ERIC Number: ED237956
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1981-Mar-13
Pages: 19
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Inability to Interpret Internal Punctuation - An Inhibiting Factor in Comprehension.
Carr, Noreena
Assuming that the ability to interpret punctuation is basic to reading comprehension, a study was conducted to assess the junior high school reader's ability to interpret internal punctuation in a written passage. From an examination of texts, reference and research materials used at the junior high school level, six uses of three punctuation symbols--comma, colon, and semicolon--were chosen for examination. Sentences selected from junior high school texts were adapted and woven into a passage that included 20 sets of paired sentences. One sentence in each pair contained internal punctuation influencing the meaning of the sentence, while the other sentence had no internal punctuation. Forty questions about single sentences within the passage were then administered to 255 seventh grade students. Results showed that students obtained lower scores where the interpretation of the internal punctuation was necessary for comprehension than where no internal punctuation was used. This suggests that teachers in the content areas need to be alert to the internal punctuation utilized in their textbooks and need to alert students to the implications of those symbols. (HOD)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Practitioners; Researchers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Washington Organization for Reading Development (WORD) of the International Reading Association Reading Research Conference (7th, Seattle, WA, March 13, 1981).