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ERIC Number: EJ772185
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007
Pages: 32
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0163-853X
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Reversing the Reverse Cohesion Effect: Good Texts Can Be Better for Strategic, High-Knowledge Readers
O'Reilly, Tenaha; McNamara, Danielle S.
Discourse Processes: A Multidisciplinary Journal, v43 n2 p121-152 2007
Students with low knowledge have been shown to better understand and learn more from more cohesive texts, whereas high-knowledge students have been shown to learn more from lower cohesion texts; this has been called the "reverse cohesion effect". This study examines whether students' comprehension skill affects the interaction between text cohesion and their domain knowledge. College students (n = 143) read either a high- or a low-cohesion text and answered text-based and bridging inference questions. The results indicated that the benefit of low-cohesion text was restricted to less skilled, high-knowledge readers, whereas skilled comprehenders with high knowledge benefited from a high-cohesion text. Consistent with McNamara (2001), the interaction of text cohesion and knowledge was restricted to text-based questions. In addition, for low-knowledge readers, the benefits of high-cohesion texts emerged in their responses to bridging inference questions but not text-based questions. The results suggest a more complex view of when and for whom textual cohesion affects comprehension.
Lawrence Erlbaum. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/default.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305G020018; R305G040046
Author Affiliations: N/A