Text annotation and underlining as metacognitive strategies to improve comprehension and retention of expository text

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects on reading comprehension and information retention of training in two text processing methods, annotation and underlining. Subjects in the study were 67 students in four study skills classes. The four groups were divided as follows: One group received training in annotation of text, and one group received training in underlining main ideas. Both these groups and one of the control groups wrote recalls immediately following the reading of two text passages, a science passage and a history passage. A fourth group, also a control group, read both passages but did not write recalls. All groups were given multiple choice pretests and posttests over the information in the passages. All groups wrote delayed recalls of the information four weeks after the initial readings. Recalls were scored by raters who used the Mitchell-Irwin Retelling Profile (1990). Scores for the multiple choice pre- and posttests were analyzed using ANOVAs; data from the recalls were analyzed using t tests to compare groups. Findings of the study indicated that there were significant effects based on the recall scores for both treatment groups over the control group which did not write recalls. The scores for the control group which did write recalls were the highest of the four groups, however. These findings suggest that writing in connection with reading offers benefits to students in comprehension and retention not offered by reading alone. Further, students who self-select study strategies which include a reading-writing component may derive the greatest of those benefits. Implications for further study include recommendations for replication of the study including an annotation group and an underlining group which do not write recalls, in addition to the four groups used here, in order to test the effects of written recalls on comprehension and retention.