6. RECOGNIZING the Explicit
Explicit information is any idea that is stated.With explicit
information, you see the text explained! Since you are looking for
explicit information in what is read, the explicit information will
be written in the text. There is no need to look for clues.
7. PROCESSING the Implicit
Implicit information is understood
but it is not stated. To find implicit
information in what is read, you will
have to think about what you read.
Look for clues as you read. Implicit
information is not written.
8. WRAP UP
• Explicit information is any idea that is stated.
• Implicit information is understood but it is not
stated.
• Implicit information is using what is read to make an
inference.
• But what is an inference? How can we differ it from
implicit information.
9. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INFERENCE AND
IMPLICIT INFORMATION
•Imply
If a speaker or writer implies something, they are suggesting it in an indirect
way rather than making an explicit statement. As a reader or listener, you
are left to draw your own conclusions from what has been said or hinted.
•Infer
When someone infers something, they reach a conclusion or decide that
something is true on the basis of the evidence available. If they are listening
to or reading another person’s words, they come to a conclusion about
what is meant even though the writer or speaker has not stated this explicitly.
10. •He implied that the General had been a traitor.
[presented from the writer’s or speaker’s
perspective]
•I inferred from his words that the General had
been a traitor.
[presented from the listener’s perspective]
11. •In the first sentence, the writer or speaker doesn’t actually
claim that the General had betrayed his country, but his
words (or even his tone) have suggested that this is the case.
•In the second sentence, whatever was said about the
General has enabled the listener to deduce that he was in
fact a traitor (without the writer or speaker having risked a
charge or libel or slander).
