Strategies for reading expository prose
Date
2018-01-15
Authors
Caron, Thomas Arthur
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
In the context of reading strategy research, the present study explores
changes with passage difficulty in the frequencies of occurrence of
responses and strategies identified in expert readers' think-aloud
protocols. Data consisted of tape recorded think-alouds collected from ten
university undergraduates reading to summarize three expository
passages ordered from simple to difficult by independent raters. Tapes
were transcribed and six categories of responses and strategies were
identified in subjects' protocols. The six categories, in order of frequency
of occurrence, were: Metastatement, Problem Solving, Repetition, Surface
Response, Surface Structure, and Divergent. There were significant
differences across passage difficulty in expert readers' evidence of
responses and strategies. The frequency of occurrence of problem solving
increased significantly as subjects read increasingly difficult expository
text. Both surface reactions to text and subjects' comments on their own
reading, were high in frequency of occurrence only for the most difficult
text. Interpretation suggests expert readers seem to engage with text
through problem solving more often in reading more difficult text and
demonstrate the existence of a lack of comprehension through reactions
to the text and to their own reading. Implications for practice and research
are discussed.
Description
Keywords
reading strategies, problem solving, think-aloud, Exposition (Rhetoric)