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Differences in semantic recall and scalp recorded EEG (alpha 8–13 Hz) activity between students hypothesized as having either an analytic or holistic cognitive or processing style were investigated. Styles were determined by the amount of bilateral alpha activity measured from the cerebral cortex of the brain during eyes-open baseline recordings. The results of Experiment 1 indicated that when expository text is tightly structured, both male and female analytics (those producing relatively less bilateral alpha than holistics), recall more of the semantically important “gist” information from text than holistics, particularly when they are asked to concentrate during the reading/recall period. Holistics, on the other hand, recalled more gist information when they were asked to relax during the reading/recall task. Experiment 2 showed that male holistics recalled more metaphors than male analytics after reading highly metaphoric (descriptive) poetry. In contrast, male analytics recalled more metaphors than male holistics after reading logically structured (argumentative) poetry. Female analytics and holistics did not show a differential pattern of recall. In general, although not supportive of hemisphere-based cognitive styles, our alpha data reflected the encoding differences between analytic and holistic processors. Results are discussed in relation to the bimodal theory of conscious processing and several suggestions for future research are provided.