The purpose of this study was to investigate the differential effects on low and high verbal students of verbatim study questions adjunct to a text describing science concepts. The sample consisted of 217 eighth grade students enrolled in twelve Calgary (Alberta, Canada) schools. Materials developed for the study included an introduction to the experiment, a textual description of five fossil categories (ammonites, brachiopods, gastropods, pelecypods, and trilobites), 20 study questions, and a placebo passage for the control group. Students were administered a verbal ability test prior to the presentation of the instructional treatments. Subsequently, the students were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: (1) text plus 20 study questions, (2) text plus no study questions, and (3) placebo passage. Later the students were administered an achievement posttest consisting of a visual concept test requiring the students to identify 40 fossil specimens presented in a stratified random fashion. It was found that students who were low verbal performers and who were provided with the text and no study questions scored significantly higher on the posttest than did those low verbal learners who were provided with the text and study questions. Linear regression analysis, using the verbal ability test scores (predictive variable) and the posttest scores (dependent variable) substantiated an ATI-ordinal interaction hypothesis. In addition, the text-plus-20-questions group substantially outperformed the control group. The results of the study suggested that verbatim study questions adjunct to a science text constituted a dysfunctional instructional support system, particularly when given to lower verbal students. In contrast, higher verbal students circumvented or were unaffected by such questions. (Author/SLH)