Text Design

Rune Pettersson
 Text Design
The illustration on the cover is part of an image from my video
program “Life Patterns” presented at the first international ex-
hibition “The Video Show” in London, may 1975. My “multime-
dia project” was one of two invited contributions from Sweden.

Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this

work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee pro-
vided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or com-
mercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full
citation on the first page.

Institute for Infology

ISBN 978-91-85334-27-8
© Rune Pettersson
Sweden, Tullinge 2022
2
 Preface
Information design is a multi-dimensional, multi-disciplinary,
and worldwide consideration with influences from areas such as
design disciplines, communication disciplines, information dis-
ciplines, language disciplines, cognitive disciplines, art and aes-
thetic disciplines, business and law, as well as media production
technologies.
To succeed as writers, we need to know as much as possible
about our readers, the purpose of our writing, and how the mes-
sage is to be conveyed to the readers. We need to understand how
the concept of “literacy” has changed over time. We have a re-
sponsibility for our readers to write comprehensible and clear
texts. We should use good structure, correct English, as well as a
clear and consistent writing style. Good text design is simple and
direct. In order to function well our messages, need to have good
credibility.
Since my retirement I have edited and revised sections of my
earlier books, conference papers and reports about information
design, message design, visual communication and visual liter-
acy. Previous editions of this book were published in 2011, 2012,
2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.

Tullinge, Sweden
Rune Pettersson, Ph.D.
Retired Professor of Information Design

3
 Contents
Preface 3
Contents 4
Languages 8
Language models 9
Many approaches 9
Body signals 10
Thousands of alternatives 11
Signs and words 13
Writing systems 13
Written memories 18
Properties of verbal language 20
Perception and memory of verbal language 21
Reading 22
Theories of reading 23
Objectives and purposes 26
Reading skills 27
User needs and dysfunctional documents 30
Reading in different ages 31
Reading multi-modal texts 33
Reading habits 35
Reading from paper and screen 36
Reading e-books 41
Reading on the web 43
Reading and layout 43
Traditional literacy 46
International Adult Literacy Survey 46
UNESCO definitions 47
Other groups of literacies 48
New literacies 51
Musicacy 55
Numeracy 56
Visuacy 56
Electracy/mediacy 63
Area specific literacies 72
Comprehensibility 85
Providing structure 86

4
 Internal textual structure 86
External textual structure 88
Providing simplicity 90
Readability of text 91
Readability of numerical values 108
Readability of layout 111
Simplification 111
Information costs 113
Cost of production 113
Cost of reading 113
Esoteric jargon 116
Scientific and technical language 116
Good information quality 118
Poor information quality 119
Terminology 121
Terminology theory 121
Terminology work 123
Oral presentations 136
Verbal communication 136
Listening 138
Speech and body language 140
Speech and stills 142
Visual contributions 143
Projected images 144
Wall charts and other pictures 150
Speech and moving pictures 151
Assessments of speakers 153
Business presentations 153
Schools and universities 155
Written presentations 158
Begin writing 158
The main writing objective 158
Functional writing 159
Writing strategy 162
Analysis 163
Preparation 164
Writing the text 166
Doing the touching-up 167
Linguistic usage 168

5
 Subject and predicate 169
Nouns and verbs 170
Adjectives 171
Adverbs 171
Conjunctions 172
Determiners 172
Prepositions 173
Pronouns 173
Punctuation 174
Spelling 179
Writing style 180
Abbreviations 180
Active and passive voice 181
Be clear! 181
Be consistent! 182
Be precise! 182
Bias-free writing 183
Capitalisation 183
Citations and references 184
Emphasise text! 186
Keep it simple! 187
Personal versus impersonal 187
Use lists! 188
Write effective captions! 189
Write effective headings! 190
Short text messages 190
Captions 191
Content of caption 192
Form of caption 193
Caption–picture relationships 194
Professional writing 198
Analysis and synopsis 199
Production of draft 201
Production of script 202
Production of original and master 203
Credibility 204
Credibility of the sender 205
Credibility variables and definitions 206
Personal credibility 208
Credibility of the medium 211
6
 Who will trust the news? 211
Media and learning 212
Credibility of the message 213
A credible message 213
Manipulated messages 214
Graphical integrity 215
Credibility of the context 217
ID Library 219
References 220
Appendix: Main concepts 259

7
 Languages
Man is the only terrestrial species to acquire a language in the
true sense of the word. Marine mammals, such as dolphins, por-
poises, and whales use sounds for communication. Their other
senses have limited value in water. It seems that some whales
may have rather advanced languages.
According to Skinner (1957), language is a behaviour that is
learned by habit. Children imitate adults until they learn their
language. On the other hand, Eriksson (1986) cited Chomsky
(1959) who argued that language is not “a set of habits.” Instead,
the development of language is a continuous and creative process
working in concert with the surrounding. The brain develops ver-
bal proficiency making it possible for Man to formulate and un-
derstand an infinite number of sentences. This view has been
supported by the findings of many scientists (e.g., Littlewood,
1984; Slobin, 1973).
More than 2,000 languages and countless dialects have long
been said to exist. However, Gunnemark and Kenrick (1985)
claimed that there are probably 5,200 living languages, certainly
no less than 4,500 and possibly as many as 6,000. Over the mil-
lennia, languages ultimately evolved into our most important
means of expression.
Most of these languages are only oral, and they have no writ-
ten form. Klare (1985, p. 19–20) noted: “According to estimates,
only around ten per cent of the world’s languages have a written
form at all, which helps to explain the literacy problem in devel-
oping countries. A much higher percentage of the heavily spoken
languages of the world have written form; and yet the number of
illiterates is still growing, even in many of the countries using
these languages.”
This chapter includes the following main sections: Lan-
guage models, Signs and words, Reading, Traditional literacy,
and New literacies.

8
Language models
According to semiotics all cultural processes may be seen as
communication processes (Eco, 1971). Thus, there are different
languages, such as spoken, visual, and written languages. Lot-
man (1973) suggested that any system used as a means of com-
munications between people is a language. This main section is
divided in the following sections: Many approaches, Body sig-
nals, and Thousands of alternatives.

Many approaches
There are many approaches to language and language classifica-
tion systems. Twyman (1982) pointed out that while linguistic
scientists distinguish between spoken and written language,
graphic designers distinguish between verbal and pictorial lan-
guage. From a design point of view, written, printed, or displayed
texts or verbal graphic language are important components of
visible language. Twyman noted that examples of poor design
that hinder the comprehension of text contents are far too com-
monplace.
However, if the linguistic representation (e.g., the medium
and its content) is placed at the forefront, another approach is
natural. In this model, linguistic differentiation is based on the
form of the messages: images, sounds, words, and also other
forms. Thus, verbal language has spoken (aural), written (visual),
and tactile categories. Audial language comprises music, para-
linguistic sounds, and sound effects (all aural). Visual language
has paralinguistic visual expressions, pictures, and symbols (all
visual). Other languages are based on smell, taste, touch, etc.
Unlike verbal language systems, which work linearly and re-
quire rational cognitive development in order to use them effec-
tively, images speak directly to us in the same way experience
speaks to us, that is, emotionally and holistically (Barry, 1998).
Languages differ in their ability to express concepts with preci-
sion and flexibility. Chemistry, physics, and mathematics for ex-
ample, employ non-ambiguous symbol languages.
9
 In verbal and technical descriptions, the language of special-
ists must be as unambiguous as possible. Only people with the
appropriate specialized knowledge may understand these lan-
guages. Often normal prose is open to multiple interpretations,
namely, it is ambiguous. Pictures are often ambiguous too. Visual
languages attempt equivalence with reality. Visuals are iconic
and they often resemble the things they represent.

Body signals
In the animal world, various body signals supply most of the
communications between individuals. Animals send messages by
displaying parts of their bodies in various ways. Message receiv-
ers “respond” with equivalent displays or movements. Bees have
developed an advanced “language.” After returning to the hive, a
bee can perform a dance informing other bees about, e.g., the lo-
cation of a source of food. They provide accurate information
about both direction and distance, and probably also about qual-
ity and quantity.
Body language, extra-linguistic and paralinguistic signals
are also important in Man. Some scientists have suggested that
body language accounts for up to half, or even more, of all our
communications with others. By the time we are adults we are all
highly sensitive to the tiniest changes in bodily adornments, ex-
pressions, gestures, and postures of our companions. We acquire
this sensitivity through intuition rather than analysis. If we took
the trouble to make a more analytical study of body appearances,
we could become even more sensitized to them, and could avoid
some of the pitfalls into which our intuition sometimes leads us
(Morris, 1985).
Many gestures and movements can be interpreted without
ambiguity in a given cultural community, but not outside that
community. In some societies, for example, the raising of an eye-
brow, consciously or unconsciously, designates surprise. And
shrugging of the shoulders designates indifference. But a lot of
confusion and many misunderstandings can occur before visitors
10
to foreign cultures learn to understand the body languages pre-
vailing there.
Our body language is partly instinctive, partly imitative and
learned (e.g., Fast, 1971). An interesting fact is that bilingual per-
sons sometimes change their body language, eyelid movements,
and gestures when they switch (spoken) languages. Brun (1974)
gives many examples of sign languages. We can see examples of
“formal” signs almost every day. Deaf people are often very
skilled in using their highly developed and structured visual ver-
bal sign language. Other less sophisticated kinds of sign lan-
guages are used by, e.g., people directing airplanes on the
ground, traffic policemen, and umpires in sporting events. Fur-
ther examples are the sign languages used in the production of
movies, radio, and television programs.

Thousands of alternatives
Thera are thousands of alternatives available to a sender wishing
to transmit a rendition of some reality to some intended receiv-
ers. Senders always utilize a “filter” and quality checks before se-
lecting one of the many available picture and text options. The
choice is based on the sender’s subjective opinions. The sender
selects the option believed to be the most efficient for each pur-
pose and each transmission situation. The selected pictures/texts
are then edited in one of many ways for the purpose of enhancing
reception impact.
A selected, and edited version of reality is transmitted to re-
ceivers. In mass communications, message reception can be af-
fected in countless ways. For example, television reception may
range from very bad to very good. Different viewers also perceive
the same image and/or text in different ways since there are al-
ways great inter-individual differences in perception.
The context in which a message is seen can convey a “pre-
understanding” of the contents in a message. Pre-understanding
is vitally important to our perception of any message. The lan-
guage we choose to use in any given situation is in itself a device
11
conveying pre-understanding to the listener/reader/viewer.
Message response is sometimes easy to predict. This predictabil-
ity is often heavily exploited in movies, television, and theatre.
Winn (1993) noted that a great deal of perceptual organiza-
tion occurs pre-attentively, and not under cognitive control. The
way a message is organized will have an important effect on the
way the perceptual system structures what it detects and, in ways
that the perceiver will not be aware of, on how that information
is interpreted.
There is no unambiguous verbal or visual language. In a
closed, homogeneous cultural group, “ordinary” pictures and
texts probably give rise to similar interpretations and percep-
tions of a content, event, message, single object, or specific real-
ity. However, we do not know the magnitude of the individual
“tolerance ranges” in which different texts and pictures generate
reasonably identical perceptions. One representation may pro-
duce accurate perception of content by one person but a com-
pletely different perception by another person.
It is not likely that a random receiver will perceive a given
image/text in the manner the sender intended. However, send-
ers, do not often require identical perception of transmitted mes-
sages by all receivers. A large number of approximate interpreta-
tions may suffice. A well-written explanatory and elucidating
caption can enhance understanding of the content.
To be able to produce a verbal message in any medium, it is
important to understand the possibilities and the restrictions of
verbal language. We need to know how oral and written verbal
languages are constructed and how various audiences and indi-
viduals perceive them. Major characteristics of verbal language
are listed below in the form of short summary statements.

12
Signs and words
In many ancient societies people believed that writing was a gift
from their gods. Only selected people, like religious leaders,
could understand the writing system. They had a monopoly of
knowledge and of contents in religious texts (Innes, 1951). Writ-
ing became a tool for the elite to justify their rule upon the com-
mon, illiterate people. In ancient Egypt the god Thoth was the
scribe and historian of the gods. Thoth also invented art and sci-
ence and could transform speech into material objects. A person
could only achieve immortality if her or his name was spoken or
inscribed somewhere forever. The introduction of the alphabet
limited the power of the priests substantially. The contents of re-
ligious texts became open to society.
This main section is divided in the following sections: Writ-
ing systems, Written memories, Properties of verbal language,
and Perception and memory of verbal language.

Writing systems
Man’s ability to communicate was greatly enhanced when
knowledge and information began to be stored with the aid of
simple pictures and, subsequently, symbolic characters a few
thousand years ago. Signs or symbols, generally known as char-
acters, often included letters and numbers. People probably
wrote on everything that could be written upon.
A writing system is an organized and systematic method to
use a set of signs or symbols to represent a spoken verbal lan-
guage. The signs and symbols may be visible or tactile. Writing
extends human memory by storage of data and information, and
it makes communication of ideas, messages, and thoughts possi-
ble. There are a large number of writing systems in the world.
People need to learn how to encode (write) and decode (read)
their writing system.
Writing systems may have alphabets, logographies, or sylla-
baries. An alphabet has a standard set of letters. Letters, or
groups of letters, represent phonemes of the spoken language.
13
Typically alphabets use 20–35 letters. A logography has a set of
characters that represent words, morphemes or semantic units.
Logographies may have hundreds, and even thousands of char-
acters. A syllabary correlates a symbol to a syllable. Groups of
phonemes form words. Syllabaries may have 80–100 symbols.
There are also other categories of writing systems. Typically,
writing systems have some kind of grammar and syntax.
Proto-writing systems emerged about nine thousand years
ago. These systems used ideograms, pictograms, and other early
mnemonic symbols. An ideogram is a graphic symbol that rep-
resents an idea or a concept. A pictogram is an ideogram that
conveys its meaning through its resemblance to a physical object.
Early pictograms were drawn with a stick in clay or sand, or on
the wall of a cave with a piece of charred bone or wood.
It is generally argued that proto-writing lacked the ability to
express ideas and thoughts. However, McKim (1980, p. 142) con-
cluded that although contemporary alphanumeric languages
evolved from pictographic languages, we should not infer that
words and numbers are necessarily more recent or advanced.
McKim further argued that unlike verbal thinkers who usually
learn only one language, visual thinkers might easily acquire a
variety of graphic languages. By changing languages, they can
largely avoid the “language rut” that holds thinking to a fixed
viewpoint and a limited set of mental operations.
Early writing systems were developed in Egypt and in Sumer
about 5,200 years ago, in China about 3,200 years ago, and in
Mesoamerica about 2,600 years ago. The cuneiform script is dis-
tinguished by “wedge-shaped” marks in vertical columns on clay
tablets. Scribes used a pen made from a sharpened reed stylus.
The cuneiform script emerged in Sumer, an ancient civilization
of southern Mesopotamia. It was used for more than 2,200 years.
This writing began as a system of pictographs and developed
through several stages. The sign inventory was reduced from
some 1,500 signs to some 600 signs. Writing became increas-
ingly phonological. The cuneiform script was eventually replaced
14
by alphabetic writing. Writing numbers for record keeping began
long before the writing of verbal language.
Pictographic languages evolved in different cultures. Ulti-
mately, people began depicting abstract concepts, largely reli-
gious or magic in nature, using pictograms to represent concrete
objects. Pictograms of concrete objects were often combined to
designate some abstract concept or thought. The pictograms be-
came increasingly stylized and they evolved into simple symbols
or characters. Each character was equivalent to one or more con-
cepts and came to represent a word.
The Chinese language is an example of a living pictographic
(ideographic) language in which each character represents one
or more words. Other pictographic languages have developed in
other ways. Alphabetic languages and alphabets evolved when
characters designating words began to be used to represent the
initial sounds of words.
Written languages, composed of individual letters, provide
the bases for mass storage of data and information content, and
for communications between people at a great distance from one
another in terms of both space and time.
The development of the written word also affected the im-
pact of emotion. Marshall McLuhan (1964, p. 83) argued that
verbal descriptions fail to articulate the best qualities of beautiful
objects and beautiful pictures. Alphabetic writing also led to the
invention of the number zero, and negative numbers.
Books of the dead
The people of ancient Egypt communicated in a uniquely sym-
bolic manner. The motifs that appeared on buildings, everyday
objects, and large monuments were not merely decorative but
they also conveyed the beliefs and ideas that underpinned their
society (Fontana, 2010, p. 174). Alphabetic writing emerged in
Egypt. Ancient Egyptians often used papyrus scrolls for writing.
Papyrus is a thick paper-like material that was made from the
pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus. This wetland sedge

15
was abundant in the Nile Delta. Early Egyptian hieroglyphics
used pictoral elements to convey messages. Simple images could
stand for letters or words in a written language. This was one of
the earliest examples of being able to to “compose” and to “read”
(Brill, Kim, and Branch, 2007).
The first “travel guides” were produced and sold as early as
4,000 years ago. They were the Egyptian Books of the Dead and
contained advice and information, in an integrated design with a
verbal and visual amalgam of text and pictures on coping with
the trip to the Kingdom of Death. The Books of the Dead may be
the first examples ever where text, pictures and graphic design
really are integrated.
The Books of the Dead were completely hand-made rolls of
papyrus and, thanks to their high price, only available to truly
wealthy families. The trade in these books is reminiscent of the
Medieval Catholic Church’s trade in indulgences. Both phenom-
ena are examples of what could be called profitable publishing.
“Middlemen,” specially trained scribes and copiers who copied
texts and drawings, often repeatedly, made duplicates in the
most literal fashion imaginable.
Even at an early date, libraries of different kinds acquired
major importance as “institutional middlemen” in the transmis-
sion of information content from writers to readers. The first
public library, Pisistratus, was founded more than 2,500 years
ago (540 BC) in Athens. The first bookstore was opened, also in
Athens, 140 years later. Until the middle of the 19th century,
bookstores often served as publishers, too, producing as well as
selling books and other graphic products.
Pharaoh Amenhotep II
The seventh Pharaoh Amenhotep II of the 18th dynasty of Egypt
ruled over a vast kingdom. He was 18 years old when he assumed
power, and then he reigned from about 1,427 to circa 1,400 BC.
After some victorious military campaigns, he erected a number

16
of temples. Like his predecessors he placed statues of himself in
some of the temples.
His finest monument is his own impressive mortuary temple
in the “Valley of the Kings at Thebes” (KV35). Here the pillars
supporting the ceiling have fully drawn figures of Amenhotep II
with funerary deities. According to Pemberton and Fletcher
(2011, p. 68) this is the first time fully drawn figures were used in
Egypt. In this tomb, the hieroglyphic texts are of great im-
portance as they contain a complete version of the Amduat. This
book of the afterlife tells the story of Ra, the Egyptian sun god
who travels through the underworld, from the time when the sun
sets in the west and rises again in the east. The dead Pharaoh is
taking the same journey until he ultimately become one with the
god and then will live forever.
During the reign of Amenhotep II, the Egyptian noble
Sennefer was “Mayor of Thebes.” He was also the “Overseer of
the Granaries and Fields, Gardens and Cattle of Amun.” Amun
was the “King of the Gods.” Being a favourite of the Pharaoh, he
got very rich. Sennefer placed a double statue of himself and his
wife in the temple at Karnak. He was buried in the small tomb
TT96 located in the Sheik Abd el-Quurna district of the Theban
Necropolis on the west bank of the Nile opposite to Luxor. This
richly decorated tomb, known as the “Tomb of the Vineyards,”
has a small burial chamber painted in splendid colours. The life-
size images of Sennefer, of his wife, his family, and the gods ap-
pear all around the tomb (Pemberton and Fletcher, 2011, p. 72).
Several lines with pictographic verbal expressions are combined
with interesting pictures to tell the stories in scenes on the walls
and on the four pillars. Scenes show the funeral procession, the
offerings, and the worshipping of the gods. The realistic grape-
vine design of the entire undulating ceiling has given way to a
colourful geometric pattern representing decorative textiles. This
is an example of very early information design.

