What term describes drawing a conclusion using clues from the text plus what you know about life?

• A. Justify
• B. Context clues
• C. Inference
• D. Foreshadow

Answer: (C)

Inferring means drawing a conclusion by combining clues from the text with what you already know about life. You look at what the author shows through events, actions, and details, and you use your own experiences to fill in meaning that isn’t stated outright. That combination lets you arrive at an idea the text hints at but doesn’t say directly.

This is different from justifying, which is about giving reasons to support a claim you make; it’s different from context clues, which help you figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words; and it’s different from foreshadowing, which is when the author hints at something that will happen later. So, inferring is the process of making an educated guess about meaning or outcome based on text clues and your life knowledge.