This is true. Short thread.
For years I taught source papers in history by showing loads and loads of sources. I bought packs and CD ROMs of sources. My pupils still found 'inferring' from sources really hard and it was always the weakest paper for them.. https://twitter.com/z_helman/status/1336962122572570625

..then one year I tried something different. I put every single date and event from the time period of the source paper into a knowledge organiser (I just called it a fact sheet because this was before knowledge organisers)..

..we did something exciting called THE NEVER ENDING QUIZ.
This was basically read/cover/write or recite/check as a class and then a quiz at the end of the lesson. I told the class we'd move on when everybody got %
'How long is this going to go on for, Sir?, they groaned..

'Who knows?' I said with a shrug. 'A week? The rest of the year?'
...
It took two lessons and a homework.
Then I showed them the sources.
IT. WAS. INCREDIBLE.

'That's The Great Reform Act, Sir!'
'Oh look. It's Bazalgette!'
'Ew! Great Stink!'

It was EASY.

Inference is about knowledge. It isn't a secret dark art. There's no magic trick. The more you know the more you'll 'infer'.

Fin.

Oh PS. They SMASHED the source paper that year. Good times.