17
Written memories
Most alphabetic written languages evolved from the Phoenician
language that appeared around 1200 BC. Wide-ranging sea voy-
ages undertaken by the Phoenicians spread their language to
many places. It reached the Greeks in 800–900 BC. The Greeks
added vowels to the Phoenician alphabet, which only consisted
of consonants, and began writing from left to right instead of
right to left. Many languages have alphabets based on the Greek
alphabet, including Latin.
Latin, in turn, has given rise to the alphabets employed in
most modern written languages in Western countries. They use
only a few dozen characters to represent thousands of concepts
and words. The English language is said to contain as many as
615,000 words, but an average person only uses a small fraction
of them (Nagy and Herman, 1987). With respect to the number
of words many languages are closely related.
However, Japanese is an example of an interesting a very
complicated language that is probably unrelated to any other
tongue. Words borrowed relatively recently from Chinese and
European languages (English in particular) have been adapted to
the Japanese phonetic system, but many of them remain recog-
nizable. In Japanese, many inflections share the same explicit
significance but differ in implicit meaning, depending on the pre-
vailing social and other circumstances.
Japanese script is highly complex. It is said to comprise
about 48,000 different characters, kanji, designating different
words. Each kanji character can be written in three different
fonts and it has two or often more meanings, sometimes as many
as 15–20. Combining different kanji characters can create a large
number of new words and concepts. In elementary school, chil-
dren learn the 996 most important kanji characters. About 1,850
kanji characters are used in the basic set employed in daily news-
papers. A few thousand more are used on special occasions.
Few people in Japan are able to read and write more than
10,000 kanji characters. The older generation frequently
18
complain about this: “The schools just aren’t teaching children to
read well anymore.” This might be true, but Japanese children
must spend a lot of time and effort on learning to read and write,
since their language is so difficult. In addition to kanji, Japanese
has kana, a 48-character syllabic language. These characters are
used in two versions, katakana and hiragana. Kana writing is
used for various inflective elements and for the phonetic writing
of, e.g., borrowed words.
Teleman (1991) pointed out that the rules that govern spoken
and written language are similar in many ways. Originally, writ-
ing was a way of depicting speech, but the two coded systems
later went separate ways. The most tangible feature of the rules
for written language is their standardisation. In most western
countries, the written language is comprehensible throughout
the country and does not reflect differences in dialect.
In the book The Medium is the Massage McLuhan and Fiore
(1967) perceived media as powerful extensions of man. They dis-
cussed the alphabet theory as a part of communication theory.
Alphabetic scripts and phonetic writing have encouraged and
promoted the cognitive skills of abstraction, analysis, coding,
classification, and decoding. Writing and reading have made it
possible for people to forget and save written documents– writ-
ten memories. The alphabet has contributed to the cognitive de-
velopment of its users and it changed the way our memory works.
The alphabet has made a significant impact and shaped the west-
ern society. As a consequence of all this our education system
must shift from instruction to discovery, and to the recognition
of the language of forms.
Later McLuhan and Logan (1977) suggested that the use of
the alphabet created an environment where it is possible to de-
velop abstract science, deductive logic, and individualism. De-
spite successful technological inventions in China, abstract sci-
ence began in the West. In order to explain this situation Logan
(1986/2004) introduced the term alphabet effect.

19
Properties of verbal language
The following list includes some basic and important properties
of verbal language.
• A written text can convey information, contain analyses and
describe feelings and facts (Melin, 1986a).
• It is more likely that graphically complex texts will be read
than “plain” texts (Melin, 1999).
• It may take only 2–3 seconds to recognize the content in an
image (Paivio, 1979; Postman, 1979), but 20–30 seconds to
read a verbal description of the same image (Lawson 1968;
Ekwall, 1977) and 60–90 seconds to read it aloud (Sinatra,
1986). In verbal and visual languages, prior experience and
context are very important to the perception of contents.
• It takes less time to read a graphically complex text than a
“plain” text (Melin, 1999).
• People usually have no difficulty in reading the jargon used in
professional or technical languages but understanding the
concepts the words represent may be difficult for a non-spe-
cialist (Melin, 1986b).
• Readers often react in a positive way to graphically complex
texts. Texts with good typography will be noticed (Melin,
1999).
• Semantic codes, grammar, and syntax must be exactly de-
fined (Chomsky, 1959).
• The more abstract a word is the harder it is to relate it to any
specific activity (Melin, 1986a).
• The properties of letters are limited. A letter has a given posi-
tion in an alphabet, it has a name, and it is represented by one
or more sounds and is used in a context (Elkind, 1975).
• There is no direct correspondence between groups of letters,
words, and reality. Each meaning is defined and must be
learned (Elkind, 1975).

20
• Verbal languages have “digital coding” using combinations of
letters (including numerals) to represent content (Elkind,
1975).
• Verbal languages have varying levels of meaning (Eco, 1971):
(i) phonemes (without meaning); (ii) morphemes (with
meaning); (iii) syntagms, sub-meanings; (iv) complete mean-
ings.

Perception and memory of verbal language

The following list includes some findings about our perception
and memory of verbal language.
• Memory retrieval is a serial integration process and entails
sequential processing by auditory-motor perception systems
(Sinatra, 1986).
• Perception of a text is relative. Different people perceive and
depict a given text in widely differing ways (Pettersson, 1987).
We will remember more from a graphically complex text than
a “plain” text (Melin, 1999).
• Perception of verbal content is apparently easier when a text
is read than heard. Thus, it is easier to assimilate and profit
from a rich language by reading than by listening (Pettersson,
1987).
• Reading a text is very structured with several eye fixations on
each line (Ekwall, 1977).
• The end of a sentence should be determined by syntax rather
than by a set with of a line (Bork, 1982; Hartley, 1980).
• The non-verbal components of visual literacy are the real “ba-
sics” in literacy learning, and visual literacy is the active re-
construction of past visual experience with incoming visual
messages to obtain meaning (Sinatra, 1986).
• The perception of linear representations requires slow, se-
quential, processing for comprehension of content (Perfetti,
1977; Sinatra, 1986).

21
• There is a large degree of perceptual constancy. We can view
a text from various distances and various angles and still get
the same perception of the text content (Pettersson, 1989).
• Utilizing specific textual structure does not facilitate recall of
instructional text (Frase and Schwartz, 1979; Hartley, 1980).
• Verbal depiction of the content and execution of even simple
pictures requires relatively long descriptions (Pettersson,
1987).
• When illustrations provide text-redundant information,
learning information in the text that is also shown in pictures
will be facilitated (Levie and Lentz, 1982; Melin, 1999).
• Word identification is a multi-stage process. The right brain
hemisphere carries out analysis. Word naming and word
meaning are processed by the left hemisphere (Pirozzolo and
Rayner, 1979).

Reading
General aspects of reading are discussed here. See my two books
Cognition, and Learning for more discussions about learning
from reading.
A text can contain analyses, describe feelings and facts, and
convey information. Word identification is a multi-stage process,
which will take some time (Sinatra, 1986). The right brain hemi-
sphere makes an analysis of the visual information. Word nam-
ing and word meaning are processed in the left hemisphere (Pi-
rozzolo and Rayner, 1979).
In accordance with Sinatra (1986), the meaning of well-
known phrase units may be accomplished without activating the
auditory-motor speech system. This is done by rapid interchange
of information between the language centre in the left hemi-
sphere and its non-verbal representation in the right hemi-
sphere. Utilizing specific textual structure does not facilitate re-
call of instructional text (Frase and Schwartz, 1979; Hartley,
1980). However, utilizing specific textual structure facilitates re-
call of instructional text (Bernard, 1990; Frase and Schwartz,
22
1979). Reading is far from a passive activity (Kress and Van Leeu-
wen, 2006).
This main section is divided in the following sub-sections:
Theories of reading, Objectives and purposes, Reading skills,
User needs and dysfunctional documents, Reading in different
ages, Reading multi-modal texts, Reading habits, Reading on
screens and on paper, Reading e-books, Reading on the web,
and Reading and layout.

Theories of reading
Knowing to read is of great social importance, and there really
are many theories of reading and different reading programs
(Pearson, 1984). From a learning perspective, reading is closely
related to many other cognitive processes. Nowadays language
educators can choose from a variety of teaching methods for chil-
dren learning to read. Three main theories explain the nature of
the process learning to read.
Bottom up processing
The traditional theory, or bottom up processing, focused totally
on the printed words on the page. This approach was influenced
by behaviourist psychology of the 1950s. Behaviourism became
the basis of the audio-lingual method, which sought to form lan-
guage “habits” through drilling, error correction, and repetition
(Omaggio 1993, p. 45–46).
Cognitive view theory
A paradigm shift occurred in the cognitive sciences in the 1960s.
The new cognitive theory represented the mind’s innate capacity
for learning (Omaggio, 1993, p. 57). The cognitive view theory,
or top-down processing, enhanced the role of background
knowledge. This theory emphasizes the role of background
knowledge. Also, schema theory had a major impact on reading
instruction (Smith, 1994). The learner's background knowledge
interacts with the reading task and illustrates how a student’s

23
knowledge and previous experience with the world is crucial to
understand a text.
Meta-cognitive view theory
The meta-cognitive view theory is based on the active control and
manipulation that a learner may have while he or she compre-
hends a text (Block, 1992). This theory involves what the learner
is thinking about while he or she is reading. Strategic readers in-
volve many activities along the process of reading.
Reading comprehension
Reading comprehension involves not only the ability to under-
stand the words in a text, but also the ability to create a mental
model of the information (Barnes et al., 2014). According to the
cognitive theory of multimedia learning, CTML, readers need to
select relevant information in texts and in pictures, connect both
representations, and integrate their prior knowledge to achieve
reading comprehension (Mayer, 2014).
Schemata theory
Gunnarsson (1982) discussed specific reader characteristics
from the perspective of the “schemata theory,” which is based on
the premise that we store our impressions of our surroundings in
the form of schemata. The theory postulates that we have differ-
ent partial impressions, such as, general knowledge about differ-
ent types of text, and different whole impressions of reality. The
schemata that we bring to the fore when we read influence our
deeper understanding of a text.
In “normal reading,” we direct our attention towards how we
shall interpret the meaning of a sentence. Studying the syntax
becomes subordinate to orienting our thoughts amid the seman-
tic and pragmatic relationships that form the text's warp and
woof. When we read long continuous texts, we process separate
sentences with an eye to their integration into the material's en-
tirety. This takes place gradually, with the text that we have al-
ready read providing the framework. The connection makes

24
sense of the text. Text comprehension is a constructive process,
in which the readers build their perception of the whole by inte-
grating the text with their own experiences and memories.
Trasmundi, Toro and Mangen (2022) applied an embodied
cognitive perspective to the study of reading. According to these
authors reading may best be understood in terms of a “cultural-
cognitive performance” involving how our living bodies actively
are engaging with various reading materials. Furthermore, these
three authors want to spark a dialogue with the neighbouring dis-
ciplines, such as movement and multimodality studies.
An embodied cognitive perspective considers how perfor-
mance is constrained by and how it draws on expertise such as
our lived experiences, as well as the material affordances that are
available in the reading situation. This new kind of perspective is
very crucial for modern reading research. The study of reading
has been, and often still is, dominated by the understanding and
view that reading is a disembodied, peaceful, private, and silent
activity. This takes place in the reader’s brain by means of some
strange “neural mechanisms”. However, according to Tras-
mundi, Toro and Mangen (2022) recent studies of reading prac-
tices are starting to develop some totally new explanations. These
explanations are emphasizing the multimodal engagement in
reading as crucial for managing the reading activity. These au-
thors seek to highlight how the reader actually manage the read-
ing process, using dynamic, and embodied engagement with the
material.
Trasmundi, Toro and Mangen (2022) call this mental en-
gagement cognitive peace-making. This is an action-perception
phenomenon. It is considered to be the key mechanism for con-
trolling attention. Meaning does not only emerge from linguistic
decoding and comprehension. Meaning does also emerge from
an important cognitive-cultural, and multimodal engagement
with the text. According to Trasmundi, Toro and Mangen (2022)
future empirical reading research should focus on how embodied
reading differs across contexts, genres, media and personalities
25
to better scaffold and design reading settings in accordance with
those aspects and new findings.

Objectives and purposes

Gunnarsson (1982) discussed five different categories of reading
objectives. What differentiates them is the kind of stored
knowledge that must be invoked before any understanding may
take place. These five categories are not distinctly delimited; they
partly overlap:
• In memorization of the textual surface, the objective is to cre-
ate a visual memory of the surface of the text.
• In registration of the content as such of the text, the objective
is to understand the structural and conventional importance
of the written message.
• In comprehension of the sender's description of reality, the
objective is to understand what the sender means by the text.
• In integration of the text into one's perception of one's own
surroundings, the objective is to integrate the text into one's
own earlier experiences and observations.
• In direct, action-related comprehension, the objective is to
know how one should behave in different situations, based on
what the text says.
The first objective involves reading in order to recognize each
word and memorize the text surface, while the second requires
us to read and understand the words in the text. With objectives
three to five, reading is directed towards individual sentences,
parts and the whole of the text, and other proficiencies and ideas
are brought to bear on the material. Objective three, for example,
obliges the readers to interpret the text in terms of the sender's
situation. Objectives four and five require that they interpret the
text in terms of their own surroundings and world view.
Möijer (1987) stated that we read in different ways, depend-
ing on the purpose of our reading:

26
• We read intensively, every word and line in a text, when our
purpose demands it.
• We skim a text if we only wish to quickly get some idea of the
content.
• We read to orient ourselves in a text if we want to know where
some particular information is to be found in a text.
• We read to inform ourselves when we need certain limited
information.
In each of these cases, we leave out anything that does not satisfy
the purpose of our reading directly. Different reading objectives
(Gunnarsson) or reading purposes (Möijer) attached to reading
give rise, therefore, to different reading purposes. These pur-
poses differ in terms of the level of text on which the reader fo-
cuses, and in terms of how the material is processed.

Reading skills
Reading is a very important means of learning about our envi-
ronment. The more a person reads, the more the reading skills
improve. Several researchers, however, have reported that large
amounts of text cause eye fatigue (Bradshaw, 2000). Depending
on the purpose, we can read a text in several ways. An active
reader makes good use of the structure embedded in the docu-
ment. The preface, the table of contents, the headings, as well as
the captions and the illustrations provide an overview of the con-
tent in the whole book. It is a well-known phenomenon in read-
ing assessments that girls outperform boys (Mullis et al., 2017).
Reading comprehension
It seems that much of the attention given to literacy during a
large part of the 20th century was focused on ensuring that stu-
dents could read, without much consideration to what they were
given to read (Conradi Smith and Hiebert, 2022). Many re-
searchers have devoted large amounts of effort to the major goal
of helping all students become “proficient readers”. The ability to
read properly underpins many kinds of work situations today,
27
and are certainly very important for most kinds of academic
achievements.
Our reading comprehension depends on our ability to auto-
matically and immediately recognizing the vast majority of the
words in texts (Amendum, Conradi, and Hiebert, 2018). The “sci-
ence of reading” movement has received considerable interest
from the news media (Castles, Rastle, and Nation, 2018) . Many
districts and many teachers have been rethinking their pedagogy,
and the curricula at schools. As soon as students in elementary
school become automatic in recognizing the majority of words in
a text, they should move on to progressively more challenging
texts (Adams, 2009). These new texts will provide the students
with new ideas, and new vocabulary. This will then be the basis
for the background knowledge that underlies all proficient read-
ing (Harmon & Wood, 2018).
Conradi Smith and Hiebert (2022) discuss four general as-
pects of the texts used in elementary classrooms. These general
aspects are: 1) Text complexity, 2) Text type (narrative versus in-
formational), 3) Text format (paper versus screen), and 4) Diver-
sity of people presented in the text. The authors review recent
research on each of these text characteristics. They also make
clear suggestions for how to apply the research in the classroom.
Today, the increased attention to informational texts in class-
rooms stems from research on background knowledge. Audio
and video content may also be sources of knowledge but, for
many topics, texts are the primary place to learn about any natu-
ral and social phenomena, especially those that are, and remain,
distant in time and space. According to Conradi Smith and
Hiebert (2022) many research studies have found significant
benefits to providing students in elementary school with diverse
texts, offering them opportunities to both see themselves (“mir-
rors”) and see the lives of others (“windows”) through reading.

28
An active reader
Depending on the purpose, we can read a text in several ways. An
active reader makes good use of the structure embedded in the
document. The preface, the table of contents, the headings and
sub headings, as well as the captions and the illustrations provide
an overview of the content in the whole book.
An active reader is skilled in “skimming the text.” Skimming
enables the reader to pick out key words and main ideas in the
text and, thereby, obtain a great deal of information. Some texts
contain so little new information that skimming is all that is re-
quired. Before reading a chapter in a textbook, it is helpful to
skim the material to identify key topics and to gain a general idea
of the structure of the chapter. Difficult material, however, can-
not be fully comprehended by skimming or by “speed reading”
(Atkinson et al. 1990). Depending on how a reader approaches a
text, reading gives rise to highly creative activities (Kress, 1997).
Mizrachi et al. (2018) asked 10,293 university students in 21
countries about their academic reading behaviours, learning, and
preferences. Results showed that a broad majority of college and
university students believe that they can focus better, and learn
better from material presented in print. Therefore, students pre-
fer to read academic course materials in print, especially for
longer texts.
Further, Mizrachi et al. (2018) also found that country of
origin has little or no relationship with or effect on preferences
of reading format. In this study the participants reported that
they use the following device(s): laptops (80.9%), phones
(36.8%), desktops (30.5%), and tablets (28.4%). Some respond-
ents (4.3%) do not read material electronically. Chinese students’
use of phones for reading (73.7%) is double the median percent-
age of the amalgamated group.
Strategic reading
Good information design supports and encourages strategic
reading, which is easier if, for example, there are clear headings

29
that work together as a set and layouts that show the structure of
the content; it is also important that readers’ questions and prob-
lems are anticipated and dealt with (Waller, 2016, p. 42).
Carstens (2004) provided an overview of theories that de-
scribe and/or explain how low-literate audiences process and re-
act to printed information, and to match these theories with re-
search-based principles and best practices for designing reader
centred public information documents.
Booklet and iPad
In one study students in Canada read a fiction and a non-fiction
version of a narrative and emotional text in a booklet and on an
iPad (Mangen and Kuiken, 2014). Results showed that subjects
who read texts on iPads had a poorer grasp of the text length, and
also where they were in the text as a whole, compared with sub-
jects who read the story in the booklets. The subjects who read
the non-fiction version of the story on paper reported a higher
degree of sympathy with the characters in the story. These sub-
jects also had a clearer understanding of the logic in the story.
The authors concluded that substrate affordances (paper book-
let versus touch-screen on iPad) might play a role not only for
cognitive aspects of reading, but also for emotional engagement
during narrative reading.

User needs and dysfunctional documents

Originating in art and literary criticism, the concept genre has
become central to the study of multimodality. Genre provides
principles for addressing the conventions and expectations oper-
ative in the design and interpretation of artefacts or perfor-
mances and allows collections of such artefacts or performances
to be grouped into socially recognizable categories (Bateman,
2017, p. 221). This emerging field is the study of how graphic,
verbal, and other modes combine (Bateman, Hiippala, and Wild-
feuer, 2017). One very complicated genre is different kinds of
“consumer contracts”.

