Final answer:
Studies in discourse comprehension indicate that shortly after reading, individuals commonly remember the overall gist of a passage, focusing on characters and setting, rather than the exact words or sentence structures.
Step-by-step explanation:
Discourse comprehension studies have shown that a few minutes after reading, people tend to remember the gist of the story more than the specific surface structures of the sentences.
In particular, readers generally retain knowledge of the characters and setting, as well as the main events that took place, rather than the exact wording or sentence structure. They grasp the central narrative, which includes the development of characters, the setting, and the broader sequence of events that make up the plot of the story.
This understanding aligns with the concept that readers are more likely to store and recall meaningful information that contributes to their overall comprehension of the text.