Text search is a type of strategic reading that involves locating spec
ific goal-relevant information. Previous research has indicated that c
ollege and high school students often exhibit inefficient or unsuccess
ful text-search performance. Consequently, the effects of 2 manipulati
ons on text-search performance were investigated: (a) the presence of
indexed terms in a text-search task and (b) the use of a planning prom
pt before beginning a task. Thirty-four college students engaged in 6
text-search tasks. Half of these tasks contained terms that could be u
sed in an index; half required that a search term be generated. Half o
f the subjects were randomly assigned to a prompt condition in which t
hey were prompted to plan their search before beginning each task. The
results indicated that a planning prompt raised the success level of
search performance, as did the presence of terms that were searchable
in the textbook's index.