Making Inferences: Terms & Definitions
clues you can find to support a guess
evidence
"I grew up in the state of North Carolina. My hometown area got hit by hurricanes every year."
"I infer that the state of Georgia probably also gets hit by hurricanes every year."
What is the problem with this inference?
There's no evidence given here to support the inference.
a point of view in which the story-teller is a part of the story's events
first person
What kinds of point of view are commonly used for telling stories?
You should have three answers to this question.
First person
Third person (limited)
Third person (omniscient)
what you already know about a topic from your experience or education
schema
"I grew up in the state of North Carolina. My hometown area got hit by hurricanes every year."
"I infer that the teacher grew up in North Carolina."
What is the problem with this inference?
It isn't an inference at all. It is just a re-statement of a piece of evidence that was already given as a fact.
a point of view in which the narrator makes the reader part of the story's events
second person
What are some common examples of cases where a writer would likely use the second person point of view?
You should be able to think of at least two correct answers.
Recipes
Explanations
Textbooks
Letters written to another person
a logical conclusion made from facts and knowledge
an inference
"I grew up in the state of North Carolina. My hometown area got hit by hurricanes every year."
"I infer that North Carolina will get hit by a hurricane next year."
What is the problem with this inference?
It's a prediction about the future.
a point of view in which the narrator is an observer of the story's events
third person
How can dialogue appear in text?
How does dialogue look if characters are talking to each other?
How does dialogue look if we are seeing a character's thoughts?
If characters are talking, we will see their words inside quotation marks:
"..."
If we are seeing a character's thoughts, we will usually see it in italics:
This is what italics looks like!
"reading between the lines" or "an educated guess"
an inference
You will need a pumpkin, a knife, and a black marker. You will also need some room to work and a place to put food waste.
Start by using the knife to cut a hole in the top of the pumpkin. Next, use your hands to pull everything out of the inside of the pumpkin.
I can infer that I am reading...I can infer that I am reading instructions for carving a "Jack O' Lantern."
("Halloween Pumpkin" is also acceptable if the team does not know or remember the term "Jack O' Lantern.")
I'm so bored, Jill thought.
What term best fits what you see above?
third person limited
Sitting down at the long cafeteria table with his tray of food, Rick looked at his food with a familiar feeling of disappointment. Lunch was always better when I was still in elementary school. Looking across the table, he made eye contact with his friend, Stuart. Rick knew from the look on Stuart's face that his friend felt the same way.
What is the point of view of this passage?
Third person limited.
Even though it seems that we get to see both Rick and Stuart's feelings, in fact we only get to see Rick's viewpoint.
From Rick's viewpoint, we get to see a clue about how Stuart feels, but we do not actually see anything from Stuart's viewpoint.
what you can see...
evidence
"Cheer up -- you'll do better next time," said Tony's mom. "You don't understand," said Tony. Tony was feeling pretty embarrassed. Tony's mom replied, "Don't worry -- I'll help you practice. You'll know your lines perfectly next week."
I can infer that Tony is upset because...
I can infer that Tony is upset because he didn't know his lines during rehearsal for a stage drama performance.
("Practice" is also acceptable if the team doesn't know or remember the word "rehearsal.")
I'm so bored, Alan thought.
Alan always looks so bored, Frank thought.
What term best fits what you see above?
third person omniscient
What are the steps, in correct order, to find the point of view in a reading passage?
Step 1: read the passage
Step 2: cross out the dialogue
(including both conversations and thoughts)
Step 3: focus on the pronouns in the narration and figure out what kind they are
Step 4*: *if* the narration is third person, count how many characters' viewpoints you see