Final answer:
Helpful strategies for making inferences include locating and connecting key details in the text and relating these details to your own knowledge or experience.
Step-by-step explanation:
Two strategies that are helpful when making inferences from reading material include locating and connecting key details and relating details to your outside knowledge.
Locating and connecting key details involves careful reading to identify important facts and vocabulary, as well as examining the tone of words or phrases to discern positive or negative attributes. This close examination helps in understanding the underlying context and connections between different parts of the text. For instance, concluding that a baby is likely in a stroller even if not explicitly mentioned, based upon contextual clues.
Relating details to your outside knowledge integrates personal experiences or broader world understanding with information from the text. This method is akin to how Sherlock Holmes infers Dr. Watson's recent travels from his tan. In everyday life, you might infer, for example, that a sofa is unclean when a friend warns against sitting on it after a visit from someone with a baby.