COLLEGE-STUDENTS CONDITIONAL KNOWLEDGE ABOUT READING

Strategic reading requires not only a repertoire of processing strateg ies but also knowledge about the conditions under which a given strate gy is relevant. This study examined college students' conditional know ledge about reading. Subjects sorted descriptions of reading situation s according to how they believe they read in each situation. Cluster a nalyses of the resulting distance matrixes identified 10 distinct cate gories of reading situations. Ratings of the cognitive demands of the reading situations supported the interpretations of the sorting data a nd suggested how reading patterns vary across different texts and task demands. The 10 distinct reading categories constitute a first approx imation to a typology of reading situations that may serve as a framew ork for organizing research on reading strategies.