An inference question tests whether you can finish a text’s reasoning using the clues it gives. Read the words leading into the blank to see what kind of conclusion you need. If it asks what someone believes, look at the reasons they give and the choices they make. Put those clues in a few words, then predict the smallest conclusion they support. Watch for claims that go past the text, because a believable idea still needs support from the passage.
Hints
- Hint 1
Look at the reasons Lopez gives for changing the book. What did test readers say about the removed chapter, and what does Lopez value in the material she expanded?
- Hint 2
Connect the readers’ feedback with Lopez’s new focus. What belief about the book could explain both changes?
Step-by-step
Link the reasons for her changes
Step 1Read the feedback behind the cut
Lopez removed a chapter cataloging every minor patent Reyes filed because test readers said it slowed the narrative. What does that tell us about the belief the blank asks for? She’s willing to cut detail when it holds up the story, so the readers’ experience matters to her.
- Step 2
Connect the new focus to that feedback
Why give the failed experiments more space instead? Lopez thinks they best reveal his persistence, so the failures help readers understand Reyes rather than only learn what he patented. Because she makes this switch in response to a chapter that dragged, we can predict that she expects the new focus to improve the reading experience.
- Step 3
Match the expected benefit
The ending asks what Lopez now believes, so we’re choosing her belief, not a tested result. Which choice states the benefit she expects? The phrase more engaging for readers expresses that expected benefit, without needing proof that readers have already approved the revised biography. Choice B.