Examines and tests the hypothesis that left-branching (LB) sentences are judged to be more formal than right-branching (RB), and that center-branching (CB) sentences would behave like LB. Two studies involving university students are described in which LB, RB, and CB sentence structure formality were judged. (17 references) (GLR)

With the contention that increased concern over the status of reading requires that the experimental testing of reading hypotheses be conducted with the most modern methods of behavioral science and be based on a theoretical analysis of the reading process, both psychological and linguistic, this final report from a group of investigators pursues…