It is productive to think about literacy in ecological terms inasmuch as the literacy problem is a system of interdependent components. Illiteracy must be a concern of writers of the myriad of forms on which both the private and public sectors rely to function in this information-intensive society. In addition to helping readers, adult literacy practitioners must also work to help business and government organizations write and design documents that are potentially readable. Writers must try to put themselves in the position of their intended audiences to ensure that their writing is comprehensible. A few simple tests, such as the "museum" test, the post factum test, and the complexity test, can ensure this. Writers must consider two units of analysis: the author-text relationship and the reader-text relationship. The failures of the Plain English Movement are evidence of the consequences of concentrating solely on the message or text and completely ignoring the reader. Individuals interested in improving literacy must also fight to improve the communicative environment and must pressure business and government to improve the texts they generate. (MN)