Strategies for reading expository prose

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STRATEGIES FOR READING EXPOSITORY PROSE by

THOMAS ARTHUR CARON B.A., Carleton University, 1970

M.Ed., Western Washington University, 1985

A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY .Y OF /\GRAD~ATE STUDIE::::

in the Department of

Communication and Social Foundations We accepl&hw diss.ertatiou as conforming

tq ~quir~ ~tzmdard Dr.

w

· .

Joi'ni.

H.ai>ke-r(Supervisor) Dr. Peter 0. Evans DC. Lld¥d 0. OJlih Dr. Jo,fln 0 . Anderson External Examin~r

©THOMAS ARTHUR CARON, 1989 UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA

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Supervisor: Professor W. John Harker ABSTRACT

In the context of reading strategy research, the present study explores changes with passage difficulty in the frequencies of occurrence of

responses and strategies identified in expert readers' think-aloud

protocols. Data consisted of tape recorded think-alouds collected from ten university undergraduates reading to summarize three expository

passages ordered from simple to difficult by independent raters. Tapes were transcribed and six categories of responses and strategies were identified in subjects' protocols. The six categories, in order of frequency of occurrence, were: Metastatement, Problem Solving, Repetition, Surface Response, Surface Structure, and Divergent. There were significant

differences across passage difficulty in expert readers' evidence of

responses and strategies. The frequency of occurrence of problem solving

increased significantly as subjects read increasingly difficult expository text. Both surface reactions to text and subjects' comments on their own reading, were high in frequency of occurrence only for the most difficult text. Interpretation suggests expert readers seem to engage with text through problem solving more often in reading more difficult text and demonstrate the existence of a lack of comprehension through reactions

to the text and to their own reading. Implications for practice and research

are discussed. Examiners:; Dr. W. John I=l~~pervisor) '0r. Pet~.r \). Evans Dr. ~1-oyd ('.).Ollila D$!John 0. Anderson Extetnal Exammer 11

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