Investigates relative effects of three modes of prereading assistance upon seventh graders' comprehension of a prose selection. (TO)

Investigation of the effect of establishing purposes for reading upon reading comprehension showed that neither specific nor general reading directions appeared to affect performance and that purpose-setting directions served to discriminate between intentional and incidental information only for above-grade-level readers.

This study was designed to establish the generalizability of the claimed effectiveness of several prereading instructions in enhancing either specific types of comprehension or overall comprehension. (HOD)