ABSTRACT
At this point in the book, you hopefully have developed a fuller understanding of the nature of written discourse and the various systems of language that make up a text. An examination of the cognitive dimension of literacy moves us from a focus on the written discourse and “cracking the code” to an examination of the individual who is transacting with the print and making meaning. Essentially, a cognitive discussion of literacy focuses on the mental processes, strategies, or procedures the individual engages to construct meaning. Because in the construction of meaning there is a transaction between a mind (cognition) and a text (linguistic), this chapter can best be conceived of as a psycholinguistic extension of the previous chapters.