30
 In an important report Waller (2020, p. 2) discusses: “the
lack of a clear and well-evolved genre for contracts (including re-
lated terms such as disclosures or boilerplate), and propose that
we need to go beyond just shortening them, printing them in
larger type, or translating legalese into plain language. We need
to go beneath the surface and develop a new approach rooted in
the reality of customer needs and behaviours.”
Waller (2020, p. 2) argues that: “many contract-related
problems can be viewed as cognitive accidents and that we
should change our perspective to one of duty of care, and risk
management. I argue that processes are as important as tem-
plates or models, so that multi-specialist teams (including legal,
marketing and operations people) work together to keep user
needs at the forefront”.
Few people are able to read and understand the texts in con-
tracts, almost none read everything put in front of them. It is not
enough to make a text legible. It is not enough to edit a text and
use plain language. According to Waller we need to look much
further than legibility and plain language (p. 7): “legible type just
serves to reveal the language we can’t understand; and clearer
sentences just serve to reveal concepts that do not appear rele-
vant to us and clutter our minds. They are optimisations at the
surface level, giving the illusion of effort and progress, when in
reality what is needed is a radical transformation.” I totally agree
with Waller. In fact, legibility and plain language can be “false
friends”. I hope that many read Waller’s report Contract design
for humans: preventing cognitive accidents.

Reading in different ages

In typography different fonts, complete assortments of charac-
ters of the same style and size, vary in many ways, such as letter
spacing, letter width, and stroke weight. The effects of these var-
iables may differ between different reading scenarios. Our nor-
mal reading speed, the number of words we read per minute, sta-
bilises around the age of 40 (Calabrese et al., 2016). Then the
31
speed of reading gradually decreases. The critical print size, the
smallest size of characters for which reading is possible at maxi-
mum speed, slowly decreases from the age of 23, with a rapid de-
cline from the age of 68. Our reading acuity, our ability to read
accurately and clearly, tends to gradually decrease from the age
of 16.
In Denmark Beier and Oderkerk (2019) studied the effect of
age and font on reading ability. A total of 42 subjects took part
in this study. Subjects ranged in age from 19 to 86 years. Thus,
20 subjects over the age of 50 were grouped into the old age
group (M = 67.4 years), while 22 subjects under the age of 50
were grouped into the young age group (M = 28.5 years). All
subjects reported normal or corrected-to-normal vision.
The City of Copenhagen had commissioned a new visual
identity and was interested in including a customised font family,
which was to replace Gill Sans in all written communication from
the municipality to the public. The new font family was named
KBH. The purpose of this experiment was to identify whether the
font family KBH is more legible than Gill Sans under different
reading situations.
Beier and Oderkerk (2019) used a “Radner Reading Chart”
(Radner, 2017) for standardised measurements of reading ability
and reading speed for different sizes of the fonts KBH Text, KBH
Display, and Gill Sans Light. The text for the test included 28 sen-
tences, written to have the same degree of difficulty, number of
words, and structure.
The results showed that: 1) for the old age group, text set in
Gill Sans Light resulted in significantly faster reading speed than
text set in KBH Text, 2) for both age groups, Gill Sans Light was
significantly worse for reading the smallest possible print size,
and 3) only members of the old age group struggled with reading
Gill Sans Light at a small print size at a regular reading speed.
Beier and Oderkerk (2019) concluded that KBH Text and
KBH Display were readable at smaller font sizes than Gill Sans
Light for both younger and older subjects because of the positive
32
effect of the bolder weights, greater inter-letter spacing, and
wider letters in KBH.
According to Beier (2019) older readers are more affected
than young readers by suboptimal designs of typefaces. Older
readers are more easily distracted by irrelevant elements in the
text. They are more sensitive to low contrast between foreground
and background, and have greater difficulty tuning into a specific
typeface style. In addition, many elderly people suffer from some
form of visual impairment.
With growing age, some level of cognitive decrease often fol-
lows, which is associated with a decline in processing speed and
a general deficit in cognitive flexibility. In spite of the growing
number of older citizens, and in spite of the fact that many of the
reading-related deficits can be met through the right setting of
typography, these issues are rarely considered in design.

Reading multi-modal texts

The “four resources model,” and its associated “four roles of the
reader,” expanded the early definition of reading from a simple
model of decoding printed texts to a model of constructing
meaning and analysing texts in sociocultural contexts (Free-
body, and Luke, 1990). Originally the four roles of a reader were:
1) The reader as a code breaker, 2) The reader as a text partici-
pant, 3) The reader as a text user, and 4) The reader as a text
analyst. People were expected to develop and carefully sustain
these four roles in order to be successful readers.
A multi-modal text is a text that contain more than one
mode. A mode is a system of signs, to express and represent
meanings. Contemporary multi-modal texts may contain ele-
ments of graphic design, hypertext, music, sounds, video, visual
images, written language, and also other semiotic resources.
Based on research and theories from critical media studies, de-
sign, graphic design, multi-modal analysis, semiotics, visual cul-
ture, and visual design Serafini (2012) proposed to expand the
“four resources model” to “four social practices for reading-
33
viewing multi-modal texts.” The four suggested social reading-
viewing practices are: 1) The reader as a navigator, 2) The reader
as an interpreter, 3) The reader as a designer, and 4) The reader
as an interrogator.
Lawless and Schrader (2008) used the term navigation as a
metaphor to describe how readers interact with hypermedia
texts. As “navigators” readers must learn how to navigate the de-
sign of a written text, in addition to decoding the written lan-
guage.
As “interpreters” readers are engaged in the process of inter-
pretation of a multi-modal text. Terms such as comprehending,
constructing meaning, making sense, and understanding are of-
ten used interchangeably to define the concept interpretation.
As “designers” readers extend the constructivist metaphor
and actually construct the text they are reading. The designer of
a text understands the wider social conditions of production and
reception of the message in the text. Numerous reading paths are
possible. The reader’s experiences, interests, and needs influ-
ences her/his actual reading paths.
As “interrogators” readers include both critical and soci-
ocultural aspects of analysis of texts in their reading. Texts are
always written by specific authors, and read by specific readers
in specific contexts. From a critical, or sociocultural perspective
researchers may focus on how readers construct different types
of meanings, and how these meanings are affected by the social
context and the reading practices of the specific readers. Accord-
ing to Serafini (2012, p. 160):
There are numerous theoretical and pedagogical challenges
that arise in expanding the four resources or social practices
model for reading multi-modal texts. The first challenge in
constructing separate resources or practices is the distinc-
tions between the four new resources or reading practices
are blurred. ... These four expanded resources, although

34
 presented as four distinct resources for reading, are interre-
lated and inseparable in the act of reading–viewing.

Reading habits
In our digital world children often experience written language
as digital texts on computers, laptops, smartphones and tablets.
The shift from texts printed on paper to digital texts may harm
children’s ability to read in a focused manner. However, it may
also support reading among different groups. In many instances
different screen technologies have replaced paper-based materi-
als for reading, both in classrooms and in leisure contexts.
In recent years everyday experience and a growing part of
empirical research have illustrated the changing reality of read-
ing. Many studies reflect on the falling level of general know-
ledge, and the superficiality of reading comprehension among
young people. How a word is written on a page in a book can ex-
press a richer variety of meanings than the word itself is able to
do. This is simply by “suggesting” how the word should be read
and which kind of emotions should be identified behind it (Has-
set, 2006).
The act of continuous reading is being pushed aside by a new
reading style “that is able to integrate multiple sources of infor-
mation, but that often appears fragmented, less focused, and po-
tentially less able to attain previously achieved depths of concen-
tration, comprehensiveness, and even immersion in reading”
(Wolf, 2016, p. 5).
Over the past two decades the field of research of children’s
digital books has grown into a methodologically and multi-disci-
plinary diverse area. There are qualitative as well as quantitative
research techniques. Some digital books were produced commer-
cially, and some digital books were produced by the researchers.
Digitization changes the type of media. It requires a different
kind of control, and also a different type of interaction than tra-
ditional paper-based media such as books (Mangen, 2017). Ac-
cording to Petrová and Nemec (2019) changes in the nature of
35
reading itself could lead to a “paradigmatic change” both in liter-
acy, and in pedagogy.

Reading from paper and screen

In large parts of the world computers, laptops, smartphones, and
tablets are important for children and youth today (Mullis et al.,
2017). In many instances screen technologies have replaced pa-
per-based materials for reading, both in classrooms as well as in
leisure contexts. Three meta-analyses have indicated that read-
ing performance is better from paper than reading performance
from screens (Clinton, 2019; Delgado et al., 2018; Kong et al.,
2018). College students generally prefer reading in a traditional
printed textbook compared with reading e-textbooks on a screen
for their courses (Mizrachi et al., 2018).
More time
Shimray, Keerti, and Ramaiah (2015) observed that the amount
of reading on digital media, and the time spent on these media
has been increasing day by day. Sidi, Ophir, and Ackerman
(2016) showed that reading on computer screens require less
mental effort than reading the same text on paper.
Print and digital reading habits
In a study of print and digital reading habits Loh and Sun (2018)
defined reading as “the meaningful decoding and comprehension
of text, in print and in digital format.” They referred reading in
print to reading on paper and reading in digital formats to online
reading, whether on a smartphone, tablet or computer. They lim-
ited their focus to the reading of continuously linear texts,
whether in the form of fiction or non-fiction, as the reading of
these texts correlate to academic achievements.
Loh and Sun had survey data from more than 6,000 students
and focus group data with 96 students across six secondary
schools in Singapore. There is a high internet penetration rate in
Singapore. Data showed that 96.3% of the students had internet
access at home. A minority did not have such access. Students
36
have different reading habits and preferences depending on
whether they enjoy reading or not. In general, students indicated
that they obtained most of their reading materials from the pub-
lic library (46.2%), followed by bookstores (43.5%) and online
resources (40.0%).
The subjects preferred print but they moved towards more
online reading as they get older. Loh and Sun concluded that it is
crucial to ensure that students have access to books they want to
read, whether in print or online. Both print and technology mat-
ter to motivate adolescent reading at all.
Potential differences
In order to examine potential differences between reading print
material and reading on screen Lenhard, Schroeders and Len-
hard (2017) studied reading processes on different proficiency
and complexity levels. They used data from a standardization
sample of a German reading comprehension test, which assesses
reading at word, sentence, and text level. Reading data were col-
lected in nine German federal states by 36 trained undergraduate
students of psychology and education. A total of 5,073 students
from 71 schools and 351 classes participated in the study. Chil-
dren from Grade 1 to 6 completed either a test version on paper
or via computer under time constraints. Results showed that
reading on screen was faster than reading on paper. However,
reading on screen resulted in higher error rates, especially for
younger children and at the word level.
It seems that reading from screens becomes the new reading
standard, rather than reading from paper. Thus, it is important
to develop valid measures for capturing the defining features of
reading ability from screens (Støle et al., 2018). Findings from
empirical research on mode effects can inform the design of read-
ing assessments and consider the pedagogical implications of a
move to digital assessments.
According to Conradi Smith and Hiebert (2022, p. 10) it is
clear from research that the formats used to access a text do

37
matter both for comprehension and for development of reading
skills. Evidence broadly suggests that reading on paper, rather
than reading on screen, promotes better comprehension. It also
appears that students’ quality of engagement is higher when
reading on paper than reading on digital tablets. Many students
struggle to track what they’re reading on a screen. This is partic-
ularly true when texts get denser and longer. Attention may also
be an issue. It has been suggested that students in elementary
school are more likely to engage in mind wandering when they
are reading on screens.
Children
According to Støle, Mangen, and Schwippert, (2020) children’s
screen reading comprehension is underexplored. They made a
large-scale study compared reading comprehension on paper vs
screens among fifth grade students, i.e. children of about 10 years
of age, in Norway in 2015. All students (n=1,139) took two com-
parable versions of a reading comprehension test – one on paper,
and another digitally, with test version and order of medium
counterbalanced. Results showed that the students in average
achieved lower scores on the digital test than on the paper ver-
sion. Almost a third of the students performed better on the pa-
per test than they did on the computer test. The negative effect of
screen reading was most pronounced among high-performing
girls. Scrolling and/or misplaced digital reading habits may be
salient factors behind this difference, which sheds further light
on children’s reading performance and how this may be affected
by screen technologies
Teenagers
Keskin, Baştuğ, and Atmaca (2016) investigated what kind of at-
titudes students have about academic digital reading, recrea-
tional digital reading, and media technology. They also studied if
possession of social media accounts, and possession of mobile
devices would indicate the attitudes about academic digital read-
ing and recreational digital reading. Students (120 male and 139
38
female) in the city of Düzce, in Turkey, took part in the study.
These 8th-grade students were 13–15 years old. Results showed
that their attitudes about academic digital reading and technol-
ogy tendency are significant predictive variables in estimating
the academic digital reading. Results also showed that contribu-
tion and importance of technology, gender variables, negativity
of technology, possession of an active social media account, pos-
session of online mobile devices, and recreational digital reading
attitude, are not significant predictors of students performing
less or more digital reading.
In another study Mangen, Walgermo, and Brønnick (2013)
asked subjects to read linear texts on a computer screen and on
paper. The participants were 72 tenth graders from two different
primary schools in Norway. They were all randomized into two
groups. First all students were tested for their reading compre-
hension, vocabulary, and word reading. In the main test one
group read two texts (1400–2000 words) in print. The other
group read the same texts as a PDF on a computer screen. The
authors concluded that students who read texts in print on paper
scored significantly better on the reading comprehension test
than the students who read the texts on a computer screen.
University students
In one study Latini, Bråten, and Salmerón (2020) studied the ef-
fects of reading a printed versus a digital version of an illustrated
text. Focus was on: 1) Integrative processing and integrated un-
derstanding, and 2) Indirect effect from the reading medium on
the integrated understanding of the content via integrative pro-
cessing.
The 100 subjects (82.4% female, 17.6% male) were under-
graduate and graduate students in educational sciences from a
large public university in southeast Norway. With respect to
reading medium, participants reported that they preferred read-
ing printed rather than digital materials in the study context as
well as in their leisure time. Each participant read a short,

39
illustrated text titled “The physiology of sexuality.” The docu-
ment consisted of 320 words of text, and a diagram. Readability
of the text was comparable to the difficulty level of specialized
literature.
In the print condition, the six paragraphs of text, a diagram,
and a caption were printed on one A4 sheet of paper. In the dig-
ital condition, participants read exactly the same document as a
PDF file with Adobe Reader on a desktop computer. The entire
document was available on the screen at once, and there was no
need for scrolling. 50 subjects read the printed version, and 50
subjects read the digital version.
In this eye-tracking study the authors analysed the eye
movements of each subject in order to indicate the integrative
processing during reading the document in the different media.
After reading the texts all subjects indicated their integration of
textual and pictorial information in written responses.
The results showed that participants who read the illustrated
text on paper displayed more integrative processing during read-
ing than did participants who read the same text on a computer.
Integrative processing affected comprehension performance in a
positive way. However, there was no main effect of the different
reading media on integrated understanding of the content.
Prompting the participants to actually pay attention to both text
and illustration, as well as their relationship did not have any
main effects on integrative processing or on integrated under-
standing of the content. Furthermore, there were no interaction
effects of reading medium with instructional prompt on integra-
tive processing or integrated understanding.
Effectiveness of special tools in e-textbooks
In traditional printed textbooks it is very easy for students to
highlight important text segments, and take notes. However,
many e-textbooks have special tools that allow students to high-
light text segments, and take notes. In one study Clinton-Lisell,
Kelly, and Clark (2020) wanted to compare the effectiveness of

40
encouraging students to read e-textbooks on paper versus show-
ing them how to use e-textbook tools. Two instructors randomly
assigned 144 students to two groups. One group viewed a video
about the performance benefits of reading from paper. The other
group answered an essay question about either the benefits of
reading from paper about how to use e-textbook tools, such as
annotation and video links, or general information about open
educational resources.
Two instructors randomly assigned 144 students to two
groups. One group viewed a video. The other group answered an
essay question about either: 1) The benefits of reading from pa-
per about how to use e-textbook tools, or 2) General information
about open educational resources.
The findings in this study indicated that students opted to
read their e-textbook from a screen rather than take the steps to
obtain a paper version. However, modelling annotation e-text-
book tools appeared to promote note-taking while reading the
textbook. Students otherwise used and read their textbook in
similar manners whether their instructor encouraged them to
read from paper or use e-textbook tools.

Reading e-books
Myrberg and Wiberg (2015) studied a number of research arti-
cles regarding reading and/or learning processes involved in
reading on screen compared to reading on paper. They consid-
ered the results in relation to their own experiences of using tab-
lets as librarians, and teaching scholars and students how to use
tablets/smartphones. They found that attitude and habit was im-
portant. When it comes to studying a digitally born textbook is
by far the best alternative to a print textbook. So far even those
who prefer to read on screens are originally native paper readers.
Myrberg and Wiberg concluded that as long as the existing appli-
cation interfaces cannot address the shortcomings of screens re-
garding spatial landmarks, people will keep returning to paper

41
under certain circumstances. They wait to see authors and pub-
lishers learn to fully utilize of the potential of the e-book.
In one study Neumann (2016) found no relationship be-
tween emergent literacy skills and frequency of e-book use.
Evans et al. (2017) studied pre-schooler’s behaviour when
they interacted with traditional alphabet books in paper format
or with interactive alphabet books in an e-Book format. Their re-
sults showed that children in the e-Book condition spent more
time oriented to the books. However, these children engaged in
less letter-related behaviour, such as saying letter names, or ob-
ject names. The authors recommend educators and parents of
young children to be cautious about embracing alphabet eBooks
in their present design.
With respect to the kinaesthetic and tactile feedback to read-
ers, digital reading devices differ from traditional books printed
on paper. How kinaesthetic and tactile features influence reading
is rarely studied. However, in one interesting study Mangen,
Olivier, and Velay (2019) asked 25 young adult participants to
read a long mystery story on a Kindle DX tablet. Another group
of 25 young adult participants read the same text in a printed
pocket book.
The authors really ensured a high degree of similarity of the
visual ergonomics of both reading displays. They used the same
pdf file to create both the pocket book and the e-book. In both
cases, the 28 pages (about 10,800 words) had exactly the same
layout and typography. There was no page numbering. The page
in the pocketbook was 20.0 x 14.0 cm. The pocketbook was 1.8
cm thick, and its weight was 328 g. The Kindle tablet was 26.5 x
18.0 cm. It was 0.5 cm thick, and its weight was 540 g. The screen
dimensions were: 20.0 × 14.0 cm. The reader turned the page by
clicking on two buttons on the right side, marked by colour-codes
and “forward” and “back” labels. In order to ensure maximum
comparability with the print book, all other Kindle affordances
were disabled in the experiment. Before reading, every partici-
pant was briefly shown how to turn the pages.
42
 After reading the story all participants completed several
tests. The authors measured the readers capacities to locate
events in the text, capacities to reconstruct the plot of the story,
their engagement in the story, recall of events, recall of facts,
recognition of sentences, and recognition of words.
The results of most tests showed no differences between the
two groups of readers. Basically, comprehension was similar with
both media. The actual manipulation of the printed book pro-
vides sensorimotor cues, and pocket book readers performed
better on the measures related to chronology and temporality.
The Kindle readers were not as efficient to locate events in the
space of the text and in the temporality of the story.
Mangen, Olivier, and Velay (2019) concluded that the study
contributes valuable insights into aspects of reading comprehen-
sion when the text is substantially longer than what is typical in
empirical reading research of any disciplinary orientation.

Reading on the web

Schriver (2016) studied how and what people read on the Web.
Results showed that people sometimes come to the Web with se-
rious purposes in mind, such as reading to answer a nagging
question, reading to solve a real practical problem, or reading to
understand. In these cases, reading online may involve search-
ing, scanning, comprehending, integrating, and interpreting the
content. These are cognitively demanding activities, made even
more difficult by websites that are confusing to look at, not orga-
nized in ways that help people accomplish their goals, poorly
written, tortured by insider language, and jargon. Schriver con-
cluded that good writing and good visual design help people carry
out their purposes on the Web.

