ERIC Number: EJ922605
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0163-853X
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Available Date: N/A
Three Information Functions of Headings: A Test of the SARA Theory of Signaling
Lorch, Robert F., Jr.; Lemarie, Julie; Grant, Russell A.
Discourse Processes: A Multidisciplinary Journal, v48 n3 p139-160 2011
Text signals include a wide variety of writing devices that emphasize specific content within a text, the organization of a text, or both (Lorch, 1989; Meyer, 1975). Signals presumably evolved as a means for an author to guide readers' processing of a text by making the text structure and important content more salient to the reader. Although signals share a common general purpose, they are a seeming hodgepodge of devices that includes headings, typographical variations, topical overviews and summaries, outlines, bulleting and numbering, preview sentences, and other devices (Lorch, 1989). Despite their variety, a recent theory has provided a unifying framework for understanding the relations between signaling devices and for hypothesizing about their effects on text processing (Lemarie, Lorch, Eyrolle, & Virbel, 2008). The purpose of this study is to provide a first test of that theory by examining one of its central claims regarding the types of information communicated by signals. (Contains 3 tables.)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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