The purpose of this study was to investigate the similarities and differences in subjects’ cognitive processing during reading and writing activities as reported in their think‐aloud protocols. Subjects were two secondary students: an above‐average reader/writer and a below‐average reader/writer. Both read concrete and abstract expository texts and wrote reflexive and extensive pieces while thinking aloud. Results showed that subjects’ reported behaviors differed. The above‐average subject reported consistently more behaviors and more behaviors that facilitated meaning making than the below‐average subject. With regard to task abstraction, the trend was that the more abstract the task, the more behaviors were reported. However, the below‐average subject, who lacked the flexibility to choose behaviors which would facilitate completion of the abstract reading, failed to comprehend it fully and reported fewer behaviors for the abstract task than the concrete task. Finally, subjects’ reported processes illustrated many similarities between reading and writing. The central issue for all tasks was the subjects’ process for articulating meaning