What term describes the background knowledge a reader brings to a text, aiding in making inferences?

The term that best describes the background knowledge a reader brings to a text, which helps in making inferences, is ‘prior knowledge.’ This concept encompasses all the experiences, information, and understanding that a reader has accumulated before engaging with new material. Prior knowledge is critical for comprehension because it enables readers to connect new information with what they already know, facilitating deeper understanding and interpretation of the text.

When readers can draw from their prior knowledge, they can make inferences and predictions based on the context of what they are reading, which enhances their overall engagement and interpretation of the material. This makes prior knowledge an essential component of successful reading and comprehension.

Schema refers specifically to the mental structures that organize knowledge, while contextual understanding focuses more on the situational aspects surrounding the text, which, although important, do not directly emphasize the individual reader's background knowledge like prior knowledge does. Textual knowledge relates to the understanding of the text itself rather than the reader's pre-existing knowledge.