The psychoeducational report has many purposes and many readers. Given this, it is imperative that psychoeducational reports are well written, as well as acceptable to and understood by the readers. This study aimed to determine from the perspective of both teacher (report reader) and psychologist (report writer) the factors that make an effective…

This is the final installment of a 3-part series of articles proposing substantial changes in assessment practices, urging school psychologists to write reports that are responsive to the needs of primary consumers--parents and educators, in particular. According to the author, the prevailing practice of writing long, complex reports with a focus…

Tested model for writing psychological reports that specified types of data and mode of data presentation most likely to be viewed positively by readers. School psychologists rated comparable sets of statements that might appear in school psychological reports, one set model based and the other not. Respondents rated model-based statements as…

Examines two ways that graphics and graphic techniques can help communicate technical topics visually: by helping readers navigate through a manual; and by helping readers better understand the material in the manual. (SR)

Notes that while compound nouns are the lexical trademark of many technical languages, their simple surface structure belies the complexities involved in their generation and comprehension. Suggests that by considering carefully these underlying complexities, technical writers can improve the readability of their texts. (HTH)

Presents the readability and human interest scores of 28 books on psychoanalytic technique and briefly discusses them in relation to "psychoanalyese" and psychotherapy training. The books all fell into the four most difficult categories, but were rated generally interesting. (Author/JAC)

Points out the need for audience consideration in technical writing. Discusses how memory divides information into chunks for processing, and how this affects the readability of technical text. (HTH)

Describes three principles of direct mail sales letters intended to entice readers to read them: the personalized look; an indirect arrangement of support; and readability ease. (SR)

Describes two software routines developed for authors of Navy training materials. SCAT (Systems for Computer Automated Typesetting) automatically composes and formats text, merging it with stored graphics, while CRES (Computer Readability Editing System) aids in writing readable text at the desired level. A six-item bibliography and eight…

The author requires students to sample articles in two magazines and compare their readability levels. He also emphasizes the importance of writing directly--not up or down--to an audience. (RL)

Suggests that editors resist the common urge to squeeze paragraphs together to save space. Discusses the difference between writing and editing paragraphs, topic sentences, connectives, levels of discourse, what paragraphs do for the writer, how long paragraphs should be, and the flexibility of paragraph structure. (RS)

Discusses the plain language movement and its origins. Reviews past and current resources related to plain language writing. Examines criticism of the movement while examining past and current plain language literature, with particular attention to the information design field. (SR)

Indicates that mission statement developers in both corporate and university settings need to improve the readability and the tone of their written statements in order to maximize their organizational image. (NKA)

Study indicates Fog Index of eleven is normal for popular literature and suggests the readability levels have increased by two in the past twenty years. (RB)

Monitors several measures of progress toward a breakthrough improvement in computer manuals. Reports observations from a benchmark study of the state of the art in computer manuals, both paper and online. Suggests additional areas for improvement. (RS)