New users learning to use text-processing systems, especially those who are using self-study materials without expert supervision, must often make sense of actions and events in situations where they have little basis, in prior knowledge or current information, for inferring what is happening or why. Many cases have been observed where learners were able to generate an explanation to account for some particular fact or event, despite this limited knowledge. This process of explanation generation resembles abductive reasoning, as C. S. Peirce describes it: adopting a hypothesis when it, along with other assumptions, allows one to account for some fact or observation. This paper presents examples of how new users try to account for their experiences and the resemblance of these processes to abductive reasoning. Observations are also made about the possible role and implications of abductive reasoning for complex learning situations, such as learning to use a text-processor. Twelve references are listed. (Author/LMM)