Text Organization and Comprehensibility in Technical Writing
Abstract
Technical texts often introduce scientific principles by deriving the principle prior to stating it. This proof-first organization violates writing guidelines suggested by current text learning theories. The current research compares the effect on comprehension of this type of structure with its logical alternative a principle first structure. Results indicate that readers spend more time with information when it occurs first. Thus, the principle-first structure focuses attention on the principle, and the proof-first structure (not surprisingly) focuses attention on the proof. Additionally, readers find it easier to predict what is important in principle-first texts, and used the principle-first approach more often in summarizing. These findings indicate that readers find the information in a principle-first organization easier to process and store. Ongoing research is investigating differences in what readers learn using these two structures. Keywords: Text organization; Comprehension; Problem solving; Cognition.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1987
- Accession Number
- ADA188913
Entities
People
- Diana Dee-lucas
- Jill H. Larkin
Organizations
- Carnegie Mellon University