Cognitive models of multiple text comprehension and academic writing in university students

Abstract

The objective was to establish the effect produced by the application of cognitive models of understanding multiple texts in the writing of academic texts in students of a private university in Huancayo, Peru. The study had a quantitative approach, applied type, explanatory or causal level and pre-experimental design; with pretest and post test. The study sample was census, made up of students from the Professional School of Medical Technology of the aforementioned university, divided into three groups according to specialties: Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation (25), Clinical Laboratory and Pathological Anatomy (35) and Radiology (52), having a total of 112 students. A program consisting of 12 sessions focused on cognitive models and academic writing was implemented. A multiple-choice written test was administered before and after the application of the program described previously. The tests consisted of 50 items and were administered through Google Forms. The instruments were validated through expert judgment and for reliability with Richardson's K pilot test. The results show that students improve academic writing with the application of intertextual cognitive models and integrated into the reading of various sources, to produce a text of their own authorship, where relevant information is considered for writing introduction, development and conclusion paragraphs. It is concluded that there is a significant positive effect of the application of cognitive models of understanding multiple texts when writing academic texts in the students analyzed (sig =0.000 < 0.05).