Separate what is stated from what is inferred

1 · Learn

Original passage: The last shop on Harbour Street closed at five. By ten past, its window had become a mirror, returning the street to itself without the warm shelves behind it. Anya stood beneath the awning with a cardboard box against her knee. Inside lay three chipped mugs, a roll of labels and the small brass bell that had announced every customer for twenty years. Her brother had offered to carry the box. She had told him it was light. Across the road, workers were fixing a sign above the new supermarket. Each time a drill stopped, Anya heard the loose bell move against a mug. She could have wrapped it in the newspaper at the bottom of the box, but she left it where it was. At last she lifted the box. The bell rang once, sharply, and she turned towards the empty doorway before remembering there was nobody left to serve.

The passage states that Anya says the box is light; it does not state that weight is her real reason for refusing help. Her attention to the bell and the final habitual turn suggest an emotional attachment to the shop. Keep the observation and interpretation distinct.

2 · Worked example

Anya's refusal may suggest she wants to carry the shop's last objects herself. Claiming she dislikes her brother would need evidence not supplied here.

3 · Your turn

Give one detail suggesting that the bell has significance beyond its practical use.

4 · Apply your learning

Write one literal statement and one supported inference, labelling them clearly.