Imply and Infer

One reading skill we work on in my class is making inferences.  This reading and thinking skill is heavily stressed on the Praxis and PAPA exams freshman students take to enter the College of Education curriculum.  When you make an inference you take the available information combined with what you already know to understand what is being implied but not directly stated.
Remember:

• The writer and speaker imply.
• The reader and listener infer.

You make inferences all the time.   For example, when you meet someone for the first time, you take what you see (their appearance, facial expression, demeanor) and what they say and form an impression of their personality.


Read the following three pairs of sentences and pay attention to your thought process as you read the second sentence in each pair.  You will be using context clues to make an inference about what the first sentence means.


Mary had a little lamb,
Its fleece was white as snow.


Mary had a little lamb.
She liked it served medium with mint jelly.


Mary had a little lamb.
The vet arrived just in time to help with the birth.


Usually textbooks directly state what they mean.  In persuasive essays, conversations and fiction writing implications are very common.  Be sure you are looking for any subtle meaning as well as what is directly stated.
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