An investigation was conducted to ascertain the effects of the structured overview on both the short-term and long-term comprehension of average and below average readers. The subjects were 143 college students classified as average or below average readers and randomly assigned to either a structured overview (65) or a control group (78). Both groups read an article of college level difficulty; students in the structured overview group completed a prereading, teacher-guided discussion of major concepts from the article as they were depicted on the overview. Both groups completed a ten-item multiple choice test on the article immediately following the reading and again one week later. Results showed a significant difference in short-term comprehension favoring the structured overview over the control group, and a significant difference in short-term comprehension favoring average readers over below average readers in both groups. There was no significant difference between the groups on the long-term measure. The differential effect of the overview for average and below average readers suggests that reading achievement is an important independent variable in investigations of adjunct learning aids. (TJ)