Few studies have explored how general skills in both reading and writing influence performance on integrated, source-based writing. The goal of the present study was to consider the relative contributions of reading and writing ability on multiple-document integrative reading and writing tasks. Students in the U.S. (n=94) completed two tasks in…

Readers often struggle to identify the main ideas in expository texts. Existing research and instruction provide some guidance on how to encourage readers to identify main ideas. However, there is substantial variability in how main ideas are operationalized and how readers are prompted to identify main ideas. This variability hinders…

The current work was conducted to better understand the influences of source presence and individual differences on evaluating and sharing information from multiple conflicting Internet texts about childhood vaccinations. The results indicate that college student readers appeared to be insensitive to a source availability manipulation. However,…

Readers often struggle to identify the main ideas in expository texts. Existing research and instruction provide some guidance on how to encourage readers to identify main ideas. However, there is substantial variability in how main ideas are operationalized and how readers are prompted to identify main ideas. This variability hinders…

The purpose of this study was to test a hypothesized model that specified direct and indirect effects of textual and individual factors on readers' ability to integrate information about sources and content when reading multiple conflicting texts on a controversial socio-scientific issue. Using a path analytic approach with a sample of 140…

The present study examined children's digital text comprehension of digital text types linear digital text vs hypertext, with or without graphical navigable overviews. We investigated to what extent individual variation in children's comprehension could be explained by lexical quality (word reading efficiency and vocabulary knowledge), cognitive…

Two groups of English as a second language students engaged in a fourteen-week repeated reading (RR) treatment: (1) a 3x group (n = 16), which engaged in three readings per session, and (2) a 5x group (n = 15), which engaged in five readings per session. Reading rate and background knowledge were measured at five points to assess the effect of…

This study compared the effects of two brief prereading instructional practices--hands-on activities and prior knowledge activation--on sixth-graders' intrinsic motivation for reading a text and reading comprehension. Both hands-on activities and prior knowledge activation substantially improved reading comprehension relative to a control…

Some individual difference factors are more strongly correlated with performance on postreading questions when the text is not available than when it is. The present study explores if similar interactions occur with bridging skill, which refers to a reader's propensity to establish connections between explicit text during reading. Undergraduates…

The ability to flexibly allocate attention to goal-relevant information is pivotal for the completion of high-level cognitive processes. For instance, in comprehending illustrated texts, the reader permanently has to switch the attentional focus between the text and the corresponding picture in order to extract relevant information from both…

In this paper we try to assess whether there are differences in a group when their members try to remember the content of a text, and if this fact affects the learning levels through an experimental methodology with a design of two groups only with posttest to assess the readers' free recall after reading a text. We found firstly interindividual…

Writing researchers have suggested that students who are perceived as strong writers (i.e., those who generate texts rated as high quality) demonstrate flexibility in their writing style. While anecdotally this has been a commonly held belief among researchers and educators, there is little empirical research to support this claim. This study…

Writing researchers have suggested that students who are perceived as strong writers (i.e., those who generate texts rated as high quality) demonstrate flexibility in their writing style. While anecdotally this has been a commonly held belief among researchers and educators, there is little empirical research to support this claim. This study…

This study explores the relative contribution to EFL reading comprehension of the following individual-difference variables: prior knowledge, topic interest, linguistic proficiency, gender, reading motivation, and metacognitive awareness. It also investigates the relationship between the aforementioned individual differences and the role of text…

In this review of literature we examine empirical research of individual differences in younger readers' knowledge and use of expository text structures. The goal of this review is to explore the influence of reader and text characteristics in order to better understand the instructional needs of elementary school readers. First we review research…