TEXT REVISION - DETECTION AND CORRECTION OF ERRORS

In 2 experiments, independent measures of detection and correction of text errors were examined. In Session 1, Ss tried to detect spelling, grammatical, and meaning errors in a text; in Session 2, Ss tried to correct the same errors in workbooklike exercises. Errors were classified according to whether they were detected in Session 1 and whether they were corrected in Session 2. With the exception of spelling errors, knowledge of how to correct an error was necessary but not sufficient for detection. For spelling error detection, knowledge of how to correct may be both necessary and sufficient. In Experiment 2, detection of meaning errors was manipulated by having Ss answer comprehension questions, surface questions, or no questions. Both question groups detected nearly twice as many meaning errors as the no-question group. Questioning had no effects on detection of spelling or grammatical errors.