Factors Influencing the Readability of Student-Generated Texts.
JoBeth Allen · 1985
An investigation examined student-generated texts in terms of both traditional and more theoretically valid readability to determine what factors influence compreheniion when children read their own, peer, and adult-written texts. Seventy dictated stories . created lean earliei study, along with 4 firdt-grade level stories from the Reader's DigestSkill Bu4det series, served as the pool . fdr various analyses. Factors of teaditional\readability, interest, story structure, and reality were examined to learn why children infer better on student-generated texts than oh adult-generated texts. Analyses showed that interest, natural language leading to longer sentences, and social and conceptual schema matches hold higher-explanatory power than traditional measures of readability and story structure. Teachers who may have been reluctant to use student-generated texts because they are not .controlled can be assured that strong factofs support the readability of such texts. When children have a real-life connection. with the author of their text and they read interesting material in the language of children, they have a better chance of getting the whole message, including the part written between the lines. (DF)