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Abstract

An analysis of the idea units of a passage in prose can be used to examine the effects of a text on its readers and the extent of their comprehension. How to analyze the idea units in a specific text and arrange the lexical items and grammatical relations between these items in a coherent order in a text base is first demonstrated. This model text base indicates the relative structural importance of each explicit lexical item in the text. The text base is then used to verify the number and types of items and relationships between these items in readers' written recalls of the text. Ten sample recall protocols of the text are analyzed and discussed in an attempt to illustrate how a pro positional text base can be used to understand the process of reading comprehension of ESL students.

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Text Analysis and Reading Comprehension

Abstract

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References