Found that standard readability indexes by themselves are not useful in measuring readability and comprehensibility of income tax material. Also casts doubt on the use of only readability indexes to measure insurance, labor, and real estate contracts. (PD)

Reports results of a survey on the readability of 12 recently published business communication textbooks. Shows that important differences in readability do exist and that the majority of texts were within or below the lower end of the undergraduate-level reading range. (PD)

Suggests that readability formulas are methodologically flawed and inappropriate measures of the readability of materials written for adults. Argues that the cloze procedure is preferable because it assesses the readability of material by its intended audience. Notes that possible users of the cloze procedure include school systems, government…

Investigates the effectiveness of the prose communication in contemporary corporate annual reports. Indicates that a sample of 65 Canadian annual reports for 1984 were classified as "difficult" to "very difficult" and beyond the fluent comprehension ease of 92 percent of the adult population and 56 percent of the investor…

Proposes that documents such as contracts, policies, etc. can be evaluated adequately only by analyzing how they are used by consumers and then designing a testing approach that reflects their usability rather than their readability, difficulty, etc. Tested versions of a loan contract to compare differences among evaluation procedures. (PD)

Surveys recent trends in the area of clear writing. Discusses the problem of incomprehensible language in functional writing (forms and documents). Considers solutions, particularly those developed by the Document Design Center. (PD)

Examines reading ease between the English and Chinese versions of 65 corporate annual reports in Hong Kong and the English and Malay versions of 53 annual reports in Malaysia. Notes that the English passages in Malaysian annual reports are easier to read than the English passages in Hong Kong annual reports. Suggests that different language…

Doubts the ability of formulas to predict readability and questions their use as aids in writing readable prose. Points out that formulas also hamper the teaching of business writing because they emphasize written products instead of the writing process. (PD)