Examines the components of text that predict reading times and recall in skilled and less skilled college readers. Finds that sensitivity to the structure of the text was not a source of reading-ability differences in reading times and recall. Suggests that reading-ability differences result from word-decoding factors and the efficiency of…

Uses inconsistent expository and narrative passages presented one at a time. Finds that good readers were better able to verbally report on passage consistency following reading; students were more likely to look back at inconsistencies in narratives but not expository passages; and students were less able to recall expository passage information.…

Investigates fifth-grade children's expectations for stories in relation to knowledge of literature/reading ability. Shows "high readers" included more high-level story propositions and structurally important story information than did low readers; students who included structurally important story information scored higher on knowledge…

Reports two studies using a microcomputer-driven self-paced reading task to examine reading strategies of good and poor readers. Finds that reading ability influences reading strategies differently according to whether text is presented in single words or in phrases, and that poor readers read more slowly than good readers. (RS)

To investigate the relationship between reading ability and the detection and repair of text-based (internal) inconsistencies, a study examined 100 college students enrolled in an introductory educational psychology course at a large state university. Based on their performance on the comprehension portion of the Nelson-Denny Reading Test,…

Investigates the phenomenon of topic shift (sentences initiating a new topic are given additional processing time by skilled readers). Finds adults showed a proportionately greater effect than fifth graders when more difficult expository texts were used but not with easy narratives. Finds that paragraph marking did not influence the processing of…

Intended to gain information about students who have difficulty organizing text when they write, a study probed students' ability to recognize and understand varying degrees of text organization while reading. Ninety ninth-grade students, divided equally into groups of good readers/good writers, good readers/poor writers, and poor readers/poor…

Examines the differential effects of reading guides on text comprehension and the transfer of strategies learned through the use of the guides to new material. Finds that students using reading guides had higher comprehension test scores and greater transfer than those who did not. (SR)

Investigates whether 11-year-old children in Singapore, from English Dominant or English Non-Dominant backgrounds, read better orally when words were presented in list or text. Finds that readers with less exposure to English relied more on contextual information than more experienced readers, and that reading miscues varied according to whether…

Compares student performances when reading printed text and text on a microcomputer screen. Reports that students have more difficulty locating information on-screen than in-print, particularly within prose passages. (MG)

A study examined the relationship between text schemata and comprehension monitoring to determine elementary school children's detection and remediation of internal inconsistencies in narrative and expository passages. Data were elicited (through computerized experimental reading passages containing internal inconsistencies) from 87 students in…

Investigates the role of signaling (structural cues that announce or emphasize content or reveal content relationships) in helping good readers comprehend expository text. Finds that signals do improve a reader's comprehension, particularly comprehension two weeks after the reading of a passage and comprehension of superordinate and superordinate…