An inference needs evidence
Infer carefully: keep the limits of the passage
An inference is a conclusion supported by the passage, even when it is not written in exactly the same words. It needs evidence. A possible story is not enough.
Read the passage
S1. For two weeks, a college library kept one table free of group discussions.
S2. A small sign asked students at that table to work silently; group work was still welcome elsewhere.
S3. Six students used the table on the first day and nine on the last day.
S4. The librarian recorded these counts but did not ask the students why they chose the table.
S5. She planned to collect comments before deciding whether to continue the arrangement.
Three levels of support
| Claim | What the passage supports |
|---|---|
| Group work was allowed elsewhere. | Directly stated in S2. |
| The library was testing a change rather than announcing a permanent arrangement. | Supported by the two-week period and the decision still to be made. |
| Silence improved the students' exam marks. | Not established: the passage gives no exam results. |
“Not established” does not mean “proved false”. It means that the information is not enough to accept that claim.
- Start with the proposed conclusion: the arrangement was not yet permanent.
- Gather the relevant facts: it ran for two weeks, and the librarian had not yet decided whether to continue it.
- Keep the conclusion within those facts: the library was trying an arrangement before deciding its future.
- Stop there. Do not invent the final decision or the students' reasons for choosing the table.
Watch the size of a claim. Some does not mean all. After does not by itself mean because of. Counts on two days do not show what happened on every day between them.
Five practice checks
- Which conclusion is best supported?
Show answer
Correct answer: B
S2 identifies a silent table while welcoming group work elsewhere. Together, these facts support the conclusion that both kinds of work had a place.
Option A: Group work was still welcome elsewhere, so there was no building-wide ban.
Option C: The passage gives no preference for every student.
Option D: S5 says the decision about continuing the arrangement was still to be made.
Hint: Combine both parts of S2 rather than reading only the silent-work instruction.
- Why can we not conclude that the silent table improved exam marks?
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Correct answer: D
The passage reports table-use counts, not marks. Without information about exam performance, the claim that silence improved marks is not established.
Option A: A first-day count alone does not prove either an improvement or a lack of improvement in marks.
Option B: Allowing group work elsewhere tells us nothing about the exam marks of students using the silent table.
Option C: The size of the sign is not evidence about exam performance.
Hint: Ask which kind of information would actually test a claim about marks.
- Which statement is NOT supported by the passage?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
The passage never gives all students' preferences. B, C and D restate information in S2, S4 and S1 respectively. We cannot accept A from this passage; that does not prove A false.
Option B: S2 directly says group work was welcome elsewhere.
Option C: S4 directly states that the librarian did not ask why students chose the table.
Option D: S1 directly gives the two-week period.
Hint: Read “NOT” carefully, then check the strength of “All”.
- What does the plan to collect comments before deciding suggest?
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Correct answer: C
Collecting comments before deciding supports the limited conclusion that the librarian wanted feedback for the decision. The passage does not state which decision would be made.
Option A: A decision was pending; its outcome is not given.
Option B: Collecting comments was planned. No completed vote is described.
Option D: Nothing says that the recorded counts were incorrect.
Hint: Preserve the order: comments first, decision afterwards.
- Which comparison is justified by S3?
Show answer
Correct answer: B
Nine on the last day is more than six on the first. Those two counts do not show a daily trend or the total number of different students. Nine is not double six.
Option A: Only the first-day and last-day counts are supplied, not each day's count.
Option C: The same people may have used the table on different days. The total number of different students is not given.
Option D: Double six is twelve, not nine.
Hint: Use only the two stated counts; avoid adding a pattern for the days between them.
A final test for an inference
Can you show the supporting sentences? Does your conclusion add all, always, a cause, a motive or a final outcome that the passage never supplies? If so, make the conclusion narrower or reject it.
Syllabus link: passage comprehension is included in the official SSC CGL 2026 notice, sections 13.10.4 and 13.11.3.1. This is an original practice passage.
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