Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Oct 1993

Reduced Text Structure at Two Text Levels: Impacts on the Performance of Technical Readers

Michael J. Wenger Binghamton University ; Jan H. Spyridakis University of Washington

Abstract

Cues to text structure have been proposed to operate a number of different levels and it has been suggested that lower-level factors (e.g., word decoding) are more critical to reader performance than are higher-level factors (e.g., paragraph and text structure). The current study involved presenting texts in their base form and with cues to coherence at two levels—at the word and paragraph level—removed. These manipulations were performed on technical texts at two levels of familiarity and were presented to technical readers. Tests of recall, recognition, and problem-solving revealed that while removal of cues to local coherence did produce reliable decrements in reader performance, more dramatic effects occurred when both types of cues were removed. Results are discussed in terms of their relevance to questions of information design.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
1993-10-01
DOI
10.2190/gwcq-84cr-7dvb-rcnn
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
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Citation context

Cited by in this index (4)

  1. Smith (2000)
    Strength in the Technical Communication Journals and Diversity in the Serials Cited
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Spyridakis et al. (1998)
    Nominalizations vs. Denominalizations: Do They Influence What Readers Recall?
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Spyridakis et al. (1998)
    Nominalizations vs. Denominalizations: Do They Influence What Readers Recall?
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. Shubert et al. (1995)
    The Comprehensibility of Simplified English in Procedures
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

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