The answer is never written on the page, you have to piece it together from what the text implies.
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How to play
Each case gives you a passage and a question that cannot be answered by copying a line. Work out the answer by combining details, then mark which sentences actually support it and which are deliberate distractions.
Read the passage and reason past what is literally stated
Click a sentence to flag it as a red herring (irrelevant)
Click the sentences that prove your answer
Get the inference and the evidence right to clear the case
Controls
Desktop: click sentences to flag or select them, and click to confirm your answer
Phone & tablet: tap sentences and answer buttons directly
Game modes
Daily: one shared, seeded case set with a global ranking
Practice: fresh passages across Easy, Medium and Hard difficulty
Tips & strategy
Underline the question's key word first, then hunt only for details that bear on it
A sentence that sounds dramatic but adds no logical link is usually a red herring
Two weak clues can combine into one strong inference, look for pairs that point the same way
What you'll learn
Inference Engine trains the reading-comprehension skill of reading between the lines, drawing conclusions a text implies but doesn't state.
Skills: reading comprehension, inference, drawing conclusions, using evidence
Best for: roughly grades 4–9 (ages 9–15)
For parents & teachers: targets inference, one of the hardest comprehension skills to teach.
Origins
A question that cannot be answered by copying a line is testing inference, the part of reading comprehension that goes beyond retrieval.
Marking which sentences actually support the answer, and which are deliberate distractions, is the original second step.
Requiring the evidence is what separates this from a quiz. A reader can arrive at a correct answer from a wrong sentence or from prior knowledge the passage never supplied, and naming the support is the only way to tell comprehension from a lucky guess.
About Inference Engine
Inference Engine is an original, free reading-comprehension game that trains the skill of reading between the lines. Play instantly in any modern browser.
A free, original browser game on PlayPendium. No download, no install.
