Noting that writers frequently use reading aloud to evaluate written drafts, two studies were conducted to determine the extent to which holistic scores assigned by readers to college freshman essays correlated with holistic scores assigned by listeners. One study used 39 narrative essays, the other used 39 expository essays. The results of the first study revealed a strong correlation. The correlation in the second study was even stronger, surprisingly, since the narrative essay would logically seem to lend itself more easily to reading aloud than an expository essay. These results suggest that those qualities of written discourse most emphasized in holistic evaluation (task fulfillment, content, and structure) can be discerned by listening as well as by reading, and that as far as those aspects of discourse constitute the readability of a text, readability is roughly comparable to "listenability." However, in both studies there was a certain amount of non-shared variance, and a difference in means of almost a full point between the scores assigned by readers and those assigned by listeners, these latter being generally higher. This suggests that some facets of written discourse, most likely spelling, punctuation and mechanics, cannot be discerned easily by listeners. (Tables of data are included.) (HTH)