A study investigated whether or not the global structure of a text influences its readability and how that influence might be related to the already recognized influences of vocabulary and sentence length. The subjects, 250 fourth-grade students in Quebec, each read four texts representing four different structures, four subjects, and two levels of sentence length and vocabulary. Reading time was measured, and each student produced a summary of each text. Results showed a significant effect of vocabulary level on student comprehension, no effect of sentence length, and a significant effect of text structure combined with subject. Analysis suggests that text subject alone had a significant effect, suggesting in turn that the effect of text type alone is less significant than anticipated. Possible explanations include lower sensitivity to text type in a population of this age, overall low retention, interference of writing ability with reading comprehension, and confounding by different evaluation methods. Implications for schema theory, classroom instruction, and research are offered. (MSE)