Inferential comprehension differences between narrative and expository texts: a systematic review and meta-analysis
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Inferential comprehension differences between narrative and expository texts: a systematic review and meta‑analysis Virginia Clinton1 · Terrill Taylor1 · Surjya Bajpayee1 · Mark L. Davison2 · Sarah E. Carlson3 · Ben Seipel4
© Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract Inferential comprehension is necessary to connect ideas in a text together in a meaningful manner. There have been multiple studies on inferential comprehension involving texts of different genres (narrative and expository), but not a coherent overview of the findings of inferential comprehension by genre. The purpose of this study is to provide a coherent overview by conducting a meta-analysis of the findings of inferential comprehension by genre. A systematic review of the literature yielded 18 reports with 19 independent studies involving 1714 participants in which inferential comprehension was compared by genre. Based on robust variance estimation, scores on measures of inferential comprehension were higher for narrative texts than expository texts (g = .36, p = .02). This effect did not vary depending on whether inferential comprehension was assessed during or after reading, whether the texts for each genre were matched for readability, whether the reader was an adult or child, and whether the inference connected different ideas in the text (text connecting) or the text to background knowledge (knowledge based). Potential explanations of genre differences in inferential comprehension and future directions for research are discussed. Keywords Genre · Inference · Meta-analysis · Reading comprehension
* Virginia Clinton [email protected] 1
University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, USA
2
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA
3
Georgia State University, Atlanta, USA
4
California State University, Chico, Chico, USA
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V. Clinton et al.
Introduction Successful reading comprehension requires connecting ideas in a text together in a meaningful manner in a process known as coherence (van den Broek, & Gustafson, 1999). Readers connect these ideas together through a process known as inference generation. Inferences can be categorized in a number of manners, but generally either connect the text with previously-read information in the same text or to readers’ background knowledge (Cain, Oakhill, & Bryant, 2004a, Cain, Oakhill, & Lemmon, 2004b). In general, inferential comprehension is considered more challenging with expository texts than narrative texts (Graesser, McNamara, & Kulikowich, 2011). This is thought to be due to differences in both content and structure by genre as narrative texts are centered around character goals whereas expository texts are more varied in structures (Graesser, McNamara, Louwerse, & Cai, 2004; Lorch, 2015). In addition, the background knowledge to generate inferences for narratives is typically based on everyday life experiences whereas expository texts may require background knowledge that readers often do not have, making it more challenging to generate inferences (Graesser et al., 20
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