Explaining difficult ideas to lay readers is an important and frequently needed writing skill. When explaining, writers must recognize and overcome the confusions that lay readers may experience in learning abstract concepts. To date, there has been little study of this demanding writing skill. Consequently, this article identifies a particular class of explanatory discourse and proposes working hypotheses about the types of knowledge likely to be associated with skill in this genre. These hypotheses are explored through a study of individual differences in explanatory writing skill among 169 college students. The results of the study showed that variations in the accuracy and adaptiveness of the students' explanations were partially accounted for by measures of topic knowledge, social cognition, and discourse knowledge. A discourse knowledge index and a topic knowledge index were correlated with explanatory writing skill. Cognitive complexity, a measure of social cognition, was associated with adaptiveness in explaining but not accuracy. These findings suggest that explanatory skill is a function of several types of knowledge and that it may be as dependent on discourse or rhetorical knowledge as it is on topical expertise.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Anderson, C. W.
, & Smith, E. L. (1984). Children's preconceptions and content area textbooks. In G. Duffy, L. Roehler, & J. Mason (Eds.), Comprehension instruction (pp. 187-201). New York: Longman.
2.
Applebee, A. N.
(1982). Writing and learning in school settings. In M. Nystrand (Ed.), What writers know: The language, process, and structure of written discourse (pp. 365-381). New York: Academic Press.
3.
Applebee, A. N.
, Langer, J. A., & Mullis, I. V. (1986). The writing report card: Writing achievement in American schools. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Services.
4.
Applegate, J. L. (1978). Four investigations of the relationship between social cognitive development and person-centered regulative and interpersonal communication. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
5.
Armbruster, B. B.
(1984). The problem of the “inconsiderate” text. In G. Duffy, L. Roehler, & J. Mason (Eds.), Comprehension instruction (pp. 202-217). New York: Longman.
6.
Asimov, I.
(1985). The bridge of the gods. In I. Asimov (Ed.), The edge of tomorrow (pp. 104-115). New York: Tom Doherty Assoc. (Reprinted from Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1975, March, Mercury Press, Inc.)
7.
Britton, J. N.
(1971). What's the use? A schematic account of language functions. Educational Review, 23, 205-219.
8.
Burleson, B. R.
(1987). Cognitive complexity. In J. C. McCroskey & J. A. Daly (Eds.), Personality and interpersonal communication. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
9.
Burleson, B. R.
, & Samter, W. (1983). Social cognitive and personality influences on prosocial behaviors: A model of comforting determinants and an empirical test. Paper presented at the conference on Social Cognition and Interpersonal Behavior, University of Kansas, Lawrence.
10.
Burleson, B. R.
, & Waltman, M. S. (1988). Cognitive complexity: Using the role category questionnaire measure. In C. H. Tardy (Ed.), A handbook for the study of human communication (pp. 1-35). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
11.
Burleson, B. R.
, Waltman, M. S., & Samter, W. (1987). More evidence that cognitive complexity is not loquacity: A reply to Beatty and Payne. Communication Quarterly, 35, 317-328.
12.
Clark, R. A.
, & Delia, J. G. (1976). The development of functional persuasive skills in childhood and early adolescence. Child Development, 47, 1008-1014.
13.
Clark, R. A.
, & Delia, J. G. (1977). Cognitive complexity, social perspective taking, and functional persuasive skills in second- to ninth-grade children. Human Communication Research, 3, 128-134.
14.
Clark, R. A.
, & Delia, J. G. (1979). Topoi and rhetorical competence. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 65, 187-206.
15.
Connors, R. J.
(1984). The rhetoric of explanation: Explanatory rhetoric from Aristotle to 1850. Written Communication, 1, 189-210.
16.
Connors, R. J.
(1985). The rhetoric of explanation: Explanatory rhetoric from 1850 to the present. Written Communication, 2, 49-72.
17.
Crockett, W. H.
(1965). Cognitive complexity and impression formation. In B. A. Maher (Ed.), Progress in experimental personality research (Vol. 2). New York: Academic Press.
18.
Delia, J. G.
, Kline, S. L., & Burleson, B. R. (1979). The development of persuasive communication strategies in kindergartners through twelfth-graders. Communication Monographs, 46, 241-256.
19.
Donlon, T. F.
, & Angoff, W. H. (1971). The Scholastic Aptitude Test. In W. H. Angoff (Ed.), The College Board Admissions Testing Program (pp. 15-48). Princeton, NJ: College Entrance Examination Board.
20.
Duffy, T. M.
(1985). Readability formulas: What's the use? In T. M. Duffy & R. Waller (Eds.), Designing usable texts (pp. 113-143). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.
21.
Faigley, L.
, & Witte, S. (1981). Analyzing revision. College Composition and Communication, 32, 400-414.
22.
Felker, D. B.
, Redish, J. C., & Peterson, J. (1985). Training authors of informative documents. In T. M. Duffy & R. Waller (Eds.), Designing usable texts (pp. 43-62). New York: Academic Press.
23.
Flavell, J. H.
(1981). Cognitive monitoring. In W. P. Dickson (Ed.), Children's oral communication skills. New York: Academic Press.
24.
Flower, L.
(1979). Writer-based prose: A cognitive basis for problems in writing. College English, 41, 19-37.
25.
Flower, L.
, & Hayes, J. R. (1981). A cognitive process theory of writing. College Composition and Communication, 32, 365-387.
26.
Hale, C. L.
(1980). Cognitive complexity-simplicity as a determinant of communication effectiveness. Communication Monographs, 47, 304-311.
27.
Hale, C. L.
(1982). An investigation of the relationship between complexity and listeneradapted communication. Central States Speech Journal, 33, 339-344.
