Effects of Causal Text Revisions on More- and Less-Skilled Readers' Comprehension of Easy and Difficult Texts

Abstract

The importance of causal structure has been well documented in text comprehension research. This study investigates how both easy and difficult texts can be improved by repairing the causal structure and how causal structure repairs can differentially affect comprehension for more- and less-skilled readers. Following causal network theories of comprehension, principled and replicable types of repairs were made. Causal repairs consisted of (a) arranging text events in temporal order; (b) making implicit goals explicit; and (c) repairing coherence breaks caused by inadequate explanation, multiple causality, or distant causal relations. More- and less-skilled readers read revised and original versions of easy and difficult history texts. Results indicate that both more- and less-skilled readers benefited from the revisions but only for the difficult text. Causal network theories of comprehension provide an appropriate and systematic method for revising texts.