This essay, the concluding section of a larger study, examines the present state of cognitive science and instructional theory as reflected in the study's earlier chapters. Cognitive analyses of tasks are reported in the broad domain of language comprehension and production (e.g., understanding, composing, and answering questions about texts). The following are examined as statements of a theory of expertise in language processing: (1) processes in diverse tasks; (2) the role of prior knowledge; and (3) the role of strategies. From this examination, goals and objectives of instruction in the domain of text processing are described. Learning as coherence building, learning as schema instantiation and schema construction, and acquiring processing skill are discussed as contributing to a theory of cognitive acquisition. The effects of instructional interventions in reading and writing are explored. The foregoing provides the basis for examining the implications of emerging theories of expertise and acquisition for instructional prescriptions. (PN)