The author suggests that the preconscious is the true locus of significant prose because of its greater amount of freedom to gather, compare, and rearrange ideas, and that the ultimate challenge to teachers of composition is to give freedom to their students' preconscious processes. (KC)

Written syntactic complexity is considered in relation to the four modes of discourse (argumentation, exposition, narration, and description). In a study of 153 children at three ability ranges within each of three grade levels (three, four, and five), syntactic complexity was found to differ significantly across the modes. The range of syntactic…

Investigates retrieval and reporting of superordinate and subordinate concepts in oral or written recollections. Finds no differences in total number of superordinate, subordinate, or reader-generated ideas recalled; however, does find differences between oral and written recall, depending on initial or ending position of text information. (RS)