Constructing representations of arguments

Three experiments were conducted to test whether presentation order affects the reading and later recall of simple two-clause arguments. Participants read arguments in a claim-first order or in a reason-first order. Three experiments found that arguments were read faster when claims preceded reasons and this effect was independent of whether the reason began with a subordinating conjunction. Shorter reading times were observed for claims when they occurred in the initial position. Claims were also recalled better than reasons and claim-first arguments were recalled more accurately than reason-first arguments. Experiments 3a and 3b showed that readers identified claims by the presence of markers (e.g., modals and qualifiers) and that arguments with modals are read more quickly and recalled better in a claim-first order. These results suggest that readers use a claim-centered argument schema to guide the processing of persuasive prose.