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)

Examines research to determine whether the commonly recommended procedure of determining a student's potential reading level via listening comprehension is valid for the primary grades. Concludes that it is not. (FL)

The Flesch readability scores for six kinds of newspaper content in 21 daily newspapers showed that newspaper content was generally difficult to read, that international news stories were most difficult to read, and that sports/women's news stories were least difficult to read. (RL)

Demonstrates use of Fry Readability Graph (FRG) and Adaptation for Spanish Evaluation (FRASE) graph to assess reading difficulty for use with Spanish material. (BK)

Indicates that for the most part, the vocabulary in workbook exercises at the third through sixth grade levels lacks adequate control and questions the practice of allowing students to complete the exercises independently of teacher assistance. (FL)

In spite of the fact that Shakespeare is difficult to read, as an adult the author thinks Shakespeare is worth reading for the message. (MKM)

Reports a study showing that reading comprehension of college students who were poor readers increased when passages were rewritten editing out abstract nouns and verb-nominalizations and replacing them with either concrete nouns or full verbs, but that comprehension of average and good readers did not change with the revisions. (TJ)

Focusing on law school texts, reviews literature on the readability of texts and on the limitations of human cognition. The discussion includes a brief history of applicable design principles, a description of empirical studies supporting them, a discussion of the advantages of structured text, and an analysis of some implications of these design…

Questions the conventional assumption that reference books should simply be regarded as objective containers of information, and argues that personal style is sometimes an important element in the evaluation of reference books and that subjectivity and expressions of feeling may be as valuable as objectivity, detachment, and impersonality. (23…

Discusses the author's views on writing history. Notes that he stresses what people say about their lives in their own words to make history more accessible to readers. (RS)

Describes two ways to combat "bad tone" and "unclear thinking" in writing. Describes "breaking the ice" as being aware of a written message's appearance--the message's readability. Explains that "fog-lifting" is accomplished by writing clearly, and by paying particular attention to the verb "to…

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)

Determines readability levels for each of the Caldecott Medal books, and presents the full list. Finds that the overall grade-level readability average was 4.75. Offers some suggestions for using the books in elementary classrooms. (SR)

Describes the Lexile Framework(R), which enables teachers to develop personalized instruction based on Lexile measures of reading ability and Lexiled reading lists. The Lexile Framework is based on the entire book, with individual reading ability measured by tests that measure on the same scale on which the books are measured. As an open standard,…