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…

The problems arising from treating word and sentence complexity as the direct causes of difficulty in comprehension are surveyed in this paper from the perspective of readability formulas. The basic choices and assumptions made in the development and use of readability formulas are discussed in relation to the larger question of text…

Defining readability in both the narrow sense of formula use and refinement and the broader sense of the processing and comprehension of language, this paper argues for the need for more research focusing on readability as a way of improving the match between reader and text. Following a brief introduction, the paper reviews current readability…

Describes two experiments that explore the effect of line length and paging versus scrolling on reading from screen. Finds that long lines were read faster than short lines with no change in comprehension and that subject's judgment of reading ease did not correlate with performance. Concludes that further study is needed. (PA)

A study compared the average reading ability levels of freshmen enrolled at an open-door community college with the readability levels of eight content area textbooks used in courses at the institution. Subjects, 100 students enrolled in reading courses, were randomly selected and administered the Nelson-Denny Reading Test to determine reading…

Finds that both low-ability and average-ability first-grade readers, and to a lesser extent high-ability readers, from different socioeconomic backgrounds, select books that are beyond students' reading level. Discusses influences of gender and genre on these selections. Discusses the relation of frustration-level texts to interest and motivation,…

Proposes that readability formulas cannot predict text difficulty. Presents results of an experiment designed to demonstrate that "text difficulty" is determined by individual differences (perception) and not by the objective qualities of a text. (NH)

Examines undergraduate students' imaginative processes (i.e., spontaneous imagery and emotional response) to newspaper articles. Finds that, as in previous studies with literary texts and feature journalism articles, imagery and affective responses (i.e., emotional response and story interest) were moderately to strongly related. Finds that both…

Reports on five studies which investigated reading for pleasure. Finds that this reading is characterized by within-text reading rate variability, is more arousing physiologically than other waking activities, and gives readers a feeling of control. Also finds that the Fog Index of readability predicts readers' preferences and difficulty rankings.…

This article discusses three major reasons why children who can decode the stories in their basal readers may still have problems reading content area textbooks. The reasons include: (1) lack of prerequisite knowledge (including content, discourse, and strategic knowledge); (2) poorly written textbooks; and (3) negative classroom experiences in…

Explains the details of a method of teaching text structure that proved successful in improving both reading comprehension and summary writing of fifth graders. Reports that students quickly learned how to attend to and remember main ideas from problem-solution passages in their textbooks and how to write summaries. (MG)

Acknowledging that the literary quality of children's stories strongly affects reading comprehension and interest in reading, a study examined how inside view (the insight an author provides about a character's thoughts and feelings) affects the presentation of character beliefs and plans. The study was based on the following premises: (1) basal…

Using two original children's books and adaptations of these books created by basal reader publishers, a study investigated (1) whether children prefer original, unadapted stories that may have longer sentences and more vocabulary items than are permitted by readability formulas for their grade level, or the adaptations of those stories, which…

A study tested the effects of hedges (which signal writers' tentative assessment of referential information) on readers' learning. Subjects, 145 ninth-grade students from three middle class junior high schools in a midwestern city who were ranked on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, participated in the experiment--74 were randomly assigned to an…

Examines the nature and prevalence of author-provided cues to effective processing of introductory college textbooks in psychology and biology. Concludes that the authors of the texts chose cues that would be effective even with relatively passive learners and rarely chose cues that demanded much activity from readers. (SKC)