Improving the ability to detect comprehension problems: from revising to writing

Can an instructional treatment directly target the cognitive processes which lead to comprehension problem detection in revising? Can such a treatment be effective in enhancing not only the ability to detect such kind of error in revising texts written by others but also the attention to local planning in writing so that comprehensibility be assured? The results of an experimental investigation with 28 6th graders as subjects supported an affirmative answer to these questions. Subjects in the experimental condition, who individually participated in three treatment sessions, significantly outperformed controls in detection of comprehension problems in revising and in comprehensible writing. Some methodological problems are discussed.