ABSTRACT
Inference making is an important component in text processing. Different sentences and ideas in a text have to be connected in order to build up a fully integrated and coherent representation of the text. Yet many details of these connections are not explicitly mentioned. Therefore, the reader (or listener) must infer these links and fill in missing material from general knowledge. Studies investigating inferential ability in skilled, adult readers demonstrate that they readily make inferences as and when necessary (see Garnham, 1985; Singer, 1994; van den Broek, 1994, for reviews of such work). What is less clear is when and how young children make inferences.
