Inference, tone and attitude

English (Précis and Composition) · Comprehension. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

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The idea

An inference is a conclusion that the passage does not state but clearly supports. It is one small step from the text. If you must add a fact from your own knowledge, or if the option goes further than the evidence, it is not a valid inference.

Tone is the writer's attitude to the subject, shown by word choice. Compare a firm leader with a stubborn leader: the facts are the same, the attitude is not. Look at the adjectives, the adverbs and the examples the writer chooses.

Watch for irony, where the writer says the opposite of what is meant. Praise for something plainly bad is a sign of irony or satire, and the real attitude is critical.

Rules to remember

A valid inference must be true if the passage is true; a merely possible statement is not enough.
Reject options with all, never, always or only unless the passage is equally strong.
Reject an option that only repeats a stated fact when the question asks what is implied.
Tone words to know: objective (facts only), nostalgic (fond of the past), sceptical (doubting), indignant (angry at a wrong), ironic, optimistic, resigned, admiring.
Figures and reports with no judging words give an objective or neutral tone.
Praise that does not fit the facts described is irony; the writer is mocking.
Cautious words such as may, perhaps and it remains to be seen show doubt, not hostility.

Common mistake

Candidates choose an inference that is sensible in real life but has no support in the passage, or take ironic praise at face value. Point to the words in the passage that prove your choice.

Worked example

The new flyover was opened three times, by three different ministers, each with a ribbon and a speech. It has not yet been opened to traffic. The tone is: A admiring, B ironic, C nostalgic, D objective.

Three ceremonies sound like an achievement, but the last sentence shows that the road is still unused.
The writer sets grand events beside no result and lets the contrast do the criticising.
That gap between what is said and what is meant is irony, so A is wrong.
D fails because the details are chosen to mock. Nothing looks back fondly at the past, so C fails.

Answer: B, ironic.

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