An inference question asks you to finish the text’s reasoning using the clues it gives. Read the words before the blank to see whose view you need to explain. Then put the change and that person’s comments into a few words. Predict only what the clues support, because a likely belief isn’t the same as a proven cause. Stay within the text: an answer can sound reasonable and still add a reason the passage never gives.
Hints
- Hint 1
The blank asks what Lin would attribute the increase to. Look for his own words about the change.
- Hint 2
Compare the course before and after 2021, then reread Lin’s comment about enthusiasm. Connect his reaction to the change he mentions.
Step-by-step
Infer what Lin would credit
Step 1Identify whose view matters
The course’s enrollment jumped to 60 students after weekly lab projects were added, up from a class that rarely exceeded 20. What does the blank ask us to do with that change? Lin would most likely attribute tells us to infer what he would credit for the increase, rather than prove its cause beyond doubt.
- Step 2
Use Lin’s reaction
What does Lin’s reaction add to those numbers? He says he was "surprised and delighted by the surge in enthusiasm" once the labs were introduced. His own comment ties that enthusiasm to the new lab work, so the clues support the idea that he sees that work as drawing more students.
- Step 3
Check which cause the text supports
Do the choices stay within what Lin says? A reduction in the course’s academic rigor adds easier work, an overall rise in university enrollment adds a broader trend, and a more convenient time of day adds a schedule change. None appears in the passage. The addition of hands-on lab projects names the change Lin describes, without adding another cause. Choice D.