-enhancing drug).

The answer to this may not be outwardly provided to you, but you can gather the implication through ‘hints’ in the text. For example, you might get:

• Past athletes that faced doping bans struggled to revive their career.
• The fall out is huge with brands distancing themselves from those with doping bans.
• Spectators, once fans, have turned away from the sport.

From these ‘hints’ you’d say that the implications would ultimately be reputation loss.

And then, you’d evaluate among the provided options to get the right answer.

Easy right? With implied questions for non-fiction texts, while you can get hints from keywords, the biggest hints come from content.

But be careful. Only answer the question based on what’s provided in the text and a reasonable inference from the text. Do not use your own knowledge of biases. It is many together that ‘lean towards’ a certain option.

Let's look at these types of questions in the examples below. We'll also put into practice the approach to answering questions too learnt in previous checkpoints.

Example Question/s

Watch video for explanation of the following question/s:

The Australian Painted Lady (Vanessa kershawi) is a butterfly that is mostly confined to Australia, although westerly winds have dispersed it to islands east of Australia, including New Zealand. There is debate surrounding the taxonomy of this species. Some believe that the Australian Painted Lady should be a subspecies to the Painted Lady due to the similarity in lifestyle and behavior. Furthermore, the Painted Lady is found around the globe but Australia is the only location in which it varies enough to be considered a separate species. However, due to the distinct genitalia of the males, and variation in coloration, many others consider the Australian Painted Lady to be a separate species.

During spring, adult butterflies migrate south in large numbers from northern states of Queensland and New South Wales. In order to find mates, male Australian Painted Ladies exhibit territorial behavior, which involves a male perching on vegetation in a sunny spot on a hilltop, waiting for females to fly by. Despite urbanization and invasive plants altering its habitat, populations of Australian Painted Ladies have not been significantly impacted by these changes.

The Australian Painted Lady is remarkably similar to the Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui). It is differentiated by its smaller size, rarely exceeding 2 inches across its wings, and the blue coloration at the center of the four eyespots on its hind-wings. Its body is dark brown, almost black, all over, except the tips of the antenna which are white. The base of the wings are brown, which turns into a brick red coloration, broken by bands of black. The tip of them are black with four white dots running from the apex of the wing, and a white bar extending from the leading edge of the forewing. The hind-wings have four round eye-spots at their base, with a blue center for at least three. The underwings are almost identical to the upper-wings, except the base of the underwings is brick red rather than brown.

The Australian Painted Lady's coloration allows it to blend in effectively with the ground. Males and females look almost identical. The ovum is translucent green in color and barrel-shaped with 13-15 vertical ribs. Right before hatching, the black head and grey tinted body appear through the shell.

The larva is grey with pale yellow stripes along each side of its body, yellow dots, and has rows of branched spines covering its body. Its head is typically brown or black, and the caterpillar grows to approximately 3cm. The pupa is brown with darker markings, and four pairs of metallic silver or gold dots. Australian painted ladies use the plants as hosts during their larval stage, and as food sources. However, they inflict little damage to the plant.

The passage suggests that industry and urbanization have not altered significantly the population of Australian Painted Ladies because

A the population has been reduced in a minimum quantity.
B the population of the Australian Painted Lady is being threatened.
C the Australian Painted Lady is becoming extinct.
D only the habitat of the Australian Painted Lady has been affected.

The passage suggests that when an Australian Painted Lady butterfly perches on the ground, it is

A distinct
B imperceptible
C visible
D unsafe

The passage suggests that, before hatching, an Australian Painted Lady

A lives in a harsh shell.
B has a thick shell
C has a rough appearance.
D is visible through the shell.

The passage suggests that the Australian Painted ladies use plants as

A food and recreation.
B residence and breeding
C nourishment and protection.
D housing and growth.

Key Rules to remember

• Only infer from what’s in the text – avoid personal biases and own ‘researched’ information.
• Content hints are best used in non-fiction text as inferences are generally on results, consequences or parts of a process.

Practice time!

Now, it's your turn to practice.

Click on the button below and start your practice questions. We recommend doing untimed mode first, and then, when you're ready, do timed mode.

Every question has two solutions videos after you complete the question. The first is a quick 60 second video that shows you how our expert answers the question quickly. The second video is a more in-depth 5-steps or less explainer video that shows you the steps to take to answer the question. It's really important that you review the second video because that's where you'll learn additional tips and tricks.

Once you're done with the practice questions, move on to the next checkpoint.

Now, let’s get started on your practice questions.