Reading and layout

The typographic layout of reading examination materials com-
promises the legibility, reliability and the validity of the exami-
nation. The typographic layout of examination materials affects
43
the accuracy and the speed of reading a text and answering ques-
tions based on it (Lonsdale 2007; 2014; 2014; 2015).
In an experimental study Lonsdale, Dyson and Reynolds
(2006) studied effects of text layout on performance of partici-
pants. The participants had to read and understand a text in an
English language examination-type situation and answer ques-
tions on it under time pressure. They re-designed three layouts.
Layout 1 was intended to be more legible than the other two.
It conformed to existing legibility guidelines. Layout 2 was in-
tended to have medium legibility. It followed only some existing
legibility guidelines. (In a survey of examinations this layout was
the most commonly used.) Layout 3 was intended to be the least
legible of the three layouts. It violated most existing legibility
guidelines.
Results showed that Layout 1 was assessed as most attrac-
tive, and easiest to find answers in the text. Furthermore, in Lay-
out 1 the task time was significantly shorter and the number of
correct answers per second was significantly higher than in the
other two layouts. The authors concluded that the construct va-
lidity of examinations may be compromised by confounding leg-
ibility with reading skills.
In an experimental study Lonsdale (2015) studied the effect
of typographic text layout on examination performance. She
compared types of questions that require different reading pro-
cesses. The results showed that participants read a text and an-
swered questions about the text faster with a text layout conform-
ing to legibility guidelines. This is true for both types of ques-
tions, regardless of the reading processes required.
In 2016, Lonsdale (2016), repeated the experimental study
from 2006, this time with students at the University of Reading.
Three layouts were used for comparison, which replicated real-
life examination materials and represented three distinct levels
of legibility. Now Lonsdale found that text layout affects perfor-
mance under conditions of search reading even when time pres-
sure is absent. Subjects performed better with the layout confor-
44
ming to legibility guidelines. They considered this layout to be
the easiest to use and also the most attractive. Participants also
reported that the layouts conforming to legibility guidelines
made it easier to locate the information and answer questions.
Lonsdale, Dyson, and Reynolds (2006), and Lonsdale
(2007; 2014) provided an overview of legibility guidelines that
have been developed based on practice and research. These
guidelines should be used when designing reading examinations.
At the very least typography and layout should not impair the ac-
curacy and speed, reading and answering examination texts.
Lonsdale (2020) reported on a second experimental study.
In this study three layouts replicated real-life academic examina-
tion materials, representing three distinct levels of legibility. The
results showed that the layout of text affects performance under
conditions of search reading. This was true even without any time
pressure on the subjects. When layout conformed to legibility
guidelines participants performed better. This layout was the
easiest to use, and it was also the most attractive. Lonsdale
(2020) presented a theoretical model of reading in academic-
type situations. Her model identifies, and analyses the stages of
the reading process that might be affected by typographic layout.
The outcomes from this study will prove useful to those involved
in the development of written materials used in academia such
as articles in journals and magazines, tests, and textbooks.
Further see my book Graphic Design.

45
Traditional literacy
Reading is a language-related activity performed by the receiver.
Most people read instructional materials selectively. Readers
rarely, if ever, begin at the beginning and read straight through
to the end of a document. Usually we use a combination of brows-
ing, reading headings, looking at illustrations, reading captions,
reading certain parts carefully, skimming others, and avoiding
some parts completely.
Traditionally the concept of “literacy” was restricted to the
ability to read, write and use arithmetic. The definition of tradi-
tional literacy has changed several times during the last decades.
This main section is divided in the following sections: Interna-
tional Adult Literacy Survey, UNESCO definitions, and Other
groups of literacies.

International Adult Literacy Survey

According to Scott, Kirsch, and Jenkins (1998, p. 17) the Interna-
tional Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) defined literacy as “using
printed and written information to function in society, to achieve
one’s goals, and to develop one’s knowledge and potential.” In
their final report the IALS defined five levels of literacy. The first
level is very basic, and level five is the most sophisticated. Level
three is the critical level, which OECD (2000, p. xi) later defined
in this way:
... as a suitable minimum for coping with everyday life and
work in a complex, advanced society. Denotes roughly the
skill level required for successful secondary school comple-
tion and college entry. It requires the ability to integrate dif-
ferent sources of information and solve more complex prob-
lems.
Around fifty percent of the population in countries such as the
USA are below level three, and the situation is worse in many
other countries. Functional literacy measures how effective
reading skills are. It comprises three parts: 1) Prose literacy
46
refers to the ability to read linear text. 2) Document literacy is
the ability to solve problems using information in documents. 3)
Quantitative literacy is the ability to understand simple arith-
metic, such as percentages.
Functionally illiterate persons can read and possibly write
simple sentences with a limited vocabulary but cannot read or
write well enough to deal with the everyday requirements of life
in their own society. (However, note that Roth (1992) used the
term functional literacy for one of three levels in environmental
literacy, and Selber (2004) used the term functional literacy for
persons using computers as tools.)
Grabe (2020, p. 51) noted that written communication has
effectively served as a means of social stratification, distinguish-
ing between those who have, and those have not mastered its use.

UNESCO definitions
The traditional definition of literacy has been extended several
times. In 2000 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cul-
tural Organization (UNESCO) defined literacy in the following
way: “Literacy is the ability to read and write with understanding
a simple statement related to one’s daily life. It involves a contin-
uum of reading and writing skills, and often includes also basic
arithmetic skills (numeracy)” (UNESCO, 2004, p. 12).
In 2003 UNESCO proposed this definition: “Literacy is the
ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate
and compute, using printed and written materials associated
with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning
in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their
knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their com-
munity and wider society” (UNESCO, 2004, p. 13).
In 2004 UNESCO made clear that literacy is much broader
than the ability to read and write: “In acknowledging the fact that
literacy involves oral, written, visual and digital forms of expres-
sion and communication, literacy efforts conceived in terms of
the plural notion of literacy intend to take account of the ways in
47
which these different processes interrelate in a given social con-
text” (UNESCO Education Sector, 2004, p. 14).
Callow (2005) concluded that in our highly visual cultures
the inclusion of visual images in current educational literacy dis-
cussions tends to contextualise them within semiotic, socio-crit-
ical and textually focussed theoretical traditions. These tradi-
tions include cultural and social structural frames, such as spe-
cific codes and “grammars” of individual images. Callow (2005,
p. 13) suggested a model which includes three dimensions of im-
ages. The affective dimension values and acknowledges the indi-
vidual’s role when interacting with images. The compositional
dimension considers how images are composed, including semi-
otic, structural and contextual elements. The critical dimension
acknowledges the importance of bringing socio-critical critique
to an understanding of images, from fields such as critical dis-
course analysis, feminist theory and post-structuralist theory.
Sometimes traditional literacy has been called print literacy
(Suhor and Little, 1988), and public literacy (Moraitis and
McCormack, 1995). Adolescent literacy, articulacy, critical liter-
acy, family literacy, post literacy, print literacy, and public liter-
acy all belong to this category. Literacy is a wide term. Jones and
Flannigan (2006) stated that the new generation must grow up
with digital abilities to be able to manage in a rapidly changing
and multi-dimensional digital world.

Other groups of literacies

In his book Examining Oral English in Schools Hitchman (1966,
p.10) argued that the individual: “needs ‘spoken literacy’; and be-
yond this the greatest power of language of which he is capable–
we may call this ‘articulacy’. He must use language in order to
learn to think. The development of language and the develop-
ment of power of thought go together and react upon each other.”
The concept articulacy may be further explained as the condition
of being articulate, which is the ability of speaking in a clear and
effective manner. The section Other groups of literacies includes
48
the following sub-sections: Adolescent literacy, Critical literacy,
Family literacy, Non-literality, Post literacy, and Reading liter-
acy.
Adolescent literacy
Adolescent literacy refers to the set of skills and abilities that stu-
dents need in grades 4–12 to read, write, and think about the text
materials they encounter. In recognition of the unique neurology
and psychology of adolescence, distinct from the literacy devel-
opment of younger readers or adults, the International Reading
Association (IRA) has outlined seven guiding principles of liter-
acy development (Atwell, 1998; Moore et al. 1999).
Critical literacy
Freire (1970) defined critical literacy as the capacity to analyse,
critique and transform social, cultural and political texts and
contexts. Critical literacy provides the information professional
with an opportunity to encourage critical consciousness in stu-
dents (Elmborg, 2006). Literacy requires consumers of any text
to adopt a critical and questioning approach, and uncover any
underlying messages.
According to Luke (2013, p. 215) critical literacy “originated
in what was then called the “third world”, in regions undergoing
decolonization, through languages other than English.” Critical
literacy involves a normative analysis of the relationship between
designs, shapes and features of texts and their consequences in
material and social contexts. The literate consumers of text
should adopt a critical and questioning approach and actively an-
alyse texts (Hagood, 2002).
(Note that Selber (2004) divided the term multiliteracies
into three components: 1) Functional literacy, 2) Critical liter-
acy, and 3) Rhetorical literacy.)
Family literacy
Family literacy is an educational method providing parents and
children with family-focused and long-term educational services.

49
A literate family tends to be a stronger family with children more
likely to be successful in school (Wikipedia, 2016).
Non-literality
The term non-literality refers to cognitive schemes (Bowers,
1990). Non-literality may be expressed in many different ways
such as gestures, music, smell, sound, speech, taste, touch, visual
images, and also writing (Forceville, 2006). Usually children eas-
ily comprehend non-literal meanings that are based on features
like colour, shape, and size (Clark, 1993; Seitz, 1997). Waller
(2016, p. 39) remarket: “In fact, given that literacy normally re-
flects the ability both to read and to write, we might say that or-
ganizations who fail to supply well-designed information are
themselves illiterate.”
Post literacy
Post literacy or post literacy education is a concept used in adult
and continuing education programs, especially in developing
countries. Unlike Continuing education these programs provide
skills that might otherwise be provided in primary education
(Wikipedia, 2016).
Reading literacy
The term reading literality refers to the ability to understand
and use those written language forms required by society and/or
valued by the individual. Readers can construct meaning from
texts in a variety of forms. They read to learn, to participate in
communities of readers in school and everyday life, and for en-
joyment. (Mullis et al., 2015, p. 12).

50
New literacies
Several authors have seen a need for a broader definition and
proposed new categories of literacy. With reference to the basic
skills that underpin our school curricula and education it was
suggested that articulacy, graphicacy, (print) literacy and numer-
acy constitute four categories of literacy (Balchin and Coleman
1965, 1966).
A person may be illiterate in many aspects, which is hard in
our modern society. Hugo and Skibbe (1991) argued that the il-
literates of the future might not be those who cannot read, but
those who cannot see. Loveless suggested that children of the fu-
ture must be literate in both “data in motion” and “images in mo-
tion.” According to Loveless the latter means being literate in the
language of photography, film, video and satellite communica-
tions. Obviously, a modern definition of literacy must include
much more than traditional reading and writing.
Buckingham (1993a, 2003) used the term new literacy for
new forms and plural notions of literacy made possible by devel-
opment of digital technology. According to Erstad (1998) we
need to abandon the notion of literacy as a set of disembodied
“skills” and to recognise that “literacies” are always inevitably sit-
uated within specific practices and specific social contexts. Some
educators use the term social theory of media literacy. A social
theory of media literacy needs to acknowledge that “literacies”
are plural and defined by the social contexts in which they are
used (Buckingham, Willett, and Pini, 2011, p. 141).
Sutton (1993) noted the similarities between information lit-
eracy, media literacy, and visual literacy. In a discussion on the
evolution of imagery technologies, Fredette (1994) cited Loveless
(1992), who wrote about the evolution of media technologies and
identified their changing effects on consciousness, and their par-
allel role in redefining the traditional concept of literacy.
Dake (2000) argued that an important part of literacy is the
development of flexibility and fluency of thought. Researchers in
new literacies have used many research approaches, such as
51
behaviourist approaches (McKenna and Konradi, 2010), cogni-
tive approaches (Dake, 2000, Tracey et al., 2010), constructivist
approaches (McKenna and Konradi, 2010), digital technology
approaches (Buckingham, 1993a, 2003), feminist approaches
(Guzetti, 2010), Internet approaches (Leu et al., 2013), multi-
literacy approaches (Cope and Kalantzis, 2009; Kalantzis et al.,
2010), semiotic approaches (Labbo and Ryan, 2010), and socio-
cultural approaches (Buckingham, Willet, and Pini, 2011; Gee,
2012).
Traditional literacy is not enough anymore. Nowadays au-
thors write about different literacies. Contemporary literacy has
a multidimensional aspect (Riddle, 2009, p. 4), in that infor-
mation and knowledge come from various sources and direc-
tions, among which visual imagery often plays an important role.
A search on Google in February 2011 on the word literacy gave
more than 39 million entries. Some literacy concepts are rather
similar and most of them have been defined in many different
ways. It is very hard, if at all possible, to find any consensus in
the various literacy definitions.
While new literacy studies address the notion of literacy
from contextual, cultural, and social aspects, the concept new lit-
eracies focus on literacies related to digital mediated texts and
texts in pop culture (Gee, 2012). According to Leu et al. (2013)
new literacies are deictic, multifaceted, multimodal, and multi-
ple. New literacies require critical literacies, new forms of strate-
gic knowledge, and new skills and social practices.
Destebaşi (2016, p. 897) defined new literacies as “a concept
that includes many new literacy practices about new digital tech-
nologies and media; and also include new literacy skills,
knowledge, and ways of thinking that are required for using the
Internet and emerging information and communication technol-
ogies.”
According to Šupšáková (2016) people now face the chal-
lenge to manage four key literacies: 1) Communication literacy,

52
2) Information literacy, 3) Multicultural literacy, and 4) Visual
literacy.
In one action research study nine first year teacher candi-
dates at Erciyes University in Turkey took part in two online
comprehension and research tasks about children’s literature
and teaching materials (Yamac and Ozturk, 2019). Results
showed that although traditional literacy skills and strategies re-
tain their importance, the internet environment gives rise to ad-
ditional dispositions, skills, and strategies. The preservice teach-
ers employed strategies for creation of content, determining reli-
ability, location of information, online information synthesising,
and reading. Furthermore, they developed an awareness of reli-
able information, competencies of online research and technol-
ogy, and digital skills. The nature of information and learning on
the internet is different from that of traditional printed materials.
Bravo et al. (2022) argued that “Design Literacies should
provide citizens with the ability to read and act in today's pre-
dominantly designed (artificial) world. Since June 2021 the De-
sign Literacy International Network has hosted monthly commu-
nity-based events where scholars from different countries and
various theoretical and methodological approaches discuss their
work and its contribution to advancing Design Literacy.
In this book I have divided the main section New literacies
in five sections: Musicacy, Numeracy, Visuacy, Electracy/medi-
acy, and Area specific literacies. The table on the next page is my
attempt to present a structure over the new literacies.

53
An attempt to present a structure of new literacies.

Musicacy Area specific literacies

Numeracy
Economic literacy
Financial literacy
Statistical literacy
Visuacy
21st century literacy
Data visualization literacy
Diagrammatic literacy
Digital visual literacy
Graphic literacy
Graphicacy
Graphical literacy
Visual information literacy
Visual-numeric literacy
Typographic literacy
Visual literacy
Electracy/mediacy
Computer literacy
Digital literacy
Hypertext literacy
Multicultural literacy
Multiliteracy
Functional literacy
Critical literacy
Rhetorical literacy
Multimedia literacy
Multimodal literacy
Media literacy
Multi-semiotic experience
Transliteracy
Advertising literacies
Aesthetic literacy
Promotional literacy
Rhetorical literacy
Communication literacy
Agricultural literacy
Content area literacy
Diaspora literacy
Disciplinary literacy
Nonfiction literacy
Scientific literacy
Software literacy
Technological literacy
Cultural literacies
Cultural visual literacy
Image literacy
Cultural image literacy
Political literacy
Social literacy
Ecological literacy
Environmental literacy
Nominal literacy
Functional literacy
Operational literacy
Health literacy
Mental health literacy
Information literacy
Meta-literacy
Critical Information Literacy
Media literacy
Media and Inform. Literacy
Television literacy

Some authors have used the terms Critical information literacy,

and Functional literacy for different concepts.

54
Musicacy
Music is a sophisticated language with its own logic and syntax.
Music reading and writing skills are quite different from lan-
guage reading and writing skills. Musicacy, or musical literacy,
is the ability to understand and work with music. Musical literacy
incorporates the ability to read music and understand how to
make the notes on a page audible (through singing or playing an
instrument). The term also refers to the skill of writing music for
others to play (Perez, 2009).
Musical literacy means the ability to read and understand
the pitches, the rhythms, and the meaning of the music (Telfer,
2004). Musical symbols on the printed page reveal a great deal
about the musicality of a piece. Each detail in the notation brings
the music alive. Several pedagogies and have evolved to teach the
skills of reading and writing music in elementary grades. Some
regard musical literacy almost as equally important as aural
skills. To be musically literate, a person has to be comfortable
with musical expressions.
Mustaqim (2020) studied “visual musicality in graphic ex-
pression.” A total of 280 graphic design students in Indonesia
were asked to use basic colour pens and black permanent mark-
ers to draw line sketches on white cartridge paper while listening
to randomly selected songs from three well-known musicians.
The music provided were contemporary jazz, a rock ballad, and
one traditional gamelan. The graphic design students were re-
stricted to only use different kinds of lines to express their feel-
ings about the music.
The 280 participants provided a total of 840 sketches. After
a qualitative analysis of 734 of these sketches Mustaqim (2020)
concluded (p. 113): “it is hard to find if there is a basic relation-
ship between two different elements like music and visuals. Nu-
merous experimentations have been done including many art-
works, designs, performances and products.”

55
Numeracy
Numeracy, or quantitative literacy, is the ability to understand
and work with numbers and other mathematical concepts. To be
numerically literate, a person has to be comfortable with logic
and reasoning (NCES, 1993). Innumeracy or numerical illiteracy
refers to a lack of ability to reason with numbers. This section is
divided in the following sub-sections: Economic literacy, Finan-
cial literacy, and Statistical literacy.
Economic literacy
Economic literacy is knowledge and understanding of basic eco-
nomics. Economic literacy is a vital skill in the modern society,
just as vital as reading literacy (Duvall, 1988).
Financial literacy
Financial literacy, or financial capability, is the ability to under-
stand finance. It refers to the set of skills and knowledge that al-
lows an individual to make informed and effective decisions
through their understanding of finances. In 2003 the Organiza-
tion for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
started a project to improve financial education.
Statistical literacy
Statistical literacy is a term used to describe the ability to under-
stand statistics and relationships of numerical information. It is
necessary for citizens to be able to critically evaluate and under-
stand numeric information presented in different media such as
Internet, newspapers and television (Heiberger and Holland,
2004).

Visuacy
It seems that rather similar concepts have been developed in dif-
ferent places and at different times. Enser (1995) noted that we
belong to a society experiencing technological advances that are
serving to promote the importance of the visual medium for mes-
sage transmission and knowledge representation. I agree with

56
Enser that this is a paradigm shift offering both challenges and
opportunities, especially for the professions in education and in-
formation. I also foresee two other paradigm shifts. In the future
we will focus on the information content rather than on the doc-
uments as such. We will also see a shift from emphasis on teach-
ing to emphasis on learning. In this context it may also be noted
that Malmberg (1996) pointed out that the culture industry
transforms pleasure into mere entertainment and a society of en-
tertainment is emerging.
This section is divided in the following sub-sections: 21st
century literacy, Diagrammatic literacy, Digital visual literacy,
Graphic literacy, Graphicacy, Graphical literacy, Visual-nu-
meric literacy, Typographic literacy, and Visual literacy. These
areas are all concerned with the ability to understand and work
with different kinds of visual representations. The term visuacy
is suggested here as an umbrella term for these concepts.
21st century literacy
The concept 21st century literacy is the set of abilities and skills
where aural, visual and digital literacy overlap. These include the
ability to understand the power of images and sounds, to recog-
nize and use that power, to manipulate and transform digital me-
dia, to distribute them, and to easily adapt them to new forms
(The New Media Consortium, 2005).

