Return-Path: <root> Received: (from root@localhost) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) id f7VBrvV09927 for health-archive@nifl.gov; Fri, 31 Aug 2001 07:53:57 -0400 (EDT) Resent-Message-Id: <200108311153.f7VBrvV09927@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from gateway.co.whatcom.wa.us (gateway.co.whatcom.wa.us [198.239.121.3]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id f3CIrGg05588 for <nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov>; Thu, 12 Apr 2001 14:53:16 -0400 (EDT) Received: from Bham-Message_Server by gateway.co.whatcom.wa.us with Novell_GroupWise; Thu, 12 Apr 2001 11:53:10 -0700 Message-Id: <sad59726.043@gateway.co.whatcom.wa.us> X-Mailer: Novell GroupWise 5.5.4 Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2001 11:52:43 -0700 From: "Pamela Wild" <PWild@co.whatcom.wa.us> To: <nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov>, <nifl-health@nifl.gov>, <sandras@u.washington.edu> Subject: [NIFL-HEALTH:3016] RE: Reading Comprehension Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Disposition: inline Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by literacy.nifl.gov id f3CIrGg05588 Resent-From: root@literacy.nifl.gov Resent-Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2001 07:53:57 -0400 Resent-To: health-archive@nifl.gov Status: O Content-Length: 3507 Lines: 90 Dear NIFL Members, I have also read Wheildon's book, thought it was great but then have seen it criticized, even ridiculed, for having lousey research. Can the literacy experts tell me/us if Wheildon's book belongs on our bookshelves or in our trashcans? Regards, Pamela Wild, M.Ed. Public Health Educator Whatcom County Health and Human Services 509 Girard Street, PO Box 935 Bellingham, WA 98227-0935 Office phone: (360) 676-6720 FAX: (360) 676-7646 Email: pwild@co.whatcom.wa.us >>> sandras@u.washington.edu 04/12/01 10:42AM >>> Thanks Wendy! I'm becoming increasingly aware of a design dilemma: elements such as spot color, bolding,and boxes attract the eye, as you have demonstrated, AND they reduce comprehension. So when we ask "which of these pages do you like better" or "which of these are you more likely to read", readers are far more likely to choose the colorful page with attractive design elements. But when they read it - comprehension is significantly reduced compared to a 'plain' predictable page. Examples follow.. This from Wheildon, Type & Layout, reporting on 9 years of testing with 200+ adult readers in Australia(10% high school students, 23% college degree, 5% advanced degree, all others high school grads. -- unskilled readers likely have less tolerance than these testers for anything that increases the burden on them). Here are findings comparing comprehensibility of black type on grey background: Black on white (no shade) 70% had good (over 70%)comprehension Black on 10% black 63% had good comprehension Black on 20% black 33% had good comprehension Black on 30% black 3% had good comprehension According to this research, the best alternative for balancing attraction and comprehension seems to be a 10% (no higher) cyan (blue) tint to draw reader's eye to important info, maintain sufficient contrast for easy reading, and maintain comprehensibility. Here are percentages of testers who scored at least 70% on comprehension of black type on cyan (blue) tints (10% is very light blue. Intensity of color increases with % tint) Black on 10% cyan tint: 68% Black on 20% tint: 56% Black on 30% tint: 38% Black on 40% tint: 22% Author notes reduced scores may be due to low understanding, skimming or skipping the info. I'm hoping someone can say definitively that boxing a key message is or is not equally effective. i would like tosee this research repeated with less skilled readers.SS -----Original Message----- From: nifl-health@nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-health@nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Wendy Mettger Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2001 7:36 AM To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: [NIFL-HEALTH:3014] Reading Comprehension Hi all, Sandra, I wanted to respond to your questions about effective ways to emphasize key messages in print materials. It's been my experience in pretesting print materials with adult learners, patients, and members of the general public that selective use of colored type, bolding, and boxing of text is very effective in drawing the reader's attention to critical information. In individual interviews, readers have commented that color adds interest and makes it more likely that they will pay attention to key messages. Readers also liked the use of boxes to enclose text. Wendy Mettger Wendy Mettger, M.A. President, Mettger Communications 129 Grant Avenue Takoma Park, MD 20912 V: (301) 270-2774 F: (301) 270-5267 e-mail: wmettger@mindspring.com
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