These are questions which, to answer, the reader has to deeply understand the context of the story and the actual occurrences therein. While answers to these inquiries may not be clearly stated word-for-word in the text, they are likely to be hinted at (i.e., clues are provided). Thus, implicit questions need the readers to make inferences by using information present in the text.
One can’t answer implicit questions without the text. Such questions can’t even be answered by using the text’s exact words. Instead, they require readers to dwell upon the author’s explicit statements, what he has implied or hinted at, and what they may already know – thanks to their prior knowledge, to make inferences. Some implicit questions may be local that one can answer by reading just a sentence or two. However, others could need readers to read a longer section of the text and choose clues from multiple places in the text to arrive at their conclusions.
Though implicit questions require the readers to make inferences, readers don’t need to take giant leaps in reasoning to do it. The answers to these implicit questions will be implied in the text. Here are some tips that can help readers find answers to implicit questions:
· Avoid using imagination: The correct answer to an implicit question must have evidence to support it. In case one isn’t sure if an idea is implied, it possibly isn’t. If the reader needs to stretch to make a choice work, it’s most likely to be wrong.
· Use RIP RAP: RIP stands for Rephrase (if possible), and RAP refers to Read Around and Predict. If readers need to learn a solitary technique to comprehend the text and answer implicit questions, this must be the one they should focus upon. This technique encourages the readers to rephrase the questions using their own words when they can. This is an excellent way to gain control when the reader is puzzled. The next step is to revisit the text and read around to find the answer. The reader should try to express the answer in his own words. If he has made certain predictions, he should read around to find a match to one of his predictions. Look for the keywords: Even when a reader doesn’t remember what the passage said, he can search for keywords from the question to find the answer that the text clearly implies.
