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Bransford 's third contribution to theories of text comprehension was his realization that understanding is a constructive process . In creating a mental representation of the content of a text, information that is explicit in the text (almost always) has to be combined with relevant knowledge about the world. This knowledge comes from long term memory and it may be specific knowledge about particular people, places and things. Construction and integration are closely connected because in many cases, background knowledge contributes crucially to the integration of information from different clauses of a text.
SYNTAX AND MENTAL MODELS. .
The incremented model is used as part of the context for interpreting the next clause. In extracting information from the current clause, readers and listeners use stored knowledge about words, the way that words can be grouped into phrases and clauses (syntax), and the way in which the meaning of those phrases and clauses depends on their structure. Information is integrated into a model by establishing referential and other types of links that are derived from the temporal, spatial, logical, causal, intentional, and moral connections between the pieces of information in the text. In the case of clearly articulated speech and clearly written or printed text, word identification proceeds primarily on the basis of perceptual information. In the case of syntax , matters are more complex. Some sentences cannot be interpreted correctly without a full syntactic analysis. Nevertheless, semantic and pragmatic information affects the interpretation of sentences. Sometimes people have not lost their knowledge of syntax, but rather the ability to use it in comprehension.
INFERENCE IN MENTAL MODELS THEORY.
Theory of mental models is commetted to the idea that numerous inferences inevitably will be made during comprehension so that a detalled representation of a specific situation can be built.