Abstract

Current research in the plain language movement has failed to establish definitive criteria for document comprehensibility. Analysis of conventional approaches to comprehensibility assessment reveals a dichotomy of values, one objective, the other subjective. Because these two approaches have fallen short of providing any cohesive frame of reference, the author proposes that future research efforts be directed into a potentially supplementary one: document legibility analysis. Legibility is integrally related to the concept of comprehensibility. Because legibility analysis provides a point of synthesis for the objective and subjective modes of traditional research, it may also provide new insight into the delineation of factors affecting document comprehensibility.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
1982-04-01
DOI
10.2190/u7v0-ew6p-dkdq-9qgb
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References (9)

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  2. Simply Stated, No. 9, Document Design Center, Washington, D.C., p. 1, September 1980.
  3. Fischl E., Johnston C. and Rosenberg B., The Readability Learning Packet, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, T…
  4. Severin W. J. and Tankard J. W.Jr., Communication Theories, Hastings House, New York, pp. 67–88, 1979.
  5. Ciceronian Rhetoric and the Rise of Science: The Plain Style Reconsidered
Show all 9 →
  1. Simply Stated, No. 12, Document Design Center, Washington, D.C., pp. 1–2, December 1980.
  2. Fine Print, No. 7, Document Design Center, Washington, D.C., pp. 1–2, May 1980.
  3. Fine Print, No. 2, Document Design Center, Washington, D.C., pp. 3–4, December 1979.
  4. Tinker M. A., Legibility of Print, Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa, pp. 3–329, 1963.