The comprehension of coherence relations in expository texts at the age of 10 and 12

Abstract

The ability to understand coherence relations like cause/result between parts of texts is crucial for the comprehension of texts. The present study investigates how well students of grade 4 and grade 6 manage the construction of coherence in expository texts. Performance differences in comprehending additive, causal, contrastive, and temporal anteriority relations suggest a specific line of development: After an early phase which does not show significant differences in dealing with the four relations, there is first progress in constructing causal relations and, after a short delay, in constructing adversative relations. The performance concerning additive and temporal anteriority relations remains on a comparatively low level. What seems to be crucial for the developmental progress is the relevance of relations for the meaning of the text and-especially for temporal anteriority relations-the sequence of propositions. Not all text recipients profit from the presence of connectives to the same degree, least of all weak readers. © 2020 De Gruyter Inc.