Abstract

A“cognitive discourse analysis” was employed to analyze instructions for using a word processor written by eighth-grade students. The approach analyzes text structure in order to specify underlying semantic and conceptual knowledge structures. Our analyses revealed that the written instructions produced by the student writers were deficient in providing a reader with the information necessary for performing the task in two distinct ways. First, the group of students as a whole presented insufficient content information in their texts, particularly with respect to the subprocedures required to use the word processor. Second, the organization of students' texts did not parallel the hierarchical structure of the procedures described. These results suggest the importance of looking at writing from the point of view of the knowledge structures being expressed.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
1992-04-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088392009002002
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
Export

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

  1. Written Communication
  2. Written Communication

References (34) · 2 in this index

  1. Shaping written knowledge: The genre and activity of the experimental article in science
  2. Thinking and learning skills. Vol. 2: Research and open questions
  3. The psychology of written composition
  4. Questione de logopedie: Le diagnostic du fonctionnement cognitif dans la compréhension de…
  5. 10.1037/0278-7393.9.1.117
Show all 34 →
  1. The semantics of procedures: A cognitive basis for training procedural skills for complex…
  2. 10.1016/S0022-5371(82)90456-X
  3. 10.1016/0749-596X(87)90060-X
  4. 10.1080/01638539109544788
  5. Writing in nonacademic settings
  6. Written Communication
  7. Planning in writing: The cognition of constructive process
  8. 10.1016/0010-0285(75)90016-X
  9. Written communication annual. Vol I: Linguistic approaches to the study of written discourse
  10. Learning to use literacy in educational settings
  11. Colloque Internationale sur l'Informatique cognitives des Organizations
  12. Discourse ability and brain damage: Theoretical and empirical perspectives
  13. symposium on Document Design and Revision, American Educational Research Association
  14. Diagnostic monitoring of skill and knowledge acquisition
  15. Writing: The nature, development and teaching of written communication
  16. Texts and text processing
  17. Writing in real time
  18. joint meeting of the Canadian Psychological Association and the British Psychological Society
  19. Canadian Psychological Association
  20. Cognitive processes in writing
  21. 10.1016/S0020-7373(85)80045-6
  22. 10.1016/0749-596X(86)90036-7
  23. The psychology of computer vision
  24. Written Communication
  25. Toward a general theory of expertise: Prospects and limits
  26. Representation and understanding: Studies in cognitive science
  27. 10.2307/1167224
  28. Strategies of discourse comprehension
  29. 10.1016/S0022-5371(80)90343-6