In two experiments, college students wrote preliminary and final drafts of a persuasive document. Elimination of sentence-formation and sequence operations produced corresponding increments in persuasive argument production, with average-ability writers benefiting more than low-ability writers. Comparatively few new arguments were constructed…

When the context of instructional discourse maximizes the likelihood of interaction with preexisting knowledge structures, productive learning outcomes may be increased. In the present study, 44 undergraduate students who read a hierarchically structured text were asked to recall its contents immediately and again six weeks later. The generation…