Supported Inference guide
Supported Inference questions ask which conclusion the passage lets you draw. The right answer is the smallest step beyond what is stated that the passage still guarantees — if reaching it needs an extra assumption, it is not supported.
The method
- Identify what the passage actually establishes.
- Choose the option that follows from that with no additional assumption.
- Prefer the modest, guaranteed step over the bold, interesting one.
- If an option could be false while the passage stays true, it is not supported.
Supported inference: the minimum-conclusion rule
An inference need not repeat a sentence, but every part of it must be licensed by the passage. Choose the smallest conclusion the evidence forces or makes clearly defensible, not the most interesting explanation of what might be happening.
Build a short evidence chain and stop when the text stops. If the option needs an unstated motive, a typical real-world pattern or a stronger probability than the wording allows, it is not supported. This makes supported inference stricter than ordinary speculation.
Final check before you answer
- Name the exact facts that combine to support the conclusion.
- Remove any assumption about motive, cause or what usually happens.
- Match the strength of the answer to the strength of the evidence.
Common mistakes
- Overreach — an option that goes further than the text guarantees.
- Scope shift — quietly widening or narrowing the claim.
- Causal leap — reading a correlation as a cause.
- Confusing 'true in the real world' with 'supported by this passage'.
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from True/False/Cannot Say?
TFC asks you to judge a given statement. Supported Inference asks you to pick the conclusion the passage licenses — the discipline of staying inside the text is the same.
Practise this now
Preview the question styleOpen the drill
Use this skill in SHL-style verbal practice
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