I. What is Inference? An inference is the process of drawing a conclusion from supporting evidence. It’s when you go beyond the evidence and reach some further conclusion. We draw inferences all the time when we say things like: 1. “I don’t see Anne. She said she was tired, so she must have gone home to bed.” 2. “Sarah’s been at the gym a lot; she must be trying to lose weight.” 3. “Jacko is a dog, and all dogs love belly rubs. So Jacko must love belly rubs.” This sort of inference is the basic building block of all arguments.We also make inferences when we read literature. The author gives us clues about what’s going on, and we have to figure things out based on that evidence. The author implies; the readers infer. (For the sake of simplicity, this article will focus on the inference process rather than the implication process.)Inferences can be good or bad depending on how logical they are. The first example here is pretty good, the third is very good, and the second is actually bad. (We'll see why in Related Terms.) II. Examples of Inference See below for examples of Inference. Example 1 You’re about to enter a classroom. It’s 8:57, and there is lots of chatter coming from inside the room. —> You infer that there’s a 9:00 class that hasn’t started yet.In this example, we have some basic evidence (the time and the noise), and we can infer that class hasn’t started yet. We can’t be sure that the inference is correct, but it’s reasonable to reach this conclusion anyway. Example 2 Socrates is a man, and all men are mortal. —>Therefore, we can infer that Socrates is mortal.Also known as a syllogism (see Related Terms), this is the most logically complete form of inference. Unlike Example #1, we actually can be sure this time. If the evidence is correct, then we can be quite certain that Socrates is mortal. Example 3 Harry’s face turned red and he started to yell, balling his hands up into shaking fists. It’s not to hard to infer what Harry’s feeling here. From the evidence of his face, voice, and hands, we infer that he’s really angry about something, though we don’t yet know what it is.III. The Importance of Inferences Without inferences, there’s no way we could understand our world. It’s all well and good to ask for evidence and proof, but sooner or later we inevitably have to go beyond the evidence and actually draw a conclusion! Inferences are also critically important for literature, because otherwise authors would have to explain everything to us out loud — how boring! Instead of saying “Harry turned red and started yelling,” the author would have to say “Harry felt angry.” That would be much more dry and less fun to read. So authors make their books compelling by giving you clues and rich details, then letting you draw your own conclusions as a reader. Even if the conclusions are pretty obvious (as in theexample of Harry’s anger), it’s more fun as a reader if you get to make the inference for yourself. Inferences are also the building blocks of argument, so they’re very important in formal essays. In formal essays, you want to be more clear and direct than you would be in fiction, so it’s important to state the conclusions specifically. But you also have to come in with evidence to back those conclusions up, and the relationship between evidence and conclusion is always some kind of inference. So to make a good argument, you have to make sure that the inferences are good ones! (See How to Make Good Inferences.)