Does the presentation of a successful written description on ebay rely on inference?

[colic2bullsgirlore]

I believe it does. What about you? Some background below but I reckon "as you sow so shall you reap" to me has just

not got the same sting as "as u so sew shall you repe" but by using some comprehension skills that create an inference

  I am able to recognize the second phrase,however, if many of those garbled phrases are grouped together then

that task (for me anyways) becomes a laborious chore.

http://www.criticalreading.com/inference_reading.htm

Inference: Reading Ideas as Well as Words

Ideally, speakers mean what they say and say what they mean. Spoken communication is not that simple.

Much of what we understand—whether when listening or reading—we understand indirectly, by inference.

Listening involves a complex combination of hearing words, analyzing sentence structure, and attempting to find

meaning within the context of the given situation.

The situation with the written word is no different. A text does not contain a meaning.

Readers construct meaning by what they take the words to mean and how they process sentences to find meaning.

Readers draw on their knowledge of the language and of conventions of social communication.

They also draw on other factors, such as knowledge of the author (“Would Henry say such a thing?), the occasion (“No

one knew such things then!”), or the audience (“He’d never admit that publicly.”)

They infer unstated meanings based on social conventions, shared knowledge, shared experience, or shared values.

They make sense of remarks by recognizing implications and drawing conclusions.

Readers read ideas more than words, and infer, rather than find, meaning

http://www.speechlanguage-resources.com/inference-and-reading.html

Inference and Reading: Much of what an author writes is implied.

Authors expect their readers to fill in the gaps.

So, to truly comprehend or understand much of what an author writes, we, as readers, have to use our inference skills.

The more we are able to do this the better our inference and reading comprehension becomes.

And successful inference of written text is often reliant on us having good word and world knowledge.

[springyzone]

I started off with quite a long discussion about meaning/inference then deleted it because really, when it comes down to it, a good ebay ad is one where the seller minimises the chances of people making a wrong inference.

[lloydslights]

I suppose it depends on what you are selling.  

The particular item itself may afford better quality wording and be comprehended and appreciated by the informed prospective buyer.  

There could be the "high class pretender buyers" who simply cannot comprehend the significance of the wording.  They want to procure a "product to show-off"  rather than have genuine appraisal.

Product Made in China.........   OR ..............500-year-old Chinese Product

DEB

[cathyjoyjoy]

oh no ......... it's weird here also !!!!!!!!!!!

[saarzi]

All people on earth infer meaning, with everything they see, hear, touch read etc etc. Its impossible not to (as in, literally impossible). 

Inference is something you are taught about in primary school in comprehesion, but you actually start learning it from the day youre born.

So, do written descriptions on Ebay rely on inference? of course they do. Every written peice of writing (actually, every type of communication) in the world does. Its not really about opinion whether its important or not - without inference communiction wouldnt exist at all.

Socrates wasnt a fan of writing, partly because of how inference ... Here he is telling a story about the invention of writing - Thoth, the inventor of writing (letters), is telling Theuth (Pharoah) how amazing his invention is and how it will make humans wiser and more knowledgable. Theuth replies -

"You have invented an elixir not of memory and wisdom, but of reminding; and you offer your pupils the appearance of wisdom, not true wisdom, for they will read many things without instruction and will therefore seem to know many things, when they are for the most part ignorant and hard to get along with, since they are not wise, but only appear wise."

Inference can be manipulated, not only by the writer, but the reader. Dont get too caught up in it.  If youve passed year 12 English, you should know more than enough about inference to write a great Ebay description, without conciously knowing thats what its called, or its principles - you already instinctively know how meaningful and important it is.

 If you do a communications degree, tthe first year subjects will almost always include at least one that explores inference directly. Then youll develop those concepts over the years - and youll know how meaningless it actually is.

[colic2bullsgirlore]

"book"

that's my entire ebay description... what does that infer?

[colic2bullsgirlore]

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@saarzi wrote:

Inference can be manipulated, not only by the writer, but the reader. Dont get too caught up in it.  If youve passed year 12 English, you should know more than enough about inference to write a great Ebay description, without conciously knowing thats what its called, or its principles - you already instinctively know how meaningful and important it is.

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That's the whole point of this thread Saarzi, regardless of the writers skill, the reader will draw their own inference

dependant on their comprehension skills.

ie the best written description  will draw a myriad of differing perceptions that are individual to each reader.

[springyzone]

It infers a book.

That's why it would be a good idea to pop in several photos as well.

Perhaps a title too, if you're really hoping to sell.

Because with just that word book and no photos, I very much doubt you would make a sale-too little information.

If it isn't a book as most people understand it, if it is some sort of digital offering, best to mention that.

[pennyforum14]

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@colic2bullsgirlore wrote:

"book"

that's my entire ebay description... what does that infer?

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As a buyer, that description would "infer" to me that you are not really interested in making a sale, so yes, descriptions can rely on inference, but the more detail the seller has included, the less scope there is to infer anything other than the detail provided and the less scope for ambiguity.  I wouldn't look twice at a listing like you describe, I'd look elsewhere immediately.

[gec2002]

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@colic2bullsgirlore wrote:

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@saarzi wrote:

Inference can be manipulated, not only by the writer, but the reader. Dont get too caught up in it.  If youve passed year 12 English, you should know more than enough about inference to write a great Ebay description, without conciously knowing thats what its called, or its principles - you already instinctively know how meaningful and important it is.

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That's the whole point of this thread Saarzi, regardless of the writers skill, the reader will draw their own inference

dependant on their comprehension skills.

ie the best written description  will draw a myriad of differing perceptions that are individual to each reader.

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Yes but a good advertisement (that's what the descriptions really is) should drive those perceptions in one direction, that is, buying the item.  So our Book example could perhaps include the following in the description

This book will change your life, from start to finish you  will not be able to put it down.  The best read this year by far - don't miss out only LIMITED copies available and there will be NO reprints.  First 500 buyers get a free bookmark.  This is a once in a lifetime offer, never to be repeated.

Who cares if you will never read it, the mere act of having it on your coffee table is enough to make you a darling of the literary establishment.