Hello,
This can be a silly question to ask, but my main field is not in reading comprehension. While I try my best to phrase my question, it can sound a bit awkward. Thank you for your understanding.
According to the theories of reading comprehension, there are three levels of reading comprehension: literal, inferential, and critical. Literal comprehension means understanding what the text exactly says or describes, and inferential comprehension means deriving the meanings that are not explictly stated in the text, i.e. "reading between the lines".
Is strong literal comprehension a must in order for an individual to make a good inferential comprehension? That is, does an individual need to have a solid grasp on vast literal details of a text for he or she to be able to "read between the lines"? Is it possible for an individual to do a good job in doing the tasks that requires inferential comprehension while he or she performs relatively worse in the tasks that mainly involves literal comprehension?
Thank you,
of course, strong at literal comprehension the reader can do inferential ones but there are also some linguistic theories ( transitivity) which can help the readers to do good inferences or choose the correct answers of inferential questions in reading tests. In short , inferential competence requires the readers to have other knowledge not only the digestion of literature . Thanks
While theories of reading/discourse comprehension differ in a variety of ways, they all agree that comprehension involves a combination of (1) text elements and (2) reader knowledge. That is to say, comprehension requires both information present in the text itself and some degree of general/world/conceptual knowledge on part of the reader.
However, I've never encountered a model or theory of discourse processing which proposes that inferential or elaborative processes can occur without first establishing coherence of the text elements themselves (i.e., "propositions," as they're commonly called). Major theories of discourse processing would argue the contrary: an appropriate representation of the propositions in a text is necessary for inferential and elaborative processes.
Doung Dara Blaine Tomkins Thank you for your insights, I appreciate your time.
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