Describes the concept of cohesion in text, discusses the distinction between cohesion and coherence, and discusses the relationship of cohesion and coherence to the comprehension of written discourse. (DD)

Discusses the use of excerpts from "Boswell's Life of Johnson" with high school students and suggests that Boswell's scholarship reflects a form of literary research. (MKM)

In spite of the fact that Shakespeare is difficult to read, as an adult the author thinks Shakespeare is worth reading for the message. (MKM)

Reviews a secondary school version of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) that focuses on two of the primary language skills: listening and reading. Subtest includes a variety of tasks measuring semantic, syntactic, and higher-level reading comprehension abilities. (NKA)

Since prior knowledge is positively linked with reading comprehension, methods of measuring prior knowledge are important. A word association test is a useful technique for evaluating topic familiarity and enables the teacher to make decisions about how much additional information is needed for students to process a text successfully. (SRT)

Suggests that the use of newspapers in the remedial reading classroom will emphasize the transfer of the process of main idea from known levels to more extensive contexts by offering realistic application on multiple levels--pictures, words, sentences, and paragraphs. (SRT)

Discusses D. Durkin's 1979 study of reading comprehension instruction and J. Heap's critique of the study in a recent issue of "Journal of Reading Behavior." Asserts that the traditional reading lesson is a vehicle for acculturation or teaching cultural knowledge and logic. (SRT)

Argues that metacognitive development should remain--or become--an aspect of instruction that aims to enhance students' reading comprehension. (HOD)

Argues that, despite the capacity of cognitive psychologists to shed light on certain disputes in literary theory, it is necessary to continue to look to poets for insight into how authors share their experience with others through print. (FL)

Suggests that reading theorists who neglect to treat context frequently produce distorted views of how reading occurs. (MKM)

Describes a dozen ways in which reading tests are at variance in their demands with the demands of reading as it occurs in everyday life. Suggests that these sources of variance render reading tests considerably less valid as measures of real world reading behavior than most people want to believe. (RS)

Concludes that (1) knowing whether we comprehend as we read is indispensible to the process of understanding itself; and (2) without self-monitoring, there can be little textbook learning and even less hope for informed participation in democracy. (FL)

Presents guidelines for use in examining the comprehensibility of a textbook, questions to ask about the book, and suggestions for using the guide questions. (FL)

Contributors present (1) a tactical approach to paragraph patterns and comprehension that can be used on all grade levels, (2) three objectives of an instructional framework, and (3) a plan consisting of two sequential hour-long lessons that are elaborated. (JK)

Encourages use of the newspaper to remediate skills in older nonreaders. Proposes teaching essential reading skills concomitant with basic voting procedures so that nonreading adults will be able to function in society and describes seven activities requiring use of critical, literal and inferential skills. (JK)