The Influence of Prior Knowledge and Text Genre on Readers' Prediction Strategies

Abstract

This study examined the influence of prior knowledge and text genre on readers' prediction strategies. Three groups of subjects read two genres of text (short stories and essays), and gave verbal reports of their prediction strategies while reading. Next, subjects rated the texts in terms of relative familiarity of text content. Quantitative analysis of the think-aloud protocols indicated statistically significant differences in frequency of reports of predictions for particular texts. Subjects reported making significantly more predictions on the essays rated more familiar, and on the story which was rated more familiar. There were no significant differences in frequency of reported predictions on the short story and essay which were rated most familiar. Results indicate that readers' prior knowledge for the content of the text may significantly influence the nature of readers' prediction strategies. Qualitative analysis of protocols allowed for examination of the variation in the types of predictions and prediction-related strategies which were used by readers in this study. Implications of findings for reading comprehension theory and educational practice are discussed.