This report discusses the current state of research into the visual effects of screen layout design, i.e., the arrangement of design elements on a screen. First, two types of design elements are described: technical (those things that engineers work with and that users have little or no control over), and comprehensibility (those elements that a…

The status and future of bureaucratic language is explored and four specific issues are addressed: (1) the characteristics of bureaucratic writing; (2) how it developed and what keeps it from changing; (3) where pressures for change come from; and (4) what can be done to foster greater literacy in bureaucratic writing among both writers and users…

To assess the context in which information is presented to readers and to know what demands information being presented makes of an audience, IBM designed three procedures to help gather such material. First, customer sites are visited to interview representatives from the intended audience and see the environments in which the information will be…

A study was conducted to determine the SMOG readability formula scores of currently available patient education materials. It was hypothesized that the reading level of the materials would be higher than 7.5, the reading level of the average American citizen; and that there would be a significant reduction in the measured document reading levels…

Scientific discourse is difficult to read because of its lexical, syntactic, semantic, and logical features. This paper discusses each of those features, giving special attention to syntax, and suggests ways in which discourse analysis can be used to teach content reading in sciences and to rewrite scientific text for instructional purposes. Some…

The Fry Readability Graph was used to assess the approximate readability level of each of 23 selected instructions, publications, and forms commonly used by adults in order to compare their readability levels with the minimum literacy level as defined by the United States Office of Education (approximately the eighth grade level). The results…

This study was concerned specifically with the performance of soldiers on Skill Qualification Tests (SQT) in relation to the readability of the tests. The paper also touches upon the effects of soldiers' motivation and training on SQT performance. Regarding readability, the study was designed to address three questions: does the readability of SQT…

The six tables presented in this paper were prepared in the belief that more educators would use the Harris-Jacobson Readability Formulas if the operations employed in those formulas to determine the estimated readability level of materials could be completed more quickly and with fewer calculations. Instructions for using the tables are included.…

A method is described for choosing sample sizes when the domain to be sampled consists of a finite set of sentences and the purpose is to construct a test to assess the comprehension or the readability of written discourse. The testing method is that proposed in Bormuth's work on transformational analysis within a criterion-referenced measurement…

This final report describes the development and test of a computer readability editing system for use in improving the ease of comprehending Navy technical manuals and training materials. The prototype editing system has features to (1) flag uncommon and misspelled words and long sentences, (2) suggest simple replacements for difficult words, and…

THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS (1) TO DETERMINE THE READING DIFFICULTY OF THE EIGHTH-GRADE SCIENCE TEXTBOOKS ADOPTED FOR USE IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND (2) TO DETERMINE THE ADEQUACY OF TEACHER PREPARATION, EQUIPMENT, AND SCHOOL FACILITIES FOR PRESENTING A COURSE IN EARTH SCIENCE BASED UPON THE TEXTBOOKS ADOPTED IN 1964. DATA FOR THE READABILITY…

Misleading headings in documents, which make it hard for readers to find what they need, are common in many types of documents. A review of research on the importance of cues in the reading process suggests that heading miscues might seriously impair understanding. Three experiments were conducted to discover how headings cue or miscue adult…

Reading Grade Levels (RGLs) of 185 Rate Training Manuals (RTMs) and 188 Non-Resident Career Courses (NRCCs) were determined using the Flesch Reading Ease Score. Results indicated that the majority of the RTMs and NRCCs were written at the lower college grade level. The RGLs vary widely within each RTM and NRCC, ranging from the seventh grade to…

"Reading Basics Plus" consists of an integrated set of texts, workbooks, duplicating masters, word cards, charts, and teacher's guidebooks. By a process of small group trials, students' and teachers' reactions to the proposed content of the "Reading Basics Plus" program for grades four, five, and six were obtained in order to provide editors and…