Answers to Making Inferences HW

1. The author believes that volunteering can be a positive experience for the
volunteer and for the place where he or she is volunteering, if a few
guidelines are followed. The author believes volunteering is similar to
applying for and working at a job and gives advice based on this belief.

2. The author begins the passage by listing the benefits of volunteering. The rest
of the passage is about guidelines a volunteer should follow to get the most
out of the experience.

3. The following inferences are supported by the text.

X Volunteer work may not perfectly match your interests.

X A candidate’s performance during an interview for a volunteer
position is important.

4. Colleges usually don’t accept applicants who have no volunteer
experience.
Although it is common knowledge that many colleges expect their applicants
to have completed volunteer work, the text does not state or infer this
information. The text only states that volunteer work may give a volunteer
skills and/or knowledge that could be helpful in the future. Also, one’s future
may involve a wide range of activities, not just college.

Volunteer work may not perfectly match your interests.
This is a valid inference. In several sections, the text warns volunteers that
the work they might expect to do is not the work they may be doing. In Step 1,
the text states, “For instance, you may love animals but the local shelter
needs people to create flyers for an upcoming fundraiser. You might not end
up working directly with the animals.” In Step 3, the text again reminds the
reader that volunteer work may not exactly match one’s interests and gives
advice on how to improve one’s volunteer time. Last, in Step 4, the writer
seems to console the reader with a minimum expectation that even if a
volunteer experience is not exactly what one would want, at least the
volunteer will leave with some experience and contacts to put on future work
and college applications.

It can be difficult to get a volunteer opportunity.
Although the purpose of the text is to give advice on how to get a volunteer
position and the text suggests that some effort is required, the writer does not
imply that getting a volunteer position is difficult.
The biggest expense of becoming a volunteer is having professional
clothes to wear to the interview.

The writer does not discuss wearing professional attire in terms of an
expense. The writer does not suggest that potential volunteers spend any
money at all in order to look professional. Either the writer assumes that
anyone reading this text will already have professional attire or assumes that
the expense of getting professional clothing is not a large enough expense to
discuss or give advice on.
A candidate’s performance duriduring an interview for a volunteer position
is important.

The candidate’s performance during the interview for a volunteer position is
important is a valid inference based on the information in the text. The text
explains that organizations take time to interview potential volunteers to find
the right person for the job. The impression that is made during the interview
will determine whether the candidate is accepted to become part of the
volunteer work force or not. The text discusses proper attire and etiquette in
addition to practice with common interview questions. Being prepared for the
interview will help to make a good impression and may lead to a position.