Data visualization literacy

The ability to read and construct data visualizations becomes as
important as the ability to read and write text (Börner, Buecklea
and Gindaa 2019). Data visualization literacy (DVL) is also called
“visualization literacy.” It has been defined as the ability to make
meaning from and interpret patterns, trends, and correlations in
visual representations of data (Börner et al. 2016).
Diagrammatic literacy
Reading diagrams involves domain knowledge, motivation and
bias, narrative, perception, and social consensus. Relationships

57
between visual elements in a diagram mirror relationship be-
tween objects in the real world. So far there are no universal con-
ventions for diagrams.
Allmendinger (1998) argued that people use the same high-
level skills when they read diagrams as when they read prose.
Reading diagrams involves perception, domain knowledge, nar-
rative, motivation and bias, as well as social consensus. Diagrams
are visual models. They depend on colour, line, plane, point, text,
texture, value, as well as volume. Each visual element corre-
sponds to something in the real world. Relationships between
visual elements in a diagram, mirror relationships between ob-
jects in the world.
Coll, Coll, and Thakur (1994) compared graphs with tables.
They found that business students performed more accurately
with tables, and engineering students performed more accurately
with graphs. The business students were faster and more accu-
rate than the engineering students. However, both groups pre-
ferred reading in tables.
According to Allmendinger (1998) diagrammatic literacy is a
matter of getting people to make better decisions based on fairly
sophisticated graphics information. Lowe (1993) found that ex-
perts and novices apply different mental strategies when they
read diagrams. The experts base their interpretations on under-
lying principles and domain-based categories. Beginners, how-
ever, rely more on visual patterns in the diagrams.
Digital visual literacy
Digital visual literacy (DVL) is the ability “both to create and un-
derstand certain types of information, in this case visual infor-
mation created with a computer” (Spalter and van Dam, 2008, p.
94). DVL is also defined as a set of skills that enable students to
use and interpret media effectively (Martinez, 2009, p. 13).
Graphic literacy
Bedward et al. (2009) used the term graphic literacy for the use
of visual representations including, but not limited to, graphs,
58
models, pictures, and other visual symbols. These researchers
found that the use of graphic literacy in elementary science edu-
cation can enhance problem-solving and reasoning skills. Waller
(2017, p. 197 f) used the term graphic literacy for typographic
literacy.
Successful practitioners understand the relations between
various design choices and audience effects. A practice-based
trend in design-research (Lupton, 2004) is exploring what we
can learn from how professional designers approach problems.
According to Friedrich (2017) design-researchers need to find a
language in order to discuss graphic form and structure. Com-
municators who understand how rhetorical effects are created
through graphic design are able to reflect on and improve their
practice (Schneller, 2017, p. 331–332). This may be called
graphic design literacy.
The terms graphic design literacy, graphic literacy, graph-
icacy, and graphical literacy, seem to represent quite similar
concepts, all include the ability to understand and work with dif-
ferent kinds of graphics. People have used maps, pictures, and
other types of graphics throughout the ages, since or before writ-
ten verbal language. Nowadays graphics are far more readily
available and widely used than ever before (Wilmot, 1999).
Graphicacy
The concept of graphicacy is the ability to communicate through
images. The study of geography, at school, college, and university
levels, is the best way to improve the skills of graphicacy (Balchin
and Coleman, 1965; 1966). Two common descriptors of the con-
cept graphicacy are “visual communication” and “visual literacy,”
and more specific terms like “cartography” and “drawing.”
Mathematicians have used the term graphicacy for the abil-
ity to deal with mathematical charts, and graphs. Here graphic-
acy is concerned with the visual-spatial capacities people require
in order to generate and interpret information in graphic

59
information such as charts, diagrams, graphs, maps, plans, pho-
tographs and symbols.
There are no universal conventions for graphics. Danos and
Norman (2009) developed a taxonomy to be used as a research
tool to gain an understanding of how the skills needed to under-
stand and create drawings can affect students’ learning abilities
and hence of the importance of design as a “third culture.”
Danos and Norman (2011) conducted three case studies in
the USA, Cyprus, and UK identifying how, where, and why im-
ages were used across school curricula. The results from these
studies showed similar patterns of purposes and usage. Danos
and Norman (2011) defined graphicacy as “the ability to com-
municate using still visual images, such as graphs, maps, draw-
ings etc.”
Graphical literacy
As part of the foundations of a “good education” within the
realms of cartography and geography Balchin and Coleman
(1966, p. 24) proposed the term graphicacy in the United King-
dom to refer to a skill to be included as equal in importance to
literacy, numeracy, and “articulacy.”
Graphical Literacy developed within the field of Literacy Ed-
ucation in North America and a development of a taxonomy of
graphs. This was an attempt to classify every possible visual re-
source of representation. Fry (1981, p.383) defined graphical lit-
eracy as “the ability to read and write (or draw) graphs.” Another
definition includes more types of visual representations. Here
graphical literacy is the ability to interpret charts, graphics,
maps, and other pictorial presentations used to supplement the
prose in textbooks, non-fiction trade books and newspapers
(Tierney et al., 1990). To be graphically literate, a person has to
be comfortable with symbols and graphical expressions. The con-
tent itself largely determines the nature of the graphic entities
and the way they are organized.

60
Visual information literacy
According to Boy et al. (2014) visualization literacy is “the ability
to confidently use a given data visualization to translate ques-
tions specified in the data domain into visual queries in the visual
domain, as well as interpreting visual patterns in the visual do-
main, as well as interpreting visual patterns in the domain as
properties in the domain.”
According to Locoro, Fisher and Mari (2021) it is a major
problem in education, and in visual information design that the
ability to properly process information in data graphics is still
“off the radar.” At the same time tools to measure people’s read-
ing and writing abilities with texts and numbers are ripe. Appar-
ently even less interest is devoted to evaluation of these skills.
Locoro, Fisher and Mari (2021) call this ability to process infor-
mation from data graphics in a proper way for Visual Infor-
mation Literacy.
Locoro, Fisher and Mari (2021) present an exploration of
methods and tools towards the measurement effectiveness and
efficiency of data graphics. They present the design of a model
characterizing it as a developmental skills progression that co-
vers the cognitive abilities activated when dealing with data
graphics. Further, they present statistical evidence that data
graphics comprehension depends on the matching of users’ abil-
ities and data graphics difficulties.

Visual-numeric literacy
According to Tønnessen (2020) visual-numeric literacy is un-
derstood as the ability to make sense from semiotic resources in
an educational context. Visual-numeric literacy draws on an un-
derstanding that reading graphs requires the mastery of certain
modes, mainly visual and numeric. In one study Tønnessen
(2020) explored the concept of literacy related to the use of data
visualizations. The students in two Social Science classrooms in
upper secondary school in Norway worked with publicly availa-
ble complex data visualizations. It took time for the students to

61
explore the axis system, digitally available options, and variables.
In a defined space, numeric dimension elements make meaning
in terms of size, direction, and relative distance to the axes defin-
ing the space.

Typographic literacy
Waller (2017, p. 197 f) described typographic literacy, or grap-
hic literacy, as a component of functional literacy. Here graphic
literacy is the key difference between prose literacy and docu-
ment literacy (document literacy = prose literacy + graphic liter-
acy). Waller suggested that graphic literacies are needed not only
by readers, but also by creators of documents, and by the infor-
mation management technologies that produce, deliver, and
store them. Note that Roth (1992) used the term functional lit-
eracy for one of three levels in environmental literacy, and Sel-
ber (2004) used the term functional literacy for persons using
computers as tools.)
As noted above Bedward et al., 2009, used the term graphic
literacy for the use of visual representations including, but not
limited to, graphs, models, pictures, and other visual symbols.
Visual literacy
Visual literacy is a broad concept with bits and pieces from sev-
eral areas of knowledge. Several researchers have developed def-
initions, opinions, and viewpoints about visual literacy (e.g.
Avgerinou 2000; Pettersson, 2002; Yeh and Lohr, 2010). In my
view, so far Heinich, Molenda, and Russell (1982, p. 62) have
provided the best definition of visual literacy. They wrote: “Visual
literacy is the learned ability to interpret visual messages accu-
rately and to create such messages. Thus, interpretation and cre-
ation in visual literacy can be said to parallel reading and writing
in print literacy.”
However, a large Delphi study showed that the visual literacy
scholarly community had not yet been able to agree on a defini-
tion of visual literacy (Brill and Kim, 2007; Brill et al., 2007).

62
Visual literacy definitions have varied from very narrow to very
broad explanations of greater or lesser complexity.
According to Peña Alonso (2018, p. 142) the term visual lit-
eracy should stand for the broad notion of meaning-making from
visuals in compliance with current understandings of literacy
within literacy education (e.g., Flood, Heath, and Lapp, 2015),
and that the specific contextual conventions be referred to as
“visual genres.”
Further see my book Using Images.

Electracy/mediacy
The two terms electracy and mediacy seem to represent quite
similar concepts, both include the ability to understand and work
with digital media. Electracy describes the skills necessary to ex-
ploit the full communicative potential of new electronic media
(Ulmer, 2003). Mediacy is a facility in interacting and working
with media. As we become interconnected media consuming in-
dividuals we also have the opportunity to be active contributors.
Much of it is multimedia with audio, images and text. Elec-
tracy/mediacy are to digital media what traditional literacy has
been to print media.
Electracy and mediacy include many areas like: Computer
literacy, Digital literacy, Hypertext literacy, Multiliteracies/
Multiliteracy, Multicultural literacy, Multimedia literacy, Mul-
timodal literacy, and Transliteracy.
Computer literacy
There are many definitions of computer literacy. These defini-
tions vary from person to person. Computer literacy is the ability
and knowledge to use computers and technology efficiently. A
computer-literate person only needs to be a computer user, not a
computer programmer. He and she can use computer programs;
find information needs using a computer and the Internet.
Considine and Haley (1999) argued that computer literacy
clearly relates both visual literacy and media literacy to the

63
traditional concepts of literacy, reading and writing. Monfils
(1994) argued to be computer literate; a person needs only be a
computer user, not a computer programmer.
It is, however, not always easy to be a computer user. Sterner
(1997) noted that users of all kinds of appliances often expect to
be able to use the specific appliances without first reading any
instructions for use at all. When people fail and realize that they
need instructions for use they expect to be able to follow a clear
text with pictures, and a good index, as well as a trouble-shooting
guide. This however, is usually not at all the case. Instruction
manuals may be hard to understand and they do not always meet
even modest quality expectations.
Modern computer systems often have user interfaces based
on symbols intended to function in various countries, in various
cultures and subcultures. These symbols may, however, some-
times not function at all for the intended users. Griffin, Petters-
son, and Johnson (1996a) studied how international business
people interpreted and understood commonly used clip art
graphic symbols. The symbols were taken from software package
for business presentations from Harward Graphics. Based on
opinions expressed by subjects in Japan, Sweden, Tanzania and
the USA, regarding 15 of the symbols in the software package,
Griffin, Pettersson, and Johnson (1996a) made the following two
conclusions:

• There are many ways to interpret symbols. Very few people

share the same understanding of any given symbol.
• There are strong cultural differences in interpreting the
meanings of symbols.
Computer users should not be satisfied with the present situa-
tion. Users should demand better graphical interfaces as well as
better instructions for use. Better user interfaces would probably
fast increase the number of computer literate users.
As personal computers have become commonplace and
more powerful, the concept of computer literacy has moved
64
beyond basic functionality to more powerful applications under
the heading of multimedia literacy.
Digital literacy
When Google Images launched in 2001, 250 million images were
indexed. By 2005, a billion images had been indexed. By 2010,
more than ten billion images were indexed (Emanuel, Challons-
Lipton, and Baker, 2014).
In 2008 the Digital Literacy High-Level Expert Group de-
fined the concept of digital literacy in the following way: “Digital
literacy is essential for achieving digital competence, the confi-
dent and critical use of information and communication technol-
ogy for work, leisure, learning and communication.”
For Ferrari (2012) digital literacy is associated with the abil-
ity to use computers, online social networks and the Internet.
Digital competence is a set of attitudes, knowledge, and skills
that are needed when using information and communication
technology, and digital media to build knowledge, collaborate,
communicate, create and share content, manage information,
perform tasks, and solve problems.
The American Library Association (2013) defined digital lit-
eracy as “the ability to use information and communication tech-
nologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information,
requiring both technical and cognitive skills.” Digital literacy is
the capabilities for living, learning and working in a digital soci-
ety (Joint Information Systems Committee, 2014).
Çam and Kiyici (2017) incorporated computer literacy, infor-
mation literacy, software literacy, technology literacy, and visual
literacy as parts of digital literacy. Today’s students are “digital
learners.” However, not enough is known about their ability to
recognize the most significant images that communicate our cul-
tures.
Children start to consume digital visual content at a very
early age (Rideout et al., 2010; Chassiakos et al., 2016). However,
there is little evidence that exposure to digital visual content

65
alone directly translates into children’s abilities to interpret it
(Metros, 2008; Flood, Heath, and Lapp, 2015). Lopatovska et al.
(2016) found that preschool students (5-year- olds) were already
familiar with the elements of colour, line and shape. They could
recognize most of these elements in a visual artwork.
Merkt et al. (2020) described the development of a digital
competency model, with which digital competence can be de-
scribed and easily grasped by university students. The digital
competency model includes eight dimensions: 1) IT competence,
2) Information literacy, 3) Communication/collaboration, 4)
Digital teaching, 5) Digital identity, 6) Digital science, 7) Digital
production, and 8) Analysis and reflection. The digital compe-
tency model includes three skill levels: 1) Digital Literacy, 2) Dig-
ital Fluency, and 3) Digital Scholarship.
According to Ahmad et al. (2022) digital literacy is the
knowledge and ability to utilize and create digital media in an
ethical and responsible manner.
In my view digital literacy is the ability, knowledge, and
practical skills needed to find, organize, read, and then interpret
and understand how to use images, sound and text elements in
digital environments. Examples of digital environments are soft-
ware application packages for computers, laptops and smart-
phones.
The term “digital skills” is limited to practical abilities in us-
ing digital devices. Digital skills are needed for digital literacy. A
digitally literate person has digital skills to engage in online com-
munities and social networks. He and she can evaluate and apply
new knowledge gained from a wide range of digital sources in or-
der to create and reproduce data and information in multiple for-
mats through digital manipulation (Luce-Kapler, 2007; Jones-
Kavalier and Flannigan, 2008; Metros, 2008).
Hypertext literacy
Hypertext is a computer application where text is not con-
strained to be linear. Here texts contain links to other texts

66
within a document, or between documents. The links are usually
indicated with “anchors,” special areas in a text or on a display.
Clicking the mouse on an anchor causes the link to be followed
to the anchor at the other end. It is usually possible to get quick
explanations of expert terminology. Users need to understand
the electronic context, know how to access, read, and write text.
They have to learn the visual symbols and the special termino-
logy. Hypertext can provide people with interactive learning ex-
periences. Hypermedia, or “multimedia hypertext,” may include
graphics, sound, text and video.
Hypertext literacy is a literacy made up of new and techno-
logically altered kinds of access (ACLA, 2006). Nowadays anyone
can publish a web site that reproduces the form of established
publications, whether academic or journalistic, while the content
can bear little to no resemblance at all to traditional publications.

Multicultural literacy
We live in multicultural societies. We often interact with people
from countries around the world, and with different experiences.
Multicultural literature describes how people live in different
parts of the world. It includes knowledge of cultures and lan-
guages, as well as the ways graphics, text, and sound may intro-
duce bias into language, generalizations, perspective, stereo-
types, subject matter, and visual content. For Šupšákova, (2016)
multicultural literacy is the ability to orientate and respect differ-
ent manifold cultures without prejudices.
Multiliteracies– Multiliteracy
The groundwork for the concept “multiliteracies” was developed
by the New London Group (1996). In a theoretical overview of
the connections between the changing social environment facing
students and teachers, the authors describe how traditional liter-
acy practices encompass a diversity of multimodal texts.
The multiplicity of communications channels and increasing
cultural and linguistic diversity in the world called for a much
broader view of literacy than portrayed by traditional language-
67
based approaches. According to the authors, multiliteracies over-
comes the limitations of traditional approaches. Modern texts
have rich cultural contexts for communicating ideas both glob-
ally and locally. These texts can be combinations of spoken and
written words, sound effects, or other aural modes; gestures,
movements, and other spatial modes; visuals, still pictures and
video; or music, and any combination of these parts. Now visual
texts dominate our communication landscape.
Selber (2004) divided the term multiliteracies into three
components: 1) Functional literacy, 2) Critical literacy, and 3)
Rhetorical literacy. A functionally literate person uses a com-
puter as a tool. (Note that Roth (1992) used the term functional
literacy for one of three levels in environmental literacy.) A crit-
ically literate person uses a computer as a cultural artefact. A rhe-
torically literate person uses a computer as hypertext media.
The ability to understand and use literacy and literate prac-
tices with a range of texts and technologies (including cell
phones, computers, the Internet, and social networking sites) is
now called multiliteracy. A multi-literate person is flexible and
strategic and can fully participate in life as an active and in-
formed citizen (Anstey and Bull, 2006; Borsheim, Merritt, and
Reed, 2008; Coop and Kalantzis, 2000).
Cope and Kalantzis (2009) examined the changing land-
scape of literacy learning and literacy teaching. They noted that
an enormous body of work has emerged around multiliteracies.
There have been dramatic changes in social and technological
contexts of communication and learning.
Multimedia literacy
Multimedia literacy, new media literacy, or screen literacy, are
terms that have been associated with literacy to emphasize that
literacy extends beyond reading and writing the alphabetic code
and should include a variety of audio-visual forms of representa-
tion. These terms highlight a belief among many educators and
scholars that literacy should include electronic media that have

68
moved into the mainstream of communication. These literacies
refer to the ability to cope with the numerous media in use now-
adays. Multimedia utilizes several different content forms to con-
vey information (Alexader, 2008; Spalter and vanDam, 2008).

