- Additional Authors
- Series Statement
- ARI research note ; 87-52
- Uniform Title
- ARI research note ; 87-52.
- Subject
- Genre/Form
- Textbooks
- Technical reports
- Textbooks.
- Technical reports.
- Note
- Type of Report (note)
- Terms of Use (note)
- Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
- Source of Description (note)
- Description based on online resource; title from PDF cover (DTIC website, viewed May 13, 2020).
- Call Number
- GPO Internet D 101.60/9:87-52
- OCLC
- 831577496
- Author
Lucas, Diana Dee, 1952- author.
- Title
Text organization and comprehensibility in technical writing / Diana Dee-Lucas and Jill H. Larkin.
- Publisher
Alexandria, VA : U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, October 1987.
- Description
1 online resource (iii, 12 pages) : illustrations.
- Type of Content
text
- Type of Medium
computer
- Type of Carrier
online resource
- Series
ARI research note ; 87-52
ARI research note ; 87-52. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no00078847
- Access
Open access content Open access content star
- Type Of Report
Interim report; August 86 - August 87.
- Summary
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.
- Funding
MDA 903-85K-0180 2Q161102B74F
- Terms Of Use
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
- Connect to:
- Added Author
Larkin, Jill H., author.
U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, issuing body.
- Other Form:
Print version: Dee-Lucas, Diana. Text organization and comprehensibility in technical writing (OCoLC)227712316
- Data Source
DTIC AND NTIS
- Gpo Item No.
0330-E-04 (online)
- Sudoc No.
D 101.60/9:87-52
- Research Call Number
GPO Internet D 101.60/9:87-52