The 'multiple levels of text processing' (MLOTP) model

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	what do we do when we read?

	a framework to integrate these activity

	developmental pathway readers follows

	reading difficulties

The 'multiple levels of text processing' (MLOTP) model

To comprehend the texts, you needed to use what you knew in various ways. You also needed to act on the text in particular ways. The areas of text processing can be integrated into a model of reading. It is referred to as the 'multiple levels of text processing' (MLOTP) model. We read by processing text at a number of levels. This model is shown in the following diagram.
(Click here to print the model.)

Levels of text	Knowledge of structural text features, the 'what', conventions of writing		Reading strategies, 'how to'			Value of each level; reader's beliefs
word level	word bank containing 3 forms of word: how it is written, said, means, letter clusters, rime families types of written words, word structures		match text word directly with stored letter cluster knowledge convert letter clusters to sounds, blend segment words into functional units and recode			why reading/ working out words is useful
sentence level	grammar to link words sentence propositions (how meanings are linked) punctuation, written sentence structure		visualise, paraphrase sentence re-read ask questions about the ideas, listen to ourselves as we read, pause and consolidate			how visualising a sentence helps reading you can talk about the strategies you use as you read
conceptual level	'idea bank'; set of ideas linked in networks similar to text links episodes - contextual links linking prose in paragraphs paragraph propositions		backtrack / read ahead /within / across sentences to link concepts predict, anticipate, infer ideas, feeling What other words might be in text? recode imagery to words			why it is useful / interesting to predict
topic level	structures used to link ideas to a topic		use title, scan or skim text, select key words to guess its general theme			why it is useful to note the topic of text
dispositional level	values, attitudes intended by a text		how to detect the attitudes in a text			why you need to know attitude of writer
Self-management and control strategies frame up reasons or purposes for reading a text, plan how they will read monitor our reading, initiate corrective action, decide when to re-read, self-correct, how they use what they know at each level, monitor how their reading is progressing, take remedial actions if necessary and, having read, review and self-question to see whether reading goals achieved, review or consolidate what they have read organise the information gained from reading to fit our purposes for reading
Existing knowledge
Oral language knowledge at word level, what words mean, how they are said, awareness of sounds in words at sentence level, how ideas are linked into sentences, grammar. at conceptual level, how ideas are linked into themes at topic or theme level, how a theme is communicated in a narrative, description at the pragmatic or dispositional level, how the social context affects how ideas are communicated, the attitudes and values of the writer towards the ideas in the text.					Experiential knowledge experiences, visual imagery knowledge action, motor knowledge knowledge of symbols
Sensory input to the knowledge base				Motor aspects of expressive language
Auditory input		Visual input	Touch, feeling input		Motion input

A dynamic window on what we do at any time : How we use our thinking space.

The 'thinking space' diagram shows the knowledge we use when we read. At any time readers combine these areas of knowledge in a dynamic way in their thinking space. They use information from all of the levels of processing at once, or simultaneously. We can show the "how to" aspect on reading in this diagram.

We 'take in' the written information in two ways:

visually (what we see) and
phonologically (what we tell ourselves we see).

At any time while you are reading, you are retaining various bits of knowledge in your working memory.

image of how we read

Because we are using several sources of knowledge at once, we can recognise when the meanings suggested by different sources clash. This tells us that everything 'doesn't add up' and that we may need to re-read what we have just read.

As you read you

recognise letter strings, retrieve and manipulate meanings,
combine knowledge from a range of sources,
extract and discard knowledge,
recognise and handle 'clashes' in knowledge form different 'levels of text' and 'change gear'.

An example of the types of knowledge stimulated by a text when a person reads is shown in this diagram.