Inferring:

Most literary elements of stories require us to *infer*. For instance, even character studies require us to infer by connecting characters' appearance, behavior, etc. to their personality traits. Often, in making these inferences, we connect clues from the text to our background knowledge. For instance, if we describe a character as "good-natured," we need to know not only what the character has said or done that marks him as good-natured, but also what good-natured means. The quality of our inference depends not only on our attention to the text but also on the quality of our background knowledge. When your background knowledge is accurate, your attention to the text is close, and your connections are logical, then your inferences are likely to be strong. When you are writing about your inferences and observations, it is often a good idea to state your background knowledge clearly and even back it up with sources, so that your reader will understand the source of your inference.

Literary elements often operate to make the specific textbound details more universal. When we are making inferences about symbols, for instance, we should usually look for abstract meanings. We should also usually look for meanings that are not limited to the specific place and time in which the story occurs, but may have relevance for other people living at other places and times. (If the story has no deep or universal significance, it is usually found in a newspaper or a history book, not a collection of literature).

As you begin to write paragraphs about your inferences, you will likely discover that you don't have enough details to support your inferences. Inferring and attention to detail go hand in hand. Once you have an inference, you should go back to the text and look for other details that support your idea. You should also read carefully, asking yourself questions and writing on the page, the first time through the story.

Since you should usually have several supporting details for each paragraph, your topic sentence will need to be broader than your examples, because it needs to include all of them.