What is meant by text complexity is a measurement of how challenging a particular text is to read. There are a myriad of different ways of explaining what makes text challenging to read, from the sophistication of the vocabulary employed to the length of its sentences to even measurements of how the text as a whole coheres. Research shows that no…

Provides a 17-item annotated bibliography addressing issues of measures of readability for languages other than English, the mismatch between student reading ability and text readability, and promising new approaches to readability. (MG)

The purpose of this book is to introduce the research on readability, defined here as reading ease. The first part of the book covers how people read. A series of national literacy surveys show that the average person in the U.S. and most other countries are adults of limited reading skills. For example, the average adult in the U.S. reads at the…

Proposes that prediction and production variables used together tap both text and reader factors and provide a much improved analysis of readability. Finds that this kind of analysis will lead to more specific kinds of pedagogical strategies for teaching writing. (MS)