Effects of a Mnemonic Imagery Strategy on Good and Poor Readers' Prose Recall

JUNIOR HIGH school students representing aboveand below-average reading levels read several passages about the accomplishments of famous people. Students in the mnemonic imagery condition were taught a systematic strategy to apply to the passages they read, whereas no-strategy control students were left to their own devices. Consistent with previous findings, mnemonic imagery students remembered more name/accomplishment information than did controls. Mnemonic benefits were obtained by both aboveand below-average readers on short fictional passages (Experiment 1), as well as on longer nonfictional passages taken from actual school reading materials (Exp. 2). Implications of the results and suggestions for future research are included in the discussion.