28.
Hewson, M. G.
, & Hewson, P. W. (1983). Effect of instruction using students' prior knowledge and conceptual change strategies on science learning. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 20, 731-743.
29.
Hillocks, G.
(1986). Research on written composition. Urbana, IL: ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills.
30.
Hynd, C.
, & Alvermann, D. W. (1986). The role of refutation text in overcoming difficulties with science concepts. Journal of Reading, 29, 440-446.
31.
Kinneavy, J. L.
(1971). A theory of discourse. New York: Norton.
32.
Kline, S. L. (1985). Social cognitive determinants of face support in persuasive messages (Doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1984). Dissertation Abstracts International, 45, 3238A-3239A.
33.
Kroll, B. M.
(1978). Cognitive egocentrism and the problem of audience awareness in written discourse. Research in the Teaching of English, 12, 269-281.
34.
Kroll, B. M.
(1986). Explaining how to play a game: The development of informative writing skills. Written Communication, 3, 195-218.
35.
Kroll, B. M.
, & Lempers, J. D. (1981). Effect of mode of communication on the informational adequacy of children's explanations. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 138, 27-35.
36.
Langer, J. A.
(1984). The effects of available information on responses to school writing tasks. Research in the Teaching of English, 18, 27-44.
37.
Lyne, F.
, & Howe, H. F. (1986). “Punctuated equilibria”: Rhetorical dynamics of a scientific controversy. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 72, 132-147.
38.
Mayer, M.
(1988). Markets. New York: Norton.
39.
Mayer, R. E.
(1983). What have we learned about increasing the meaningfulness of science prose?Science Education, 67, 223-237.
40.
Mayer, R. E.
(1985). Structural analysis of science prose: Can we increase problem-solving performance? In B. K. Britton & J. B. Black (Eds.), Understanding expository text: A theoretical and practical handbook for analyzing explanatory text (pp. 65-67). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
41.
McCann, T. M.
(1989). Student argumentative writing knowledge and ability at three grade levels. Research in the Teaching of English, 23, 62-76.
42.
Meyer, B.J.F.
(1985). Prose analysis: Purposes, procedures, problems. In B. K. Britton & J. B. Black (Eds.), Understanding expository text, (pp. 11-64). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
43.
Moore, B.
, & Singletary, M. (1985). Scientific sources' perceptions of network news accuracy. Journalism Quarterly, 62, 100-104.
44.
Mueller, C. G.
, & editors of Life. (1966). Light and vision. New York: Time-Life.
45.
Odell, L.
, & Goswami, D. (Eds.). (1985). Writing in nonacademic settings. New York: Guilford.
46.
O'Keefe, B. J.
, & Delia, J. G. (1979). Construct comprehensiveness and cognitive complexity as predictors of the number and strategic adaptation of arguments and appeals in a persuasive message. Communication Monographs, 46, 231-240.
47.
O'Keefe, B. J.
& Delia, J. G. (1982). Impression formation and message production. In M. E. Roloff & C. R. Berger (Eds.), Social cognition and communication (pp. 33-72). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
48.
O'Keefe, D. J.
, & Sypher, H. E. (1981). Cognitive complexity measures and the relationship of cognitive complexity to communication. Human Communication Research, 8, 72-92.
49.
Olson, D. R.
(1985). Designing and understanding texts. In T. M. Duffy & R. Waller (Eds.), Designing usable texts (pp. 1-15) New York: Academic Press.
50.
Orna, E.
(1985). The author: Help or stumbling block on the road to designing usable texts? In T. M. Duffy & R. Waller (Eds.), Designing usable texts (pp. 19-41). New York: Academic Press.
51.
Piché, G. L.
, & Roen, D. (1987). Social cognition and writing: Interpersonal cognitive complexity and the quality of students' persuasive writing. Written Communication, 4, 68-89.
52.
Roehler, L. R.
, & Duffy, G. G. (1986). What makes one teacher a better explainer than another?Journal of Education for Teachers, 12, 273-284.
53.
Rowan, K. E. (1986). Producing written explanations of scientific concepts for lay readers: Theory and a study of individual differences among collegiate writers (Doctoral dissertation, Purdue University, 1985). Dissertation Abstracts International, 47, 1226A.
54.
Rowan, K. E.
(1988). A contemporary theory of explanatory writing. Written Communication, 5, 23-56.
55.
Rubin, D. L.
, & Rafoth, B. A. (1986). Social cognitive ability as a predictor of the quality of expository and persuasive writing among college freshmen. Research in the Teaching of English, 20, 9-21.
56.
Searle, J. R.
(1979). Expression and meaning. New York: Cambridge University Press.
57.
Shymansky, J. A.
, & Kyle, W. C. (1988). A summary of research in science education—1986 [Special Issue]. Science Education, 72(3).
58.
Smith, E. E.
, & Goodman, L. (1984). Understanding written instructions: The role of an explanatory schema. Cognition and Instruction, 1, 359-396.
59.
Sticht, T.
(1985). Understanding readers and their uses of texts. In T. M. Duffy & R. Waller (Eds.), Designing usable texts (pp. 315-340). New York: Academic Press.
60.
Stiggins, R. J.
(1982). A comparison of direct and indirect writing assessment methods. Research in the Teaching of English, 16, 101-114.
61.
Strube, P.
, & Lynch, P. P. (1984). Some influences on the modern science text: Alternative science writing. European Journal of Science Education, 6, 321-338.
62.
Tennyson, R. D.
, & Cocchiarella, M. J. (1986). An empirically based instructional design theory for teaching concepts. Review of Educational Research, 56, 40-71.
63.
Tuchman, B. W.
(1978). A distant mirror. New York: Ballantine.
