Publication Date

2022

Abstract

Superstructures are text structure relations commonly found in specific types of text such as narrative texts. Superstructures are important from a pedagogical standpoint because learners’ comprehension can be improved when they are taught about superstructures (Baumann & Bergeron, 1993; Calfee & Patrick, 1995; Dymock, 2005). The current study examined three types of texts with distinct superstructures—narrative, expository, and procedural. Undergraduate student participants (n=200) were randomly assigned to read a text that was written in the form of a narrative, expository, or procedural superstructure text. After reading, participants were asked to recall information from the text and rated their compliance level to the instructions provided in the text. Our results indicated a significant recall difference between narrative and expository superstructure texts. Future directions and implications are described in the discussion section.

Author Biography

Katelyn McClure is a first-year Master’s student in the Psychology Department at Eastern Kentucky University. Her research interest includes genre processes in reading and counseling.

Michael Chen is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Eastern Kentucky University. His research interests include education technology and issues related to human factors. More information can be found at https://michaelchen.co/.

Megan Thomas is a PsyD student in the Psychology Department at Eastern Kentucky University. Her research interest focuses on rural mental health counseling.

Author's Notes

We have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Katelyn McClure. Email: katelyn_mcclure16@mymail.eku.edu; Phone: (606) 273-3374

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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Literature Genre Effects on Memory and Influence

Superstructures are text structure relations commonly found in specific types of text such as narrative texts. Superstructures are important from a pedagogical standpoint because learners’ comprehension can be improved when they are taught about superstructures (Baumann & Bergeron, 1993; Calfee & Patrick, 1995; Dymock, 2005). The current study examined three types of texts with distinct superstructures—narrative, expository, and procedural. Undergraduate student participants (n=200) were randomly assigned to read a text that was written in the form of a narrative, expository, or procedural superstructure text. After reading, participants were asked to recall information from the text and rated their compliance level to the instructions provided in the text. Our results indicated a significant recall difference between narrative and expository superstructure texts. Future directions and implications are described in the discussion section.