ASVAB CampInference flashcards
8 cards with the formulas, rules and traps from this lesson. Answer in your head, then flip to check.
Term · 1/8
What is an inference in reading comprehension?
A conclusion the passage supports without stating it outright. It is not a hunch, a wish, or a fact known from outside the text.
Rule · 2/8
What three links make up a sound inference?
Evidence (a specific detail in the passage), a bridge (a common-sense connection almost anyone accepts), and the conclusion that follows. No evidence means it is only a guess.
Strategy · 3/8
Which question words signal an inference rather than a stated-fact question?
'Suggests,' 'implies,' 'most likely,' 'it can be inferred' ask for one step past the text; 'according to the passage' or 'the author states' ask for a fact you can point to.
Rule · 4/8
On the quantifier ladder, which way may a correct inference move?
It stays on the passage's rung or steps down, never up. If 'many' volunteers returned, 'some returned' is safe; 'most' or 'every volunteer' is unsupported.
Common trap · 5/8
Two things rise and fall together in a passage. Can you infer one caused the other?
Not by itself. Correlation shows an association only; other factors could be responsible unless the passage states the cause.
Rule · 6/8
Rule: 'If A, then B.' Which reversal is the only safe one?
The negated reversal (contrapositive): if B did not happen, A did not happen. Seeing B does not prove A, since B could have another cause.
Strategy · 7/8
Two answer choices both seem supported. How does the least-assumption rule decide?
Count the extra facts each one needs and choose the one that requires none, i.e. the narrowest conclusion that stays at the passage's level of evidence.
Common trap · 8/8
A passage never mentions something. Does that make a choice about it false?
No. Absence is not contradiction; label it 'not addressed.' Silence counts as evidence only when the passage claims to be complete (e.g. 'the only ingredients are...').