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Edutest Reading inference questions

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The short answer

An inference question asks what a passage suggests but never says; the text's clues decide the answer. It comes up in the 30-minute Reading Comprehension test, sat at your child's year level on their school's date .

Edutest · 24 October

Checked by the SelectiveReady team on 24 October 2026 · Updated 27 October 2026 · How we check facts

Independent. Not affiliated with Edutest or any school named here.

On this page
  1. What is an inference question?
  2. Which clues do writers leave?
  3. How does your child answer an inference question?
  4. What do Edutest inference questions look like?
  5. What traps should your child watch for?
  6. How is inference different from deduction?
  7. How can your child practise inference?

What is an inference question?

An inference question asks your child to work out something the writer shows but doesn't state. The answer isn't written in the passage. It's built from clues in the passage and ordinary sense about how people behave.

"Jo slammed the door and didn't answer when her brother called." The text never says Jo is upset, but every clue points that way.

The question gives itself away with words like "suggests", "most likely", "implies" or "why does …". Edutest counts this as interpreting a passage , and it can follow a story or an information text.

Edutest · 24 October

Which clues do writers leave?

Writers rarely name a feeling or a reason outright. They leave signs, and an inference question asks your child to read them, so it helps to know where to look.

The gap clue is the easiest to miss. When a writer says a character told everyone something, check whether what the character then does matches it.

Clues an inference question points to
ClueExampleWhat it can show
What a character doesSharpening pencils again and againNerves, care, wanting to get it right
What a character says'Someone has to get it right'What matters to them
A gap between words and actionsSaying a choice was easy, then looking backA hidden feeling
What a character doesn't doStaying out of an argumentA decision or a rule they follow
The writer's choice of wordCalling lichens 'watchful'An idea the writer wants you to reach

How does your child answer an inference question?

Inference isn't guessing: every right answer can be traced back to words in the passage. Saying the inference before reading the options stops a tempting option from doing the thinking.

  1. Find the moment the question is about

    Go back to that part of the passage and read a little before and after it.

  2. Collect the clues

    What does the character do, say or avoid? Which words did the writer choose?

  3. Say the inference in your own words

    Before reading the options: 'She's nervous about doing the job well.'

  4. Pick the option the clues support most

    Wrong options either go further than the clues or rest on no clue at all.

When two options both seem possible, ask your child which line each one rests on. The option with a line in the text behind it beats the option that only sounds sensible.

What do Edutest inference questions look like?

All four come from one short story about a girl keeping score at a junior cricket match, from easier to harder. Each one shows the answer and the working. Read them with your child and talk through why the right option is right.

The Scorer

The Scorer

Amira had sharpened both pencils twice before the first ball was bowled. She lined them up beside the scorebook, squared its corners with the edge of the table, and then sharpened them again.

'You know it's only the under-elevens,' said Coach Riley, dropping a bottle of water beside her. 'Nobody's going to check it with a magnifying glass.'

'Someone has to get it right,' Amira said.

Last season she had played in this team. This season her name was not on the list, because the club had moved her up to the under-thirteens, who played on Sunday mornings, and on Sunday mornings Amira now rowed with her school crew. She had chosen rowing. She had told everyone it was an easy choice.

Out on the field, her cousin Zayd hit a ball that rolled gently towards the boundary rope and stopped just short of it. The umpire, a dad in a floppy hat, signalled four. Amira looked at the ball, then at the umpire, and wrote down 4.

Behind her, two parents began arguing about whether the ball had reached the rope. She did not join in.

At the drinks break, Coach Riley read the scorebook over her shoulder. Every dot, every run and every wide sat in its proper box, in tiny, upright figures.

'Neater than mine,' he said. 'Want the job every week?'

Amira took her time answering. She looked out at the field, where her old teammates were throwing a ball back and forth, laughing at something she could not hear.

'Only if I can still bowl in the nets at training,' she said.

Worked explanation 1

Why does Amira keep sharpening her pencils before the game?

  1. A.

    Her pencils kept breaking during the last game.

  2. B.

    Coach Riley has asked her to have spares ready.

  3. C.

    She is anxious to do the scoring job well.

  4. D.

    She is bored of waiting for the game to begin.

Answer: C

Answer: C (She is anxious to do the scoring job well.)

She sharpens the pencils over and over and squares the scorebook neatly. When the coach teases her, she says, 'Someone has to get it right.' These are the actions of someone keen not to make a mistake. The answer is C.

The trap: D tempts because people do fiddle with things when they are waiting. But her reply to the coach shows she cares about getting it right, not that she is bored.

Why the other options are wrong

  • A (Her pencils kept breaking during the last game.): No earlier game or broken pencils are mentioned.
  • B (Coach Riley has asked her to have spares ready.): The coach only brings water and tells her not to worry so much.
  • D (She is bored of waiting for the game to begin.): Her reply shows care about the job, not boredom.

Worked explanation 2

Amira writes down 4 even though the ball stopped just short of the rope. This suggests that she

  1. A.

    goes by the umpire's signal, not by what she saw

  2. B.

    did not see where the ball actually stopped

  3. C.

    wants her cousin's team to win the match

  4. D.

    agrees with the parent who says it reached the rope

Answer: A

Answer: A (goes by the umpire's signal, not by what she saw)

The text says she 'looked at the ball, then at the umpire', so she saw where it stopped and then checked the signal. The umpire signalled four, and four is what she writes. She also stays out of the parents' argument. A scorer records the umpire's decisions, and that is what she does. The answer is A.

