First Passage

There are many factors that influence a reader's ability to comprehend what he is reading. Several of these factors are the characteristics of the reader himself, such as his reading ability and interest in the material. One important factor in this category is linguistic competence, which includes phonetic, syntactic, and semantic knowledge.

Phonetics refers to the individual sounds in language, how they may be blended, and how stress, juncture and pitch affect the meanings of statements. Syntax is the study of word arrangement, and is based on the hundreds of grammatical rules learned throughout schooling. Semantics refers to the concept of what a word stands for and the relationship among words.

The most important of these are clearly the semantics and syntactic skills. The explanation for the emphasis of these is that greater knowledge in these areas provides a better chance of matching the information in a reader's head with the information printed in the text, thereby evoking a greater understanding of the material.

This knowledge, however, is of no value if the reader is not interested in the material presented. The most successful comprehension of printed material takes place when the student sees some personal value in the topic presented. Interest can only be piqued if the student finds the material enjoyable and if it satisfies some need for the reader.

Again, the importance of this factor is based on another: the reader's ability to decode the message presented. The reader must possess good identification skills. The ability to decode a word is often aided by the context in which it is used. This, of course, is related to the linguistic competence mentioned previously, and demonstrates the inevitable vicious cycle.

With regard to the teaching of reading, there are outside factors which can be manipulated to increase the chances of the reader's success and promote interest. The majority of these refer specifically to alterations within the text. To begin with, some words are obviously harder to understand than others. The difficulty is related to the frequency with which the words are used and the abstractness of the concepts they represent. We gain a better understanding of the words that are seen frequently simply through repetition. Therefore, passages composed of familiar words are generally easier to comprehend.

Words such as "love" and "government" are difficult to define and may have different meanings depending upon who is defining them. These are abstract concepts which cannot be associated with tangible objects in order to clarify their meanings. Words that have concrete meanings are easier to understand.

Logic would tend to indicate that short, simple sentences are the easiest to understand. However, when these are put together to form a paragraph, some explicitness of the message may be lost. In general, a complex sentence is required to present a complex thought. In spite of the more difficult form, the comprehensibility of the sentence may be increased because the message is explained more clearly.

1. The primary purpose of this passage is to:

A. explain why one person is a better reader than another.

B. discuss the steps writers can take in order to make their works more readable.

C. describe the role education plays in determining a person's ability to read.

D. examine several factors which affect how well a person reads.

E. rebut the presumption that education and practice are all that are required in order to become a good reader.