TOEFL Reading Inference Questions
Inference questions ask what the passage implies without stating it outright. You're combining two pieces of information the author gives you to reach a conclusion the author never wrote down directly — but the conclusion still has to be airtight, not just plausible.
What This Question Looks Like
"Which of the following can be inferred about early 20th-century trade routes?"
How to Answer It
- Treat this like a logic puzzle, not a guessing game: the correct answer must follow necessarily from what the text says, not merely be consistent with it.
- If an option requires outside knowledge or a stretch of imagination to be true, it is wrong — TOEFL inference questions stay tightly anchored to the passage.
- Look one sentence before and after any specific detail the question points to; the missing logical link is almost always sitting right next to it.
The Trap Most Students Fall Into
Answers that sound reasonable in the real world but aren't actually supported by the specific sentences in the passage. TOEFL wants text-based logic, not general knowledge.
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