Problem: inference questions feel like guessing, and distractors are designed to feel right — vocabulary matches, logic does not. Answer in brief: separate global inference (whole-text stance) from paragraph-level inference (local implication), and learn distractor archetypes so traps announce themselves. This guide teaches inference levels with archetype defence, and Cambridge B2 First Reading — Course 3 trains both across 16 topic sections.
Global inference: whole-text stance
Author attitude, text purpose, intended audience — answerable only from accumulated evidence across paragraphs. Method: collect three stance signals (evaluative adjectives, concession structures, closing verdicts) before judging. Single-paragraph impressions mislead; global questions need global evidence.
Paragraph-level inference: local implication
“What does the writer imply in paragraph 3?” — read the paragraph’s job plus its unsaid consequence. Implication lives in gaps: examples implying general claims, contrasts implying judgements, descriptions implying attitudes. State the gap explicitly (“the example implies…”) before matching options.
Master inference supervised? The full Cambridge B2 First Reading — Course 3 teaches global and paragraph-level inference with multiple matching across 16 topic sections. Explore the course →
Multiple matching exercise method
Four summaries × five courses style sets: read summaries first (know the hunts), map each text’s job, match by function with verification quotes. Cross out decided matches visibly — working memory fails before texts do. Undecided pairs get joint re-reading, never solo guessing.
Distractor archetypes and defence
Vocabulary echo: right words, wrong paragraph — defence: job-matching. Half-truth: first clause correct, second invented — defence: verify whole option. Extreme: always/never vs qualified text — defence: check modifiers. True-but-irrelevant: text states it, question does not ask it — defence: re-read the question stem. Learn four archetypes; most distractors confess on sight.
FAQs
How do I know an inference is justified?
Point at the implying text: if no lines support it, it is speculation, not inference. Justified inferences always have textual addresses.
Global or local first?
Local practice builds the skill; global questions test the accumulation. Train paragraphs first, then whole-text stance judgements.
What is in the course?
Sixteen topic sections on global and paragraph-level inference with multiple matching and distractor archetypes.
The matching course
Cambridge B2 First Reading — Course 3 infers properly and distrusts properly: levels, matching, archetypes — 16 topic sections. If traps catch you, study them here.
Sources and note
- B2 First format per cambridgeenglish.org — B2 First format. Check current guidance before the exam.
- Course details verified from its public staging page (read-only): 16 topic sections.
- Methods are general techniques; exercise descriptions summarise the course.