PRACTICE

ReadingReading Basics

Making Inferences

Relating Ideas

Main IdeaSupporting DetailsWord Meaning

Drawing Conclusions

Author’s Approach

Cause and Effect

Comparative Relationships

SequenceCopyright © 2012 Mary Kate Durkin and Chris Mikulskis

DRAWING CONCLUSIONS

PRACTICE

ReadingReading Basics Drawing Conclusions

Copyright © 2012 Mary Kate Durkin and Chris Mikulskis

We make inferences and draw conclusions every day without even thinking about it. Do you know what your mom is communicating when she gives you “the look” with her arms crossed? How about when your best friend walks down the hall with her head hanging low and shoulders slumping? What about when your sister walks into the room and glares at you when you’re watching your favorite TV show? You can read the messages loud and clear without hearing a word. You make inferences and draw conclusions—you understand that your mom is angry, your friend is upset, and your sister is, well, just being what you’d expect her to be. Drawing a conclusion requires taking the information that is available (even if there’s only a little) and determining more from it. Drawing conclusions, making inferences, and developing generalizations are skills you must know not just for the ACT, but for life. You can expect to see three or more of these questions for each reading passage.

The Skill

PRACTICE

ReadingReading Basics Drawing Conclusions

Copyright © 2012 Mary Kate Durkin and Chris Mikulskis

What These Questions look Like It can be reasonably inferred from the third paragraph (lines 22-27) that… [Character] can best be described as… As it is used in line 40, the phrase [“quote”] suggests that the character… In lines 20-25, the author suggests that… Based on information in the passage, it can be reasonably concluded that… It can reasonably be inferred that the author would agree with which of the following statements? According to the passage, the author believes that… The information in lines 25-29 most strongly implies that…

PRACTICE

ReadingReading Basics Drawing Conclusions

Copyright © 2012 Mary Kate Durkin and Chris Mikulskis

Strategies To WIN1. These are deeper-thinking questions. You have to be able to

determine information even when it is not clearly stated in the passage.

2. When lines are provided, read around the lines as well (If the question mentions lines 20-22, read at least a few lines before and after).

3. Be aware of absolutes. These are words or phrases that make an answer choice an absolute certainty (always, never, will, only when, etc.).