A Study of Lexical Repetition and the Comprehensibility of Single-Sourced Technical Documents

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Oct 2023

A Study of Lexical Repetition and the Comprehensibility of Single-Sourced Technical Documents

Lyn F. Gattis Missouri State University

Abstract

This study investigated the extent to which lexical repetition in English passages developed in a content management system appeared to affect reading comprehension. Participants were 65 graduate students at a Midwestern public university, all of whom were native English readers. Instruments were two passages adjusted to maximize or minimize internal lexical repetition. Readers rated repetitive texts as significantly more cohesive than nonrepetitive texts, although repetition did not significantly affect the accuracy of task-based responses. Participants named lexical cues that had been repeated but also named nonrepeated, memorable cues, suggesting possible future research into managed content, lexical memorableness, and reader comprehension.

Journal: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published: 2023-10-01
DOI: 10.1177/00472816231172904
Open Access: Closed
Topics: graduate education affect and writing

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