Argues that the accidents of reading a hypertext (changing your destination, forgetting your point of departure, or getting lost along the way) are not the effects of inappropriate cues, misinterpreted reference or poor design, but the general condition of the hypertext as text, amplified by the narrative turns of the link. (SR)

Argues that the rhetoric of text design is shaped by contextual variables, such as the purpose of the communication, the proximity of visual cues within the document, and the reader's familiarity with visual conventions. Concludes that technical communicators need to consider these factors as they begin using the wide range of visual elements…

Suggests that visual signs help to define form and structure and are significant in their semantic function. Discusses a series of typographic studies that examine the relationship of designer, text and interpreter in the dialectical process of communication in which meaning is rendered and made explicit. (RS)

Proposes a new taxonomy for classifying the graphic cues commonly used in visually informative text. Subsumes spatial and mark cueing (lines such as dividers, guidelines, network links, and visual tags) under a new concept called diagraphic cueing. Surveys various forms of graphic cues. (RS)

Argues that those who would create a rhetoric for hypertext must be prepared to thoroughly reconsider their subject and that the rhetoric of hypertext may turn out to be inseparable from the constructive process that motivates hypertext. (SR)

The purpose of this theoretical essay is to explore the limits of traditional conceptualizations of reader and text and to propose a more general theory based on the concept of a literacy agent. The proposed theoretical perspective subsumes concepts from traditional theory and aims to account for literacy online. The agent-based literacy theory…

Considers the stories that children read, hear, and make part of their lives. Focuses on the text with the understanding that texts live only when read by a person in a particular context. (MG)

Argues that reading specialists' lack of success in persuading content area teachers to help their students read and study texts in social studies, science, and mathematics is a result of reading specialists' lack of careful thought about text structures. Discusses the text structures of textbooks in these content areas. (RS)

Debates whether a text claiming to have scientific value is using seduction irresponsibly at the expense of the truth, and discusses who is the subject and who is the object of such seduction. It argues that, rather than being an assault against scientific ethics, seduction is a necessary premise for a sensible conversation to take place. (GR)

Borrows Robertson Davies definition of "fifth business": roles in a drama that are neither heroine nor hero but are necessary nevertheless to carry out the denouement. Suggests that reading may be seen as a play in which there is some fifth business without which the reading process cannot fully happen. Uses a variety of typefaces. (TB)

Writers construct meaning when they compose texts, and readers construct meaning when they understand and interpret texts. Building meaning through reading entails organizing, selecting, and connecting. Readers use previously acquired knowledge to operate on textual clues, organizing mental representations that include material they select from…

Two main types of schemata exist for reading: content schema, representing existing knowledge of objects and events; and textual schema, including knowledge of discourse structure and conventions. There are at least six major schema functions important to reading comprehension: (1) schemata provide slots for assimilating additional knowledge; (2)…

Reviews research on the effects of world knowledge and text structure variables on reading comprehension. Concludes that text structure variables exert influence only when the subject matter is moderately unfamiliar and are redundant in reading familiar or very difficult material. Suggests knowledge and structure variables should be manipulated…

Probes the complicity that results from the act of narrative engagement which, in a first-person narrative, can create a close relationship between the reader and the writer. Distinguishes among three types of first-person narration using the terms "immediate-engaging-first-person,""distant-engaging-first-person," and…

This paper recognizes that critics of the "plain language movement" point out that what is "plain" to one audience may mystify and confuse another. It adds that questions such as "Plain language for whom?" and "How can we know whether a text is written in plain language?" raise legitimate concerns about the…