Reviews the literature and research on readability. Examines early formulas that relied on sentence length and difficulty of vocabulary, the subsequent use of cloze procedure to measure text readability, and other factors now recognized as influences on the comprehensibility of a text. Concludes that readability formulas have not served education…

Reviews recent articles focusing on the controversy surrounding the appropriateness of readability formulas for technical writing. Suggests that further research should be conducted to study empirically how readability as a concept might be used to aid the technical writer since readability formulas are shaping computerized editing programs. (KEH)

The principles of readability are in every style manual. Readability formulas are in every writing aid. What is missing is the research and theory on which they stand. This short review of readability research spans 100 years. The first part covers the history of adult literacy studies in the U.S., establishing the stratified nature of the adult…

This paper reviews seven research studies on the subject of readability. The first study reviewed is itself an extensive review of 30 readability formulas described by George A. Klare. Of these, five formulas considered to be interesting, unusual, or classic on the basis of high validity, simplicity or complexity, common or uncommon variables, and…

This monograph is the third in a series of semiannual reports of research related to reading in secondary schools. The first section of the monograph is made up of three research studies on the validation of teaching procedures to facilitate students' comprehension of content area texts, the graph-reading abilities of seventh grade students, and a…