Multimodal literacy
An increasing number of researchers and teachers are embracing
the extended text concept. Here, all texts are multimodal, and
composed of different semiotic resources (Kress and van Leeu-
wen 2006). Texts can consist of a variety of communicative re-
sources, where meaning is communicated through combinations
of two or more modes, such as spoken and written language, and
also different patterns of meaning. These patterns may be audio,
gestural, spatial, tactile, and visual. Danielsson and Selander
(2021, p. 22) remarked that:
The extended text concept as well as the understanding of
multimodal texts challenge the dominant school tradition,
where writing has been seen as the main resource and the
resource that is valued and “counts” as representation of
knowledge.
As a social semiotic theory multimodality has been widely used
to understand the meaning of communicational artefacts, events
and texts within a specific context and culture (O’Halloran,
2009). Contemporary science books for preschool children com-
bine different semiotic systems in production of meaning. In
multimodal texts pictures and texts may be equally important.
Multimodal literacy is about understanding the different
ways of knowledge representations and meaning-making
through various methods of communication (Alexander, 2008;
Danielsson and Selander, 2016, 2021; Gee, 2007; Kress, 2003).
This is more than the written word. Animation, audio, pictures,
and video are simultaneously incorporated into communication.
The focus is on the design of discourses. The designer investi-
gates contributions of various semiotic resources, (e.g. gestures,

69
images, and language), various modalities (e.g. aural, somatic,
and visual), as well as their interactions in multimodal texts (e.g.
advertisements, films, websites).
According to Serafini (2010, p. 86) the shift from focus on a
linguistic literacy to a multimodal literacy requires readers to
navigate, design, interpret and analyse texts in new and more in-
teractive ways. Borgfeldt and Lyngfelt (2017) highlighted that the
ability to assess students’ multimodal compositions is a neces-
sary part of a contemporary teacher’s basic competence.
At all levels twenty-first century education has focused on
multimodal literacies, and how educators can engage students
who are seeing the world in a myriad of forms. However, Bowen
(2017) noted that outside art and design our criteria for assessing
student learning have not moved much beyond the traditional
written text disciplines.
Ulu, Avşar-Tuncay, and Baş, (2017) found that pre-service
teachers’ level of “multimodalness” will predict their ability for
critical reading. Teachers can help their students to interpret
contents that are presented on digital media. Students may pre-
pare products on digital media by using various animations, vis-
uals, and writings.
A functional semiotic approach sees images, words, and
other modes as resources for meaning making. Language can be
understood as drawing on three meaning-making dimensions, or
meta-functions, which are realised simultaneously (Callow,
2018). A range of studies show how children are able to engage
in rich and complex discussions around children’s literature,
drawing on words, pictures and their combined meanings (Cal-
low, 2020). In multimodality, it is the combined meanings and
interplay between modes that are important.
Using data drawn from a larger case study, Callow (2020)
focussed on 11 middle years students (Grade 6) as they read then
discussed a range of features from an award-winning picture
book (The Watertower by Gary Crew and Steve Woolman). This
picture book includes verbal and visual intersections, where the
70
meanings of each mode may augment each other, be equivalent
to each other, or offer contradictory or divergent meanings. With
a focus on assessing students’ comprehension, multimodal
knowledge, and visual metalanguage, the study utilized discus-
sions, questioning and a visual text making activity. Some stu-
dents made extensive comments about aspects that engaged or
puzzled them. Others simply provided a brief retell of the story.
Many students did not exhibit a semiotic awareness, while some
showed critical awareness that an author chooses image and text
quite purposefully. Other students’ responses showed that they
understood that an illustrator sometimes may have to make dif-
ficult choices among possible illustrations based on the internal
logic of the story.
It is important to be able to shift modes from closed to open
networks. There are two dimensions of multimodal literacy: 1)
Media literacy, and 2) Multi-semiotic experience.
Transliteracy
Transliteracy is the ability to communicate and interact across a
range of different communications platforms. This includes pos-
sibilities as reading, speaking, using film, handwriting, print, ra-
dio, sign language, television, and writing, in digital social media,
as well as in mass media. Transliteracy is seen as the basic liter-
acy skill to navigate and understand trans-media messages in the
virtual universe. The word “Transliteracy” was derived from the
verb “to transliterate,” meaning to write or print a letter or word
using the closest corresponding letters of a different alphabet or
language (Thomas, 2005). The concept of Transliteracy calls for
a change of perspective away from “print versus digital,” and a
rapid move towards a unifying ecology of “all literacies” that are
relevant to culture, interaction, reading, and writing, both in the
past, present, and future.

71
Area specific literacies
Several literacies are “area specific” and at the same time they
may belong to more than one of the five main categories of liter-
acies. In this book the section Area specific literacies include the
following subsections: Advertising literacies, Communication
literacy, Cultural literacies, Ecological literacy, Health literacy,
and Information literacy.
Advertising literacies
With respect to media education and media research advertising
literacy is an analytical concept (Malmelin, 2010, p.132). From a
consumer point of view, advertising literacy is the individual’s
ability and skill of observation, recognition and understanding
commercial messages. For the communicator advertising liter-
acy provides directions for planning of advertising.
The elements in advertising may be graphic design, music,
pictures, sounds, structure, words, and the action itself. The
structure is the way the elements are combined to create an effect
of a coherent message. In order to influence others, the senders
must exchange information, accurately transmit their messages
and intentions, and identify and understand the habits of the in-
tended receivers. The more often a message is sent, the more fa-
miliar it becomes and the more likely it is to be remembered.
Aesthetic literacy
In general education aesthetic literacy has been a part of art ed-
ucation and “basic skills” (Holden, 1978). Aesthetic literacy is
more than the arts. It implies a facility with how language is used
to communicate aesthetic experience. Nowadays aesthetic liter-
acy also refers to interpreting and understanding of advertise-
ments as a source of aesthetic pleasure and entertainment
(Malmelin, 2010, p. 134). Aesthetic literacy includes the possibi-
lity of valuing the artistry and understanding the elegance of de-
cisions in design, execution and production.

72
Promotional literacy
According to Malmelin (2010, p. 137) promotional literacy is the
aspect of advertising literacy that helps consumers evaluate and
weigh the commercial forms, functions and objectives of media
in general. Brochures, flyers, and signposts with “promotional
language of tourism” are used in promotional literacy practices.
Rhetorical literacy
In general rhetoric is defined as the art and study of the effective
and persuasive use of language. In addition, rhetorical literacy
is using technology to help convey language effectively (Selber,
2004). A rhetorically literate person uses a computer as hyper-
text media. According to Malmelin (2010, p. 136) rhetorical lit-
eracy is the ability to understand the means of persuasion used
in advertising and marketing communications in general. It is an
awareness of who is being targeted in a certain advertisement.
Communication literacy
We have to learn, understand, and use all nonverbal and verbal
characters and symbols in the culture. Communication literacy is
the ability to communicate in an active manner, to use a reason-
able form and to present information (Šupšáková, 2016).
Agricultural literacy
There was a widespread recognition among experts that the edu-
cational system needs to change in order to provide the
knowledge and skills necessary to ensure the future vitality of ag-
riculture in the US. Understanding Agriculture focuses on agri-
cultural literacy (Committee et al., 1988). The term agricultural
literacy is used to describe education about and in agriculture.
The term also concerns the knowledge and understanding that is
necessary to analyse, communicate, and synthesize basic infor-
mation about agriculture to consumers, producers, and students
of agriculture.

73
Content area literacy
Content area literacy focuses on study skills that can be used to
help students learn from subject matter specific texts that experts
in a discipline use (Shanahan and Shanahan, 2012). According to
Wahid and Marni (2018) content area literacy is the ability to use
listening, reading, speaking, visual skills and writing that aim to
produce information specifically on content in a particular field
of science.
Content area literacy emphasizes techniques that a novice
might use to make basic sense of a disciplinary text. The reading
strategies are the same across subject areas, only the content dif-
fers. These strategies are not sufficient for an in-depth under-
standing of a particular discipline. In contrast, disciplinary liter-
acy is an emphasis on the abilities and knowledge possessed by
those who create, communicate, and use knowledge within a spe-
cific discipline.
Diaspora literacy
Diaspora literacy is the ability to interpret and understand the
multi-layered meanings of language in folk sayings, stories, and
words within any given community of the African diaspora
(Clark, 1991). This term refers to communities with descendants
of people of African origin, now living outside the African conti-
nent. These communities are results of earlier shipments of en-
slaved peoples from Africa to other continents. The multi-layered
meanings of language in folk sayings go beyond literal or typical
literary interpretations. Readers rely solely upon their own expe-
riences, and knowledge of cultural, historical, and social inter-
pretations of African cultures.
Disciplinary literacy
Chemistry, math, physics, science and other disciplines have a
specialized vocabulary that are unique to each discipline. Disci-
plinary literacy refers to communicating, reading, speaking,
thinking, and writing in a discipline or field. The focus is on skills,
thinking, and tools that experts in a discipline use (Shanahan and
74
Shanahan, 2012). Students need to be taught what is unique
about each discipline. According to Moje (2015, p. 264) “oppor-
tunities to read and write multimodal forms are critical for fos-
tering disciplinary literacy skills because they are part and parcel
of actual disciplinary practices.” Disciplinary literacy emphasizes
the specialized reading practices, vocabulary, the types of lan-
guage, the unique tools like charts, diagrams, and photographs
that the experts in a discipline use to engage in the work of that
discipline.
Nonfiction literacy
Non-fiction writing, or nonfiction writing, is a term for prose
writing about events, facts, information, objects, places, real peo-
ple etcetera, rather than about fiction. Types of nonfiction in-
clude articles, biographies, essays, memoirs, nature writing, re-
ports, travel writing, and many more. In nonfiction the creator
assumes full responsibility for the accuracy and truth of the text
and the different illustrations. Many literary creative devices of-
ten used within fiction are generally inappropriate for use in non-
fiction.
In a case study Bryce (2012) discussed how a public school
in New York City used an arts-based approach to nonfiction lit-
eracy and content area learning. An extensive use of visual im-
ages provided children with easier and greater avenues of expres-
sion and learning. There was an explosion of visual texts around
the school. This illustrated the importance of visual art for en-
gagement and learning, and for fostering community awareness.
It broadened the definition of texts that could be read and written
during reading and writing of nonfiction texts.
Scientific literacy
Scientific literacy, or science literacy, is the knowledge and un-
derstanding of scientific concepts and processes that are re-
quired for personal decision-making, personal participation in
civic and cultural affairs, and economic productivity (National
Academy of Sciences, 1996). A scientifically literate person is able
75
to communicate clearly with other people about aspects of sci-
ence, describe, explain, predict natural phenomena, and under-
stand the quality of information about science in news media.
A common notion of scientific literacy relates to the tradition
of Bildung providing knowledge necessary for all citizens (Wick-
man et al., 2012). This includes the ability to think and act criti-
cally.
Software literacy
Earlier studies on information literacy have tended to ignore the
role of the actual software. Software comes with social and cul-
tural assumptions that afford particular actions while constrain-
ing others. The conceptual model of software literacy is emerging
as one way to conceptualise the repertoires of skills and under-
standings needed for people to be critical and creative users of
software packages and systems in a software saturated culture
(Khoo and Hight, 2017). Çam and Kiyici (2017) defined software
literacy as “understanding and resolving of the information
formed by machine commands used for developing tasks and
their usability by enabling the electronic devices communication
and compatibility, and the ability of defining this electronic in-
formation, access and usage.”
Technological literacy
Recent changes in science have transformed production systems.
It is important for us to be able to understand the nature of tech-
nological devices, predict potential technological dangers as well
as opportunities. Shackelford et al. (2004) noted that a techno-
logically literate individual can understand, manage and use
technological concepts and system. The “International Technol-
ogy Education Association” (2007) defined technological literacy
as: “the ability to use, manage, assess, and understand technol-
ogy.”
Technological literacy has a variety of meanings worldwide
from the skilled use of computers, to the ability to assess, know,
manage, understand, and use the technical language for a
76
technological genre. It complements technological competency,
which is the ability to create, operate, or repair specific technol-
ogies (Pearson and Young, 2002; Spalter and van Dam, 2008).
Note that technological literacy should not be confused with
technacy, which is the ability to understand, apply and com-
municate balanced and creative technological solutions that are
based on understanding the contextual factors involved.
Cultural literacies
The ability to fluently participate in and understand a given cul-
ture is cultural literacy. A culturally literate person knows the
signs and symbols in a culture. This includes culturally condi-
tioned allusions, dialectic stories, entertainment, idiomatic ex-
pressions, idioms, idiosyncrasies, jokes, names, and places. A
culturally literate person is able to talk to and understand others
of that culture (Gee, 2007; Hirsch Jr., 1987; Kellner, 1998; and
Kress, 2003). In every culture people need to know the meaning
of basic concepts, phrases, and words to be considered “cultur-
ally literate.” Hirsch Jr. (1987) published a list of five thousand
concepts, phrases, and words that every culturally literate Amer-
ican should know. In a similar way each culture has an ever-
changing set of images that reflect the culture—its history, tradi-
tions, and values.
Cultural visual literacy
Visual culture implies visual artefacts that are part of an ongoing
social discourse that involves their influence in an increasingly
visual social life (Duncum, 2001). Cultural visual literacy is found
where cultural literacy and visual literacy intersect. Images that
are commonly used in a culture are part of the core knowledge of
the culturally literate. These images populate a subset of cultural
literacy called image literacy (Emanuel, Challons-Lipton, and
Baker, 2014).

77
Cultural image literacy
Cultural image literacy is a familiarity with specific images or sets
of images that have played a role in a particular culture’s visual
heritage (Emanuel, Baker, and Challons-Lipton, 2016).
In a first step to develop the “Cultural Image Literacy Assess-
ment-USA©” survey instrument Emanuel and Challons-Lipton
(2013, p. 7) asked 358 college students to identify five photo-
graphs, five symbols, and five paintings that were generally rec-
ognized to be “famous.” Here about 27% of all respondents
claimed to recognize all the photographs, 23% recognized all the
symbols, and 3% recognized all the paintings. About 14% cor-
rectly identified all the photographs, 4% correctly identified all
the symbols and only 1% correctly identified all the paintings.
These early findings suggested that: “today’s college students
may be adrift in a sea of images with little ability to see beyond
their own generation.”
In a second step Emanuel, Challons-Lipton, and Baker
(2014) identified one hundred images that reflect and represent
American culture. This survey instrument included one hundred
images, organized as signs, personalities and events, places and
landmarks, and art and social movements. A total of 413 re-
spondents were asked to identify what they believe each image is
or represents and not where it is. Overall, the respondents cor-
rectly identified an average of 75% of the images.
In a third step Emanuel, Baker, and Challons-Lipton (2016)
replaced a number of images to the present “Cultural Image Lit-
eracy Assessment-USA©” survey instrument. This “tool” in-
cludes “one hundred images every American should know.” In
the new assessment 309 undergraduate students were respond-
ents. Overall, these students correctly identified an average of
68% of the images. Respondents better identifyed general im-
ages, followed by personalities, events and landmarks, and art
and social movements.
As cultures constantly experience changes this survey instru-
ment will evolve. Future assessments will add to our knowledge
78
of the development of cultural image literacy. Future versions
will include other cultures.
Political literacy
The term political literacy refers to abilities that are necessary
for citizens, especially for young people, who want to become po-
litically aware and participate in an active way in the political life
of their societies. Political literacy includes an understanding of
arguments, forms of thoughts, ideas, and political language. Cit-
izens need to be able to evaluate and understand different points
of view, as well as the important issues facing their own societies.
According to Collins (1992): “all literacy is political.” Literacy has
always been closely associated with the services of the state.
Social literacy
In today’s fast changing societies, we must be willing to move
away from all old and rigid definitions of social skills, such as
“conversation skills,” to a broader understanding of social liter-
acy. Social literacy includes the ability to acquire and develop
knowledge and understanding of responsible social behaviour
and positive human values. A socially literate person is able to act
positively and responsibly in different complex social settings
(Gee, 2007; Kellner, 1998; Kress, 2003).
Ecological literacy
Ecological literacy, or ecoliteracy, is the ability to understand the
natural systems that make life on earth possible (Orr, 1992;
Capra, 1997). An ecologically literate person understands the or-
ganization of ecological communities and ecosystems. An ecolog-
ically literate society is sustainable, without destruction of the
natural environment.
Environmental literacy
Environmental literacy is essentially the capacity to perceive and
interpret the relative health of environmental systems and take
appropriate action to maintain, restore, or improve the health of
those systems (Roth, 1992). Levels of literacy are generally
79
assumed to exist but are not often defined. With respect to envi-
ronmental literacy, Roth proposed the identification of three lev-
els:
• Nominal literacy indicating ability to recognize many of the
basic terms used in communicating about the environment
and to provide rough, if unsophisticated, working definitions
of their meanings.
• Functional literacy indicating a broader knowledge and un-
derstanding of the nature and interactions between human
social systems and other natural systems.
• Operational literacy indicating progress beyond functional
literacy in both the breadth and depth of understandings and
skills.
These three levels of literacy; nominal, functional, and opera-
tional, could also be used in other literacies. Note that Selber
(2004) used the term functional literacy for persons using com-
puters as tools.
Health literacy
Health literacy is an individual's ability to obtain, read, under-
stand and use healthcare information to make decisions and fol-
low instructions for treatment. There are, however, multiple def-
initions of health literacy (Pleasant and McKinney 2011). Up to
half of patients in the U.S. cannot understand basic healthcare
information (Nutbeam, 2000; Zarcadoolas, Pleasant and Greer,
2005). Simplified information with good illustrations is needed.
Mental health literacy
Mental health literacy has been defined as knowledge and beliefs
about mental disorders that aid their recognition, management
or prevention. Members of the public need to have some
knowledge to allow them to recognise, prevent, and seek early
help for mental disorders (Jorm et al., 1997). Surveys of mental
disorders show that people often have negative attitudes towards
people with mental disorders. The term mental literacy is a
80
metaphor for the use of the brain as a super bio computer (Buzan
and Buzan, 1994).
Information literacy
Many researchers have offered definitions of information liter-
acy. However, so far there is no generally accepted definition
(Virkus, 2011).
Information literacy is central to all successful learning and
by extension to all successful living. All of us face a future which
is rich in information. Change will be one of the few constants of
our life experience. The ability to adapt and fulfil our individual
potentials will require us to be life-long learners and independ-
ent decision-makers.
Further see the main section Information literacy in my
book ID Theories.
Meta-literacy
Mackey and Jacobson (2011) used the term meta-literacy to en-
compass the range of formats that they felt should be included
within the overarching concept of information literacy.
Critical information literacy
According to Elmborg (2006) Critical information literacy en-
courages students to ascertain the social and cultural frame-
works in which the information was created and understand the
implications of that context.
According to Tewell (2018) critical information literacy is a
way of teaching and thinking that examines the social construc-
tion and political dimensions of information and libraries. It ex-
amines the social construction and political dimensions of librar-
ies and information, problematizing information’s production
and use so that library users may think critically about such
forces. Critical information literacy is a way of thinking about in-
formation literacy as a whole.

81
Media literacy
Media literacy has been defined as the “ability to access, analyse,
evaluate, and communicate messages in a wide variety of forms”
(Aufderheide, 1993). Educators and scholars use the term to re-
fer to the process of critically analysing and learning to create
one's own messages in audio, multimedia, print and video.
A media literate person can comprehend, read, recognize,
and question ideas and information, whether conveyed through
printed media or other media formats. The main theory of media
literacy is that media represent actual events. Journalists select
which stories to tell, what to tell, and how to tell them. There are
always one or more persons with their subjective views behind
all representations.
Media literacy resides within numerous disciplines such as
anthropology, art criticism, communication, engineering, film
studies, humanities, journalism, linguistics, literacy criticism, lit-
eracy education, psychology, rhetoric, science, semantics, and
sociology (Fox, 2005). There is a generalized understanding
about what media literacy outcomes are, but they are often not
defined and measured (Scharrer, 2002). Evaluating and explain-
ing the effectiveness of media literacy education is one of the
most overwhelming challenges for current research (Martens,
2010). For Ferrari (2012) media literacy is related to the critical
analysis of the information produced and disseminated by the
media. Further see my book ID Theories.
Today digital media is marked by fake news and uncritical
consumption. As a response Lacković (2020) introduced a
method to support critical media literacy. Her method adopts a
unique semiotic approach. It discusses in depth the meaning
making of digital photographs, material objects, and pictures.
Lacković (2020) focuses on three aspects of a pictorial sign: 1)
The materiality of its representation and representational ele-
ments. 2) Its object (what the sign refers to). 3) The descriptive
interpretations.

