# The Influence of Text Genre on Eye Movement Patterns During Reading

## TL;DR

This study explores how different text genres affect how adolescents read, using eye movement patterns to reveal distinct reading strategies.

## Contribution

The study introduces scanpath analysis to examine global eye movement strategies in adolescents across narrative, expository, and poetic texts.

## Key findings

- Adolescents showed regressive reading patterns more often with expository and poetic texts.
- Higher comprehension levels were linked to increased regressive patterns for expository and poetic texts.
- Scanpath analysis revealed genre-driven differences in reading strategies.

## Abstract

Successful reading comprehension depends on many factors, including text genre. Eye-tracking studies indicate that genre shapes eye movement patterns at a local level. Although the reading of expository and narrative texts by adolescents has been described in the literature, the reading of poetry by adolescents remains understudied. In this study, we used scanpath analysis to examine how genre and comprehension level influence global eye movement strategies in adolescents (N = 44). Thus, the novelty of this study lies in the use of scanpath analysis to measure global eye movement strategies employed by adolescents while reading narrative, expository, and poetic texts. Two distinct reading patterns emerged: a forward reading pattern (linear progression) and a regressive reading pattern (frequent lookbacks). Readers tended to use regressive patterns more often with expository and poetic texts, while forward patterns were more common with a narrative text. Comprehension level also played a significant role, with readers with a higher level of comprehension relying more on regressive patterns for expository and poetic texts. The results of this experiment suggest that scanpaths effectively capture genre-driven differences in reading strategies, underscoring how genre expectations may shape visual processing during reading.