Lorch Jr., R. F., Lemarié, J., & Grant, R. A. (2011). Three information functions of headings: A test of the SARA theory of signaling. Discourse Processes, 48(3), 139-160.

Lorch, R.; Lemarié, J.; Grant, R.

2011

Lorch Jr., R. F., Lemarié, J., & Grant, R. A. (2011). Three information functions of headings: A test of the SARA theory of signaling. Discourse Processes, 48(3), 139-160.

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Text signals include a wide variety of writing devices that emphasize specific content within a text, the organization of a text, or both (Lorch, 1989; Meyer, 1975). Signals presumably evolved as a means for an author to guide readers' processing of a text by making the text structure and important content more salient to the reader. Although signals share a common general purpose, they b are a seeming hodgepodge of devices that includes headings, typographical variations, topical overviews and summaries, outlines, bulleting and numbering, preview sentences, and other devices (Lorch, 1989). Despite their variety, a recent theory has provided a unifying framework for understanding the relations between signaling devices and for hypothesizing about their effects on text processing (Lemarié, Lorch, Eyrolle, & Virbel, 2008). The purpose of this study is to provide a first test of that theory by examining one of its central claims regarding the types of information communicated by signals.

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