Abstract:
This paper describes the effects of different methods to enhance students’
understanding and learning from a text. We compared the efficiency of a text
revision procedure (“from the text”) and inferential activity engagement (“toward
the text”) in the comprehension and recall of a History text. A total of 338
undergraduate students (aged 19-20) participated in the study. We wrote five
versions of the same expository text, showing different rhetorical structures:
Causation, antecedent-consequent; Causation, consequent-antecedent; Collection;
Problem-solution; and Comparison. The first version, clarifying the causal
structure and the temporal order of the events, had a significant effect in the
delayed recall of the subjects. The task of filling an incomplete causal diagram
also showed significant differences. This inferential activity, which involves the
reader in the causal representation of the events, could be more useful than
providing a previously elaborated graphic representation. Implications for
educational practice and relevant related issues are discussed.