82
 These three aspects inform the signification analysis within
the proposed production-signification-consumption (PSC)
method. Analysing and understanding images via the PSC
method draw attention to how we humans create, interpret,
(re)use, consume and respond to online and offline communica-
tion signs. Using this method contributes to the development of
critical media literacy as an engagement with post-digital semi-
otics, which is much needed today.
In one experiment Kaperonis (2021) studied media literacy
in video production at Panteion University in Athens, Greece. In
a first research phase 178 undergraduate students acquired video
editing skills, and increased their media literacy skills. In order
to determine the audience’s interaction with the narrative con-
tent an e-workshop was adapted to the needs of a distance learn-
ing course. Specific factors will be studied in a second research
phase.
Media and Information Literacy
Traditionally Information Literacy and Media Literacy are seen
as separate fields. However, UNESCO has combined Information
Literacy and Media Literacy to Media and Information Literacy
(MIL). Irrespective of technologies MIL recognizes the role of in-
formation and media in our everyday lives. On February 16, 2017,
UNESCO launched “Five Laws of Media and Information Liter-
acy.” Empowerment of people through Media and Information
Literacy (MIL) is an important prerequisite for fostering equi-ta-
ble access to information and knowledge and promoting free, in-
dependent and pluralistic media and information systems.
Television literacy
In accordance with Gray (1989), the Department of Education in
the USA has defined CTVVS, Critical Television Viewing Skills,
as “those factors which enable persons to distinguish among a
wide range of programme elements so they can make judicious
use of their viewing time.” Gray concluded that programmes for
critical television viewing skills could successfully be integrated
83
into the elementary and the secondary school curricula. It would
be possible for the teachers to educate critical consumers of tele-
vision, as well as critical consumers of literature. Critical televi-
sion viewing skills could also be called “television literacy.”
Findahl and Höijer (1979, 1980, 1984) showed that radio lis-
teners and television viewers sometimes had great difficulties in
comprehending broadcasted news. At that time, the news con-
tent was badly organised, and the language was too complicated.
Buckingham (1993b) investigated the complex ways in
which children actively make meaning and take pleasure from
television. The notion of television literacy was far from straight-
forward. Television literacy begs many theoretical questions and
can be defined in many ways. Buckingham saw television literacy
mainly as a powerful metaphor.
In his book Teleliteracy taking television seriously Biancculi
(2000) argued for respect and serious attention to television as a
medium. Television is an ideal forum for art, education, and in-
formation. Despite many faults, television has delivered good
storytelling, and positive role models. According to Biancculi
teleliteracy should not be ignored but utilized.

84
 Comprehensibility
Some documents are meant for distribution within rather limited
groups, while others will be spread to many different readers
both inside and outside the organisation. However, because dif-
ferent readers may interpret any intended messages in different
ways, problems often arise. In some cases, readers do not under-
stand the documentation at all.
Comprehensibility deals with structural qualities of docu-
ments and how information is presented to the audience. Three
principles are much related to text design. Guidelines that are
based on the functional principles Providing structure, Provid-
ing simplicity, and Information costs, will assist the information
designer to work with words and texts in information materials.
The principles Providing emphasis and Providing unity both
deal with legibility, how easy it is to read a message with respect
to the technical design of text and pictures. These are properties
such as letter size, inter-line distance, line length, the distance
between letters, the number of letters per line, the distance be-
tween words, headings, sections, the subdivision into para-
graphs, headings in the margin, the layout, colour of the printing
ink and paper, the paper quality, and more. Different external
properties have not been found to have a drastic effect on legibil-
ity as long as the text is presented within the framework of the
variation that we normally find in contemporary books and
newspapers.
A message has good legibility if it is easy to read, from the
viewpoint that the reader should easily be able to see and distin-
guish all different parts of a text. Legibility can be measured ra-
ther objectively, and its quality is assessable whether we under-
stand the content of the message or not. Legibility is discussed in
the book Graphic Design.
This chapter includes the following main sections: Providing
structure, Providing simplicity, Information costs, Esoteric jar-
gon, and Terminology.
85
Providing structure
A clear and obvious structure of information sets will facilitate
perception, interpretation, and understanding of the information
content. This will often result in learning and memory of the ma-
terial. It may be a good idea to arrange the content from the most
important to the least important (Lipton, 2007).
A well-structured printed information material is divided
into chapters and main sections, and maybe also in sections and
sub-sections. All these parts must work well together as a whole.
A well laid-out table of contents gives the reader a quick and
thorough idea of the whole document. A well worked-through in-
dex, and clear and distinct page numbering make it easier for the
reader to find the information. In a document stored in a com-
puter it is possible to use automatic search functions. In some
documents, it is possible to use hypertext links for quick jumps
between different parts of the material, and even between differ-
ent documents.
The structure of the text is very important for readability,
and a structured text is much easier to read and comprehend
than a text without any distinct structure. The structure should
be as clear as possible. The structure of a text can be divided into
internal and external textual structure (Hartley, 1987; Jonassen,
1982; Jonassen and Kirschener, 1982).
This main section is divided in the following sections: Inter-
nal textual structure, and External textual structure.

Internal textual structure

Internal textual structure is built into the text itself. It refers to
the techniques used to organize, and sequence text, in order to
provide an internal framework for helping readers understand
the prose content. These techniques include signalling the text
structure by using introductions, organization, pointer words,
summaries, topic sentences, transitions, and verbal cueing.
How the content is grouped may influence the readers’ first
impressions of the message (Lindgaard et al., 2006). It may also
86
trigger emotions about the message and setting in motion posi-
tive or negative attitudes about particular aspects of the message
(Schriver, 1997). There must always be at least two units on each
heading level (Misanchuk, 1992; Pettersson, 1993). Readers have
difficulty understanding the organisation and structure of text
when there are three levels, or even fewer levels (Lang, 1987;
Miles, 1987). Usually four levels are too much (Misanchuk,
1992). However, in scientific and technical documentation more
levels may often be required.
Waller (1987) pointed out that the writer’s text is different
from the reader’s text. In traditional systems for book publish-
ing, the writer deals with a document that becomes progressively
more formal as production processes develop. Rough notes be-
come typescript, typescript become galleys, galleys become
pages, pages become chapters, and finally chapters become a
complete book. Traditional printing methods require the writer
to make most significant decisions in relation to a manuscript
and type specification. The reader, on the other hand, sees only a
finished product, which is expected to betray little of the com-
plexity and the difficulties hidden in the writing process.
Communication is more effective and efficient if it follows a
plan instead of being a miscellaneous list of sentences or para-
graphs put together at random. People remember more and read
information more quickly when it is logically organized with a
plan than they do when the same information is presented in a
disorganized, random fashion.
Text structure is important, even at the sentence level. Tra-
ditionally, most texts are presented in a linear or rather in an in-
terrupted linear fashion. Thus, the writer exercises strong control
over the reader’s use of a document. The readers have few alter-
natives. They will basically have to accept the way the content is
presented. Non-linear presentations represent much weaker
control of the reading process from the writer. Examples of non-
linear presentations are linear branching, lists, matrixes, tables,
and of course all kinds of visuals.
87
External textual structure
External textual structuring refers to the techniques used to
structure text with linguistic, spatial, and typographic cues. The
techniques include the use of blocked text, bold text, horizontal
lines to divide blocks, and italicized text. To avoid too large
masses of text in huge blocks, it is a good idea to divide the text
into main sections, sections, subsections, and paragraphs.
Usually printed texts vary a great deal from their original
manuscripts with respect to properties such as: colour of the
printing ink, distance between letters, distance between words,
graphic style, headings, inter-line distance, layout, letter size, let-
ter-forms, line endings, line length, margin headings, number of
letters per line, page breaks, page size, and paper quality. Often
the printed text has illustrations. There may be different kinds of
drawings as well as photographs in the final product.
As desktop publishing systems have become more common,
this situation has changed. In personal publishing the writer is
responsible not only for the content of the text and pictures but
also for the editing and the graphic design. In this case the
writer’s text and the reader’s text will be the same. The writer
may very well know her or his own subject matter, but in order
to avoid a total mess he or she will also have to learn at least some
of the basic skills of the editor, and also of the graphic designer.
Graphic design for information can and should be used to
facilitate the reader’s ability to find the desired information
quickly, easily, effectively, and reliably. Thus, it is possible to use
the various “perception laws” to create functional guidelines for
graphic design. Verbal languages have “digital coding” using
combinations of letters, marks, and numerals to represent con-
tent. There is no direct correspondence between groups of let-
ters, words, and reality. Each meaning is defined and must be
learned (Elkind, 1975). In English, we use 26 letters in two ver-
sions. In a plain, running text most letters are set in lower case,
but all letters also appear in upper case. We use punctuation
marks and numerals.
88
 Lower case: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
Upper case: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQSTUVWXYZ
Some punctuation marks: ,.:;!?”()/&%+-=*
Numerals: 1234567890

The rather small number of individual characters can be

combined in almost infinite numbers of meaningful permuta-
tions. Many words can be formed and arrayed in sentences and
texts with completely different meanings. There is a wide carry-
over of letter shapes and typefaces from one language to another.
Thus, the same letters can be used to form meaningful words in
many different languages. Elkind (op. cit.) pointed out that the
properties of letters are limited. A letter has a given position in
an alphabet, it has a name, and it is used in a context.
To achieve optimum legibility, it is known that the technical
quality of type should be high. Letters can be hand-written or
they can be created on machines such as typewriters, dot-matrix
impact printers, laser printers, or typesetters. Machine-created
characters, type, are well formed, and consistent in their size and
style. Traditionally, type was the old wooden or metal casts of let-
terforms. The individual pieces of type were put together and
locked up into forms. Then type was coated with ink. Sheets of
paper were placed on the type, pressed with a roller, and then
removed. Each sheet of paper then contained an impression, an
image, made from the real type. The use of physical letterforms
was replaced by a system that used photographs of the letters’
images. Today photo-typesetting machines work with digital im-
ages of characters. They work with a good resolution and create
high-quality typography.
Laser printers use digital image or type that is stored in the
memory of the machine. An image of a completed page is built
up on a photosensitive drum, using a laser beam, and transferred
to a piece of paper passing through the machine. Laser printers
work with much better resolution than dot-matrix printers but
89
with much lower resolution than photo- typesetters. They are,
however, easy to handle for the layman and relatively cheap. The
purpose of page assembly software is to allow the desktop or per-
sonal publisher to assemble a publication in much the same man-
ner as in traditional production. This kind of software allows us
to move elements such as images, lines, and text segments on a
page and paste them almost anywhere.
Colour can be used to clarify the structure of a text. Head-
ings, as well as certain parts of the text, may be printed with col-
ours or printed on top of backgrounds in different colours. In in-
formation design it is, however, very important that the use of
colour is consistent within documents.

Providing simplicity
The subject matter in scientific and technical texts is often com-
plex and it may be difficult to grasp. But what makes a text diffi-
cult to read is not as often the subject matter itself, or the combi-
nation of grammar, spelling, and syntax, as the style of writing
(Lipton, 2007, p. 10). The choice of expressions, picture ele-
ments, symbols, and words create the style.
A writing style that includes abstract words, acronyms, com-
plex sentences, jargon, long sentences, passive constructions,
and stilted language may obstruct the reading of a text. Complex
and long sentences require more cognitive capacity to process
mentally than short and simple sentences. It takes effort and
time to read a difficult text. We have to decode words and main-
tain new concepts in working memory (Petros et al., 1990). One
view is that readability refers to the “visual comfort” of the text
(Mackiewicz, 2004, p. 118).
This main section is divided in the following sections: Read-
ability of text, Readability of numerical values, Readability of
layout, and Simplification.

90
Readability of text
Reading is still one of the most important modes of formal edu-
cation and the ability to read is therefore really essential. “Read-
able writing is written clearly enough for someone else to be able
to read it with ease and understanding” (Klare, 1985, p. 19). Ac-
cording to Klare (1963, p. 1) readability in the general sense re-
fers to the “ease of understanding due to style of writing” as op-
posed to legibility, which refers to a text’s external properties.
Also, other factors influence understanding, such as the use of
complex concepts, layout of the document, length of the docu-
ment, terminology, typography, and visual support.
Readability in the written word is comparable to distinctness
in the spoken word. Legibility in the written word is comparable
to audibility in the spoken word. It seems that both audibility
and distinctness are very important concepts since about 90 per-
cent of all languages are only oral, and they have no written form
(Klare, 1985, p. 19–20). However, audibility and distinctness are
not further discussed here.
Research into readability has been directed towards finding
the characteristics that make texts easy or difficult to understand.
However, Gunnarsson (1982) pointed out that the psychological
equivalent to readability is merely superficial understanding.
Therefore, she prefers to use comprehensibility as the term for
characteristics that are related to deeper, specific text under-
standing. Gunnarsson’s theory of comprehensibility is based
partly on the correlation between the level of understanding and
the level of the text, and partly on the premise that what is read
influences the reading process.
Originally the concept readability stems from education re-
search concerned with the selection of reading material for chil-
dren of different age groups (Severin and Tankard, 1988, p. 70).
One view is that readability refers to the “visual comfort” of the
text (Mackiewicz, 2004, p. 118). What makes a message difficult
to read is not as often the subject matter as the style. An infor-
mation design view is that readability refers to the ease of
91
understanding due to the construction of the text, including the
length of words, sentences, paragraphs and the “style of writing”
(Lipton, 2007, p. 10; Pettersson, 1989, p. 166, 268).
The concept of reading value refers to the receiver's subjec-
tive evaluation of the content. The message should be well worth
reading for the intended audience. However, what is interesting
to one person may be dull to another, and the same message may
be interesting at one instance but uninteresting at another occa-
sion. Each group of readers selects information material on the
basis of personal preferences. Reading value in the written word
is comparable to listening value in the spoken word. Readability,
legibility and reading value will all have an influence on the com-
prehensibility of a text.
Readability formulas and indices
Readability is dependent of the reader’s skill, the complexity of
text itself, and how interesting the content may be for the reader.
To describe the properties of text, linguists work with advanced
text analysis.
According to Klare (1985, p.25) well over 200 readability for-
mulas have been designed to predict the readability level of a
piece of writing. Sentence length and word length are core
measures in many of the tests.
Some examples of early readability formulas are Flesch
Reading Ease, Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level, Dale–Chall readabil-
ity formula, and Gunning Fog Index. The Flesch Reading Ease
formula from 1943 predicts the difficulty of reading material us-
ing a scale with one hundred values (Flesh, 1948). In this test, an
index value of 100 is equivalent to the normal knowledge of read-
ing in the 4th grade in school. The number zero is an equivalent
to the knowledge of reading at grade 12. The Flesch Reading Ease
formula was widely used in USA. For example, it had a huge im-
pact on journalism.
The Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level formula from 1948 is a fur-
ther development of the Flesch Reading Ease formula (Kincaid

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et al, 1975). This test provides ratings of texts related to what
American students are able to understand at different ages and
grade levels in schools. This is one of the most popular and reli-
able readability formulas with high accuracy compared with ac-
tual reading tests.
The Dale–Chall readability formula is based on a list of
3 000 words that fourth-grade American students usually are
able to understand. Words that are not present on the list are
considered to be too difficult for these children. In 1948 the first
list included 763 easy words that 80% of fourth-grade students
were familiar with (Dale and Chall, 1948; Chall, and Dale, 1995).
The Gunning Fog Index from 1952 estimates the number of
years of formal education that American students need to under-
stand a text (Gunning, 1952). This index is used to confirm that
it is easy for an intended audience to read a selected text. The
Coleman–Liau index approximates the US grade level thought
necessary to comprehend a selected text. This index relies on the
mean number of characters per word, rather than the mean num-
ber of syllables per word.
The Automated Readability Index, ARI, approximates the
US grade level thought necessary to comprehend a text. This in-
dex relies on the mean number of characters per word.
The SMOG formula produces an approximate grade level
that is needed for students to comprehend a text in the USA
(McLaughlin, 1969). SMOG is an acronym derived from “Simple
Measure of Gobbledygook.” Here word length and sentence
length are multiplied rather than added, as in some other formu-
las. The SMOG formula is widely used, especially for checking
health messages.
The FORCAST formula, from 1973, was developed to meas-
ure reading skills required for military jobs. Since this formula
only uses a vocabulary element, it is useful for texts without com-
plete sentences. The Fry readability formula produces an ap-
proximate grade level that is needed to comprehend a text in the
USA (Fry, 1968, 2006). The Lexile framework for reading is an
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educational tool that is used for assessing readability and match-
ing students with appropriate texts (Smith, et al., 1989). A meas-
ure called a Lexile (L) will match readers with reading resources.
The formula uses quantitative methods, based on average sen-
tence length, and average word frequency in the AHI Corpus to
predict a score on a 0–2000 scale. The AHI Corpus, the Ameri-
can Heritage Intermediate Corpus, includes five million words
from works often read by students in grades three to nine. Lower
scores reflect easier readability for books and lower reading abil-
ity for readers. About half of students in grades 3–12 in the US
receive a Lexile measure annually.
The work on the ATOSTM Reading ease Formula for Books
started in the year 2000. The project included 474 million words
from 28,000 books read by students. For the study researchers
used the reading records of more than 30,000 students (Milone,
2014). The results showed that three variables give the most re-
liable measure of text reading ease: 1) Average number of words
per sentence, 2) Average grade level of words, and 3) Average
number of characters per word. The most important factors in
learning to read are feedback and interaction with the teacher
(Paul, 2003).
The Automated Readability Index, the Flesch–Kincaid
Grade Level, the Gunning Fog Index, and the SMOG index, all
rely on approximations of skills needed for comprehension of
texts at different grade levels. Both the Automated Readability
Index and the Coleman–Liau Index are based on the mean num-
ber of characters per word, rather than the mean number of syl-
lables per word. It is far easier and faster for a computer to count
characters rather than syllables. Unlike syllable-based readabil-
ity indices, these indices do not require any linguistic analysis of
the actual content of the words in the text. Some services offer
calculation of readability index for text samples on the Internet.
We have to remember that readability formulas are for rat-
ing, not for writing. Editing and rewriting must always be done
with the intended audience in mind. The temptation to write to
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fit a formula is often great and must be consciously avoided (Re-
dish, 1980; Klare, 1985).
A Scandinavian index
In Sweden, the most common readability index is called Läsbar-
hetsindex (LIX), in translation Readability Index (RI) intro-
duced by Björnsson (1968). The readability index is based on the
findings that long sentences and long words make a text difficult
to read. It is easy to calculate the readability index in this way:
1. Count the number of words in the text.
2. Count the number of words with more than six letters.
3. Count the number of sentences.
4. Divide the number of long words by the total number of
words and multiply the product by 100. This yields the aver-
age word length (WL).
5. Divide the number of words by the number of sentences. This
yields the average sentence length (SL).
6. The sum of the average word length (WL) and the average
sentence length (SL) is LIX, the index of readability.
A simple text suitable for children’s books has a readability index
of 20–30. A readability index of 30–35 is common in literature.
A moderately difficult text, often found in weekly magazines has
a readability index of 35–45. Texts in popular science subjects
often have index values of 45–50. Readability index of 50–55 in-
dicate difficult texts in trade literature.
The number of words in a sentence appears to exert the
strongest effect on reading comprehension and reading rate
(Catalano, 1990; Newell, 1990). Readability refers to the reader’s
interest, reading skill, and how easy it is to read long passages of
text (Williams, 1994; Williams and Tollet, 1998, p. 214). An easily
comprehensible text is characterized by short sentences with
simple structures, short and familiar words, and how well the
language and the style are adapted to the intended readers.

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 It is however not enough with readability formulas. In infor-
mation design a text should also be well worth reading and have
a genuine reading value for the intended audience.
Readability of print media
Texts in all information materials must have good readability.
Language as well as the style should be correct to avoid distract-
ing the intended readers. The information designer will have to:
• Check the language, terminology, and writing style before the
script can be confirmed as an original.
• Use an active voice and avoid too many details.
• Use a style guide and make the message comprehensible for
the intended receivers.
Active, affirmative, clear, declarative, essential and short words
in simple, short and precise sentences are the most readable
(Klare, 1985; Lipton, 2007). Intended readers may avoid materi-
als that they find difficult and pompous. Readers prefer small
text paragraphs to big ones. Often it is quite easy to divide the
text in hierarchic and natural parts, portions, or sections. Natural
breaks emphasized by typography are helpful. Providing “white
space” between portions of the text provides important cues to
the learners that a new section or a new type of activity follows.
The end of a sentence should be determined by syntax rather
than by a set width of a line (Bork, 1982; Hartley, 1980).
There are a large number of good style guides and publica-
tion manuals available. Usually such documents outline stand-
ards for design and writing for a specific publication or organiza-
tion. For example, all journalists working at The Economist are
given a stylebook (The Economist, 2003). A condensed version is
available on the Internet. Many editors may use other well-
known style guides like Chicago Manual of Style (2010),
Fowler's Modern English Usage (2004), The Elements of Style
(Strunk and White, 2009). The Chicago Manual of Style Online
is an online style guide.

