Well-organized texts following rhetorical schemata are better remembered than disorganized texts, and high-structure information is more likely to be recalled¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 1991 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? A well-organized text following rhetorical schemata such as cause/effect or comparison/contrast is better remembered than a disorganized or randomly organized text, provided readers are aware of the structure. → Mary H. Sawyer 1991 q2 i? Information high in the text's structure is more likely to be recalled than low-structure information, and is retained over delays as long as one week. → Mary H. Sawyer 1991 (2)

Evidence¶

Mary H. Sawyer 1991¶

Mary H. Sawyer. (1991). A Review of Research in Revising Instructional Text. Journal of Reading Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1080/10862969109547744

q2 · i? · review · r3

The review reports, citing multiple studies (Kintsch & Yarbrough, 1982; Meyer & Freedle, 1984; Richgels et al., 1987; Taylor & Samuels, 1983), that organized texts were better remembered when readers were aware of the structure.

"as long as readers are aware of the text's structure, a well organized text (one that follows rhetorical schemata such as cause/ effect or comparison/contrast) is better remembered than a disorganized or randomly organized text"

Mary H. Sawyer 1991 (2)¶

Mary H. Sawyer. (1991). A Review of Research in Revising Instructional Text. Journal of Reading Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1080/10862969109547744

q2 · i? · review · r3

The review reports, citing numerous recall-protocol studies, that high-level information was more likely to be recalled and retained over time, with Meyer finding high-structure information better recalled even at a one-week delay.

"most studies have found that information high in the text's structure is more likely to be recalled than information low in the text's structure"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Training in text structure improves college students' summaries, but summarizing has not been shown here to improve recall or writing more than rereading or other active reading — related
• Advance organizers produce a small average learning benefit, larger for high-ability than for low-ability learners — related
• Graphic organizers such as concept maps improve comprehension and retention with a medium average effect; that novices benefit more rests on a few small subgroups — related
• The advantage of recitation over rereading is greater the less connected the learning material (Kühn 1914; Gates 1917) — related