Determination of optimal values of text characteristics*

Address correspondence to: Jaanus Elts, P.O. Box 227, Tartu, EE‐2400, Estonia. Tel. and Fax: [phone]. E‐mail: [email protected]

Abstract

This paper introduces a new way of determining the optimal sentence and word lengths for defined groups of readers. The correlation coefficient between the percentage of long sentences and the text comprehension level depends on the positioning of the dividing line between the long sentences and the short sentences. If the line coincides with the line drawn by the readers, the correlation coefficient reaches its maximum. The idea was tested in an experiment on 93 students of Grades 8 and 10 in the secondary school. The optimal values for the 8th‐grade students were sentences of 72 letter spaces and words of 8.5 letters.

Notes

Address correspondence to: Jaanus Elts, P.O. Box 227, Tartu, EE‐2400, Estonia. Tel. and Fax: [phone]. E‐mail: [email protected]