The trap: C tempts because the batter is her cousin. But nothing shows her favouring anyone; she writes down the umpire's call and keeps out of the argument.

Why the other options are wrong

  • B (did not see where the ball actually stopped): The text says she looked at the ball before she wrote anything.
  • C (wants her cousin's team to win the match): Nothing shows she is taking sides; she follows the umpire.
  • D (agrees with the parent who says it reached the rope): She does not join the argument at all, so she agrees with neither parent.

Worked explanation 3

The sentence 'She had told everyone it was an easy choice' suggests that

  1. A.

    Amira found rowing easier than playing cricket

  2. B.

    Amira had never really enjoyed playing cricket

  3. C.

    other people had told Amira it was an easy choice

  4. D.

    the choice was harder than Amira let others see

Answer: D

Answer: D (the choice was harder than Amira let others see)

Notice the exact words. The writer does not say it was an easy choice; it says she told everyone it was. That gap hints that what she said and what she felt were different. Later she watches her old teammates laughing and asks to keep bowling, which backs this up. The answer is D.

The trap: A tempts children who see the word 'easy' and attach it to rowing. But 'easy' describes the choice between the two sports, not either sport; nothing compares how hard rowing and cricket are.

Why the other options are wrong

  • A (Amira found rowing easier than playing cricket): 'Easy' describes the choice, not rowing; the two sports are never compared.
  • B (Amira had never really enjoyed playing cricket): She still wants to bowl in the nets, so she enjoys cricket.
  • C (other people had told Amira it was an easy choice): Amira told everyone, not the other way round.

Worked explanation 4

What does Amira's final reply most strongly suggest?

  1. A.

    She would now rather keep score than play cricket.

  2. B.

    She still wants to stay a cricket player in some way.

  3. C.

    She thinks keeping score each week is too easy a job.

  4. D.

    She is only saying yes so as to please Coach Riley.

Answer: B

Answer: B (She still wants to stay a cricket player in some way.)

Just before she answers, she watches her old teammates laughing together. She then agrees to score only if she can still bowl in the nets. The condition shows she does not want to stop playing altogether. The answer is B.

The trap: A tempts because she does accept the scoring job. But her condition shows that scoring alone is not enough for her; she wants to keep bowling too.

Why the other options are wrong

  • A (She would now rather keep score than play cricket.): Her condition shows scoring is not enough; she still wants to bowl.
  • C (She thinks keeping score each week is too easy a job.): She took great care over the job; nothing says she finds it too easy.
  • D (She is only saying yes so as to please Coach Riley.): She cared about scoring before he asked; she is not just pleasing him.

Ask your child which option looked right at first and which line made it feel right, then find the line behind the correct one. The working names the clue, so your child can see the difference.

What traps should your child watch for?

Each wrong option in the examples sets one of these traps. As you go through the working, name the trap behind each wrong option, so your child knows what to check for next time.

  • The likely story with no clue behind it. Fiddling with pencils could mean boredom, but Amira's own words show she cares about the job. An option must fit the clues in this passage, not people in general.
  • Going too far. Accepting the scoring job doesn't mean Amira would rather score than play. Her condition at the end pulls the other way.
  • Taking sides the text doesn't take. The batter is her cousin, yet nothing shows her favouring anyone. A plausible motive is not a clue.
  • Reading a word, not the sentence. In "she had told everyone it was an easy choice", the word easy belongs to the choice, not to rowing.

How is inference different from deduction?

Inference asks what's most likely; deduction asks what must be true. Verbal Reasoning has deduction questions, where your child decides what follows for certain from a few statements .

That changes how your child judges an option. In deduction, "might be true" is wrong. In inference, the best supported option wins even when the text can't prove it, which is why the question says "most likely" or "most strongly".

It's tempting to carry the rules of one into the other, so name the difference out loud. The verbal deduction page covers the stricter kind.

Inference can take longer than retrieval, because the clues are spread out. Edutest says there are no marks lost for wrong or blank answers, so a hard inference should get the best supported guess rather than a blank.

Edutest · 24 October

How can your child practise inference?

Use the stories already in your house. After a chapter or a TV episode, ask "How is she feeling?" and then "How do you know?"

The second question is the skill: your child learns to point to the line, not just name the feeling.

Stop a story before a turning point and ask what the character will do next, and which line made your child think so. Try information texts too: ask why the writer chose a particular word or example.

Four examples show the method; a full Reading Comprehension test shows whether your child can use it against the clock. Practice test 1 gives results by skill, so you'll see whether inference is where the marks go.

The app's inference lesson has an Interactive version and Notes. Inference sits with the other kinds on the Reading Comprehension sample questions page; for details the passage states outright, see retrieval.

See where your child stands

Practice test 1 marks every answer and shows results by skill: what your child already does well and the three skills to work on next.

Sample: Edutest Scholarship in SelectiveReady, results by skill after a practice testSample

Practise for the real test

Practice test 1 is free. Then packs from A$109 for 12 months, or A$9 a week, per exam.

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Sources and checks

  1. Edutest: scholarship and entrance testingEdutest · Facts checked 24 October 2026
  2. Edutest: frequently asked questionsEdutest · Facts checked 24 October 2026
  3. Edutest: parents and students overviewEdutest · Facts checked 24 October 2026
  4. Edutest: important informationEdutest · Facts checked 24 October 2026
  5. SelectiveReadySelectiveReady · Facts checked 2 November 2026

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