Information and Ideas
| English | 中文 | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| inference/ˈɪnfərəns/ | 推断 | tuī duàn |
| evidence/ˈevɪdəns/ | 证据 | zhèng jù |
A decision before an answer
- A headline claims that a new park cooled the whole city. The study measured just one street. What can it support?
- Your goal: Identify central ideas and supporting details.
Read the relationship
- A central idea includes the author’s main point, not just a vivid detail. Summarise each sentence before choosing.
- Make inferences warranted by the text.
Only one street was measured. Which conclusion is warranted?
Limit the conclusion to the measured place and time.
Use the defining rule
- An inference joins stated information without adding a new cause. Check every word of an answer against the passage.
- Select textual evidence and interpret quantitative evidence.
Shaded sites: 28, 30°C; unshaded: 32, 34°C. Difference between group means?
Means are 29 and 33; subtract them to obtain 4°C.
Check the conditions
- For evidence questions, identify the claim first. A result can be real but irrelevant to that claim.
- Select textual evidence and interpret quantitative evidence.
A study measured two streets at noon. The shaded street was 29°C; the unshaded street was 33°C. This supports a difference of 4°C at those sites and time. It cannot establish city-wide cooling or causation because the streets may differ in other ways.
A conclusion drawn from stated information is an ____.
An inference must have support in the passage.
Apply the task format
- For a table or graph, read labels, units and groups before values. Compare the requested groups; never infer a trend outside the data.
- Select textual evidence and interpret quantitative evidence.
An answer that sounds scientifically plausible may add information absent from the passage.
Which answer fits this case?
Identify central ideas and supporting details
An observed association alone proves a cause.
Other differences can explain an association.
Keep the distinctions
- inference 推断 — A conclusion supported by stated information.
- evidence 证据 — Information relevant to a particular claim.
- Identify central ideas and supporting details.
- Make inferences warranted by the text.
- Select textual evidence and interpret quantitative evidence.
Match each term with its precise meaning in this lesson.
Keep the distinctions stated in the teaching example.
Put this lesson’s reasoning or event sequence in order.
The order follows the stated process; check each stage before the next.