The strategy of inferencing is defined as the process of using available information (linguistic or nonlinguistic) to guess the meanings of unfamiliar target language elements to predict outcomes or to fill in missing information. Inferencing is also commonly referred to as educated guessing. It regards guessing as a special way of processing new information for it decodes texts through the use of contextual clues and the reader's own background. It is believed that guessing is an essential skill for reading, as it enables the learner to cope with gaps in understanding. Systematic guessing helps learners accept the idea that it is not essential to understand every single word of the text to derive its overall meaning.
Adapted from: ABSY, Conceição A. The use of inference in EFL text comprehension. Available at: https://periodicos.sbu.unicamp.br/ojs/index.php/tla/article/view/8639246/6842.