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 Technical writers have several sources for good advice
(Kirkman, 2003, 2005). Like language itself, many style guides
change with time. They are updated on a regular basis. Research-
ers in human centred areas of research may consult the Publica-
tion Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA,
American Psychological Association, 2010) for valuable advice
when they want to publish their results in academic journals and
conference proceedings.
Those who want to contribute to the free online encyclopae-
dia Wikipedia can find advice in the Manual of Style, a style
guide that aims to make the encyclopaedia easy to read, write,
and to understand. There is probably a suitable style guide avail-
able for everyone. However, it should be noted that there are
some style guides that focus on clarity and legibility with guide-
lines on layout and typography rather than on readability. Fur-
thermore, web site style guides focus on a publication's visual
and technical aspects, best usage, grammar, prose style, punctu-
ation, and spelling.
When we design information and learning materials, it is
very important that the materials are reviewed and approved by
people with expert knowledge in the appropriate fields. The ef-
fort put into training and learning may actually give a negative
result, and the learner may end up less competent than before
the learning experience. This may happen when he or she uses
information and learning materials that has poor readability of
text and pictures, and therefore is hard to understand.
The structure of text should be as clear as possible. As previ-
ously mentioned structure can be divided into internal and ex-
ternal textual structure. Internal structure is built into the text
itself. External textual structure relates to the embedded strate-
gies, which focus a learner’s attention on particular parts of the
text. In many scientific and technical reports, it is a good idea to
put series items in bulleted lists rather than in paragraphs.

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Readability of medical information
According to Grootens-Wiegers et al. (2015) children are often-
overlooked receivers of medical information. So far little re-
search has addressed their needs for information. However, even
young children are capable of understanding medical concepts,
and they express their desire to be informed.
In one study in the Netherlands Grootens-Wiegers et al.
(2015) examined readability and use of text and visuals in medi-
cal research information forms for children, and adolescents. In
the Netherlands, children from the age of 12 are legally allowed
to co-decide on research participation together with their par-
ents. Thus, the analysed documents in this study have legal sta-
tus. It is essential that all information in these forms is adapted
to the level of children and adolescents. This is also stated in var-
ious regulations and rules of the United Nations, WHO, and oth-
ers.
In this study the authors assessed readability of the text and
the role of visuals for understanding of health information. The
authors collected medical research information forms from two
Dutch academic hospitals. Readability analysis on 22 paediatric
forms from two out of the six large medical centres in the Neth-
erlands demonstrated a very low readability for the majority of
the forms. Some of the analysed forms were very long, and only
three forms did contain visuals.
In addition to readability analysis of the texts, the authors
investigated the potential of visuals in medical tests. There were
seven qualitative focus groups of 10 to 12 children in the study. A
total of 77 children (age 11-12 years) from three different elemen-
tary schools in the Dutch eighth grade, in the area of Haarlem,
participated in the focus groups.
For comparison with the medical research information
forms the authors used children’s reading books, nonfiction
books, and textbooks. Topics of the discussions in the focus
groups were number of images, attractiveness of images, attrac-
tiveness of text, characteristics, difficult words, ideal form of
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information, ideal nonfiction book, layout, type of images, and
understandability of the information.
Children made it clear that visuals should be informative, ra-
ther than only decorative. Almost all children in this study ex-
pressed a need for guidance by captions next to illustrations. In
addition, there was a need for clear and concise explanations of
terms and difficult words, within the text itself, or in a small box
on the same page.
The authors concluded that the use of visuals is a powerful,
but neglected, tool to improve medical information for children.
Readability of text on wall charts and posters
A poster and a wall chart must have good readability for the in-
tended audience. In order to achieve that he information de-
signer should:
• Check the language, terminology, and writing style.
• Edit the text into sections that are easily read.
• Try hard to make the text shorter.
• Use headings and other text elements in a consistent way.
General design rules should be employed also in the design
of texts on posters and wall charts. These guidelines are similar
to those for readability of text on screens and projected texts. In
schools, traditional wall charts used to be a fine complement to
textbooks. During the 20th century filmstrips, overhead trans-
parencies and slides superseded the use of professionally pro-
duced and marketed wall charts. Later computer assisted presen-
tations superseded these different AV-media. Compared with
traditional graphic presentations, a presentation of information
on wall charts is very limited.
The modern poster was developed in France towards the end
of the 19th century. At that time, the industrial revolution had
created a consumption society with an increasing demand for an
offering of both products and services. Artists like Jules Chéret
and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec produced posters for outdoor

99
advertisements, printed in bright colours. These posters con-
tained concentrated messages with good legibility and good
readability in both texts and pictures.
In some business presentations, and in presentations at con-
ferences it is quite common to use special posters. Wærn and Pet-
tersson (2006) distinguished between “advertising posters” and
“educational posters.” Educational posters are often available in
conference rooms, laboratories, and libraries in schools and uni-
versities. Usually people are not willing to read long text passages
standing in front of a poster or a wall chart.
Readability of text on screens
For graphic presentations on visual displays such as computer
terminals and television sets we should:
• Check the language, terminology, and writing style.
• Display data so that texts are easy to read on the screen.
• Use a “normal” combination of uppercase letters, and lower-
case letters.
• Use headings and other text elements in a consistent way.
Employ general design rules also in the design of texts for display
on screens. These guidelines are similar to those for readability
of text on wall charts and posters, and those for readability of
projected texts. Design solutions may vary with respect to head-
ings, justification, length of lines, number of columns, and spac-
ing. Colours as well as blank spaces are essentially free assets on
a visual display, and they might be used to increase both legibility
and readability.
It is well known that all capital letters, caps, are harder to
read than a “normal” combination of upper case letters, and
lower case letters (Henney, 1981; Kinney and Showman, 1967;
Poulton and Brown, 1968; Tinker, 1965). Words that are set in all
capital letters become difficult to read which might seriously re-
duce the accuracy and the speed of reading.

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 When people are viewing a new page online, they don’t
read—they scan and jump around, clicking and scrolling
(McGovern et al., 2002). The use of headings and subheadings
might be even more important in an online version of an infor-
mational or instructional document than it is in a printed version
with the same content (McCall, 2012).
Readability of projected texts
In verbal presentations, many of the overhead transparencies,
slides, filmstrips, and projected computer presentations consist
mainly, or sometimes only of text. This is usually not a good idea.
In preparing the material we should:
• Be very careful in the use of special acronyms.
• Check the language, terminology, and writing style.
• Consider the use of lists.
• Restrict stylized and fancy typefaces to opening frames.
Employ general design rules also in the design of projected texts.
These guidelines are similar to those for readability of text on
wall charts and posters, and those for readability of text on
screens. We should not display frames longer than it takes to ex-
plain the contents to the audience. Always restrict the number of
words and avoid texts in capital characters. Text transparencies
are often mainly useful for the speaker, but boring for the audi-
ence. It is also boring with too many spelling mistakes, which is
far too common. Check the spelling once more. It is a good idea
to put the necessary identifications data on each computer file,
on each slide and on each transparency.

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I have seen hundreds of really boring images of this kind in OH-
and PP-presentations by “experts” in different disciplines. In
this case the heading says: “Some Examples of Good Presenta-
tions at the Conference.” From an information design point of
view this image is a real disaster. In fact, it is a very good ex-
ample of “what not to do”. Always avoid this type of word-im-
ages with far too much information, many spelling mistakes,
and very bad layout and typography.
An example of very poor readability
The writer needs to consider the reader’s interests, knowledge,
and needs in order to compile, sort, and structure the material.
This is also true for pictures. The following text sample is an ex-
ample of a text with very poor readability:
It actually has been seen to be well established, in several
separate contexts and situations, in several different experi-
ments and tests, that it is of a not obscure, but maybe rather
a question of a completely decisive significance how we con-
verse with different people, whom we happen to meet in our
environment, and how we formulate our way of writing to,

102
 or for, these different personages, in all varieties of contexts
and scenarios that we feel may be quite important to us at
the specific moment of time. That information always should
be correct is obviously something that we, generally speak-
ing, can contemplate as to be a truism for all of us, just as we
can easily and every day actually experience and observe that
each discrete piece of information should be clear and une-
quivocal so that the reader or listener or watcher does not,
either wholly or maybe only to some part, will misunder-
stand what we actually and most definitely mean when we
will convey a specific message to other fellow human beings.
But considering that most seriously the said information
should also be understandable and comprehensible, and
therefore easy to understand for everyone in the designated
target audience or receiver audience, is unfortunately not yet
for all, or even a majority, of our different colleagues, or
other persons on whom we can be dependent, in one way or
another, really understood to its fullest extent and undisput-
able value.
Unfortunately, this kind of blown up and pompous text is far too
common in scientific and technical documentation. In the fol-
lowing example the above text sample has been edited from 240
words down to 40 words. In this case more than 80% of the text
was not needed. This new version has good readability and it still
retains the main message:
It is very important how we speak and how we write to each
other. It is obvious that information must be correct, just as
it must be clear and unambiguous. But not everyone under-
stands that the message should be understandable.
People may simply avoid materials that they find too difficult and
too pompous. In most cases improved readability results in bet-
ter comprehension, greater reading efficiency, and increased

103
reader acceptability. Also, in oral presentations it is important
that the listeners understand the words.
Readability of a flight operations manual
On 29 October 2018 a new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft plunged
into the Java Sea in full speed, only 12 minutes after its take-off.
Everyone on board, 181 passengers and 8 crew, died in the crash.
Lion Air Flight 610 was a scheduled domestic flight from Jakarta
to Pangkal Pinang in Indonesia. This was the first major accident
involving the new aircraft. The aircraft was introduced in 2017.
As of February 2019, the number built was 376.
Flight control problems
The Indonesian government deployed a search and rescue oper-
ation. Early in the morning on 30 October 2018 the rescue team
recovered small pieces of human remains from a 280 km wide
area. The flight data recorder, and later also the voice recorder,
was found and examined. These investigations revealed serious
flight control problems and other instrument failures on this
flight, and also on previous flights. The crew did not have a clear
knowledge of the trim runaway checklist which all 737 crews are
required to know (Wikipedia, 2019).
The flight crew operations manual
Several pilots had anonymously expressed their concerns about
the quality of the flight crew operations manual. On 7 November
2018 the Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, in the US is-
sued a “safety alert” to flight crews about potential erroneous
readings from a sensor in the aircraft (FAA, 2018). This is a sec-
tion from the text:
This AD requires revising certificate limitations and operat-
ing procedures of the airplane flight manual (AFM) to pro-
vide the flight crew with runaway horizontal stabilizer trim
procedures to follow under certain conditions.

104
On 12 November 2018, the Aviation Week Network reviewed the
737 MAX flight crew operations manual and found that it did not
mention the MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation
System) (Broderick et al., 2018). Pilots were actually unaware
of 737 Max's automatic stall-prevention system.
The following day Flightglobal reported that American Air-
lines' Allied Pilots Association and Southwest Airlines Pilots' As-
sociation were caught unaware (Hemmerdinger, 2018). The air-
line industry rushes to understand nuances in 737 Max systems.
On 15 November 2018 The Wall Street Journal reported that
Boeing had “decided against disclosing more details to cockpit
crews due to concerns about inundating average pilots with too
much information” (Pasztor and Tangel, 2018; Russell, 2019).

This is the Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft that crashed as
Flight 610. In March 2019 the model was grounded by several
airlines worldwide. Picture: Wikimedia Commons.
A second crash
A second 737 MAX 8 aircraft crashed on 10 March 2019. Ethio-
pian Airlines Flight ET 302 was a scheduled international flight
from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport to Nairobi, Kenya.
The aircraft lifted 137 meters in the air, and only six minutes after
take-off the plane crashed. This time the aircraft crashed on land.

105
Everyone on board, 149 passengers and 8 crew members, died in
the crash. The accident site, 62 kilometres away, shows a large
crater with small pieces of wreckage. Following this accident, the
Boeing 737 MAX 8 model was grounded by several airlines and
government regulators worldwide.
On 12 March 2019 the US president Donald J. Trump
tweeted: “Airplanes are becoming far too complex to fly. Pilots
are no longer needed, but rather computer scientists from MIT.
I see it all the time in many products. Always seeking to go one
unnecessary step further, when often old and simpler is far bet-
ter. Split second decisions are....”
On 13 March 2019 one Boeing 737 MAX-8 pilot was quoted
on CNN: “The Flight Manual for the Boeing 737 MAX 8 is inade-
quate and almost criminally insufficient.” Already after a few
days data retrieved from the “black boxes” showed similarities to
that from the Lion Air flight.
More problems
According to several news media a Boeing 737 Max 8 ended up
in an emergency during a passenger-free flight in the US on 26
March. The Southwest airline intended to move the aircraft from
Florida to California. After emergency calls the aircraft returned,
and landed safely at Orlando airport.
A bug in the software
On 29 November 2019 Wall Street Journal reported that inves-
tigators believed that there was a bug in the software that was
behind the deadly crash of a Boeing 737 Max 8 in Ethiopia
(Pasztor and Tangel, 2019).
On 4 April 2019 a number of news media reported that the
certified pilots followed all of the aircraft manufacturer's proce-
dures, but could not control the Boeing 737 Max 8 before it
crashed.

106
Erroneous assumptions
According to the Boeing company pilots should have been able to
easily handle a malfunction on its jet. However, in September
2019 The National Transportation Safety Board faulted Boeing
for making erroneous assumptions during the development of
the 737 Max plane (Kitroeff, 2019). Boeing had not fully informed
pilots about the function of MCAS before the first accident.
Boeing had underestimated the chaos that a malfunction of
new automated software could have inside the cockpit. Boeing
had only tested an MCAS failure in isolation, failing to account
for how chaotic the cockpit would become when the activation
caused other malfunctions in the airplanes.
On the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines flights, a faulty sen-
sor triggered MCAS, which produced a cascading number of
warnings that may have overwhelmed the pilots. The agency
pushed for broader changes in the way airplanes are certified.
The plane is grounded while Boeing works on the software up-
date and other changes intended to make it safer.
Massive documentation
The documentation for a Boeing plane is massive and entails
large numbers of technical writers. Apparently, in 2005 Boeing
Co made some drastic changes in quality control that were sup-
posed to save the company millions of dollars. Boeing Co have
outsourced various elements. These changes may have affected
the safety of the airplanes. Maybe, it was the saving of money that
cost 346 people their lives, and Boeing Co billions of dollars.
There were initial hopes among airlines that the Boeing 737
Max would be back in the air during the summer 2019, but that
timetable was pushed back to late the same year even before the
latest news. However, on 26 June 2019 the Federal Aviation Ad-
ministration (FAA) said it had identified a “potential risk” during
simulator tests, but did not reveal details (BBC News, 2019). The
Boeing 737 Max was still grounded in the beginning of 2020.

107
 January 29, 2020, Boeing said the costs associated with the
grounding of the 737 Max were likely to surpass $18 billion, a
significant increase over earlier forecasts. With no clear timeta-
ble on when it will fly again – the jet should stay grounded until
at least the end of the summer 2020 – the developments are a
huge blow to Boeing, which has thousands of 737 Max orders on
its books.
The prolonged grounding of Boeing 737 Max, and worldwide
spread of the Corona Pandemic, has made the plane vulnerable.
According to news media more than 1000 Max jets have been re-
moved from Boeing’s backlog, either because the orders were
cancelled outright, or because delayed deliveries and stressed fi-
nances at the buyers made it doubtful they would be filled.
FAA clearance
November, 18, 2020, the US Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) cleared Boeing's 737 Max plane to fly again. However, the
clearance would not allow the plane to “return immediately” to
the skies. Alongside the software and wiring changes, all Boeing
737 Max 8 pilots will also need new training.

Readability of numerical values

Numerical data can be used to illustrate several different situa-
tions, such as chronological changes in single quantities or sets
of quantities, parts of a whole, and relationships between two or
more variables. There are different ways to present numeric data.
In print media, numeric data can be presented in text, as figures
and digits, in tables, or in various graphical formats. No more
than one or two items of numeric data should be presented in
prose form. Tables are often, but not always, a good solution. Ta-
bles may show the maximum of amount of data in the minimum
amount of space.
Many people find tables confusing and difficult to under-
stand (Wright, 1968, 1982). Tables should be structured and
compact for easy accessibility. Sometimes a diagram or a graph

108
may be a better choice. A table in an information material must
have good readability. We should:
• Be very careful with abbreviations.
• Group items in a clear way.
• Provide all the information the learner will need in the table.
• Use vertically rather than horizontally oriented tables.
Horizontally oriented tables are harder to use and more difficult
to read and understand than vertically oriented tables. Wright
and Fox (1972, p. 241) made recommendations regarding design
of tables in texts for the general public and other non-profes-
sional audiences. Some of their recommendations concern read-
ability:
• All the information the learner will need should be presented
in the table. That is, the learner should not be required to in-
terpolate, combine entries, draw inferences, or otherwise ma-
nipulate the contents of the table in order to determine the
correct answer. Rather, the learner should only be required to
scan the list to find the correct target entry.
• Items within columns should be grouped and separated from
other groups by either white space or rules (lines) in order to
facilitate reading without accidentally moving to another row.
Groups should contain no more than five items.
• Redundant abbreviations of units should not be included
within the table entries [although they should be included in
the column or row headings].
• Whenever possible, columns should be arranged so that the
target entries are to the left of the answers.
Ehrenberg (1977) provided guidelines for the construction of ta-
bles for the general public and for other non-professional audi-
ences:

109
• Averages of rows and columns (as appropriate) should be
given to facilitate learners’ making comparisons of individual
cell entries to them.
• Numbers in rows or columns should be arranged in some
meaningful order whenever possible (e.g., increasing or de-
creasing).
• Numbers should be rounded off to no more than two signifi-
cant figures to facilitate learners’ making comparisons.
• Put the most important comparisons into columns (rather
than rows), as columns make for the easiest comparisons.
Bigwood and Spore (2003, 2013) discussed how to present
charts, numbers, and tables for easy communication. They pro-
vided the following six rules of plain figures:
• Add focus to figures. Arithmetic means and medians make it
easier to see exceptions and patterns in the data. Percentages
show proportions. Totals provide overviews.
• Keep numbers to be compared close. This proximity aids
comparisons.
• Provide written summaries in the text of the charts, numbers,
and tables.
• Put figures in a logical order, often from the largest to the
smallest.
• Round figures for clarity. In many situations, exact numbers
with four decimals does not matter. It may often be a good
idea to use variable rounding and convert exact numbers to
two, or three, effective digits, regardless of the size of the
number.
• Use layout to guide the eye and avoid distracting and unnec-
essary decorative elements that interfere with the content in
graphs.
These guidelines and recommendations are all good advice for
presenting numerical data in a clear way. It is easy for me to agree
with the Publication Manual of the American Psychological

110
Association (2010) where the American Psychological Associa-
tion concludes that an author’s thoughtful preparation makes the
difference between a table that confuses and one that informs the
reader.

Readability of layout
The style of the graphical form is decided by the specific choices
of typefaces for headings, running text, captions, and also the use
of justification, number and placement of columns, number and
placement of pictures and tables, the use of colour cues, and
more. All informative layouts must have good readability and we
should:
• Avoid dull or too uncommon graphical designs.
• Avoid exciting or provocative graphical designs.
• Create and use standard pages for different types of infor-
mation materials.
• Review layout and typography for consistency of readability.
A written text works well when the content of the message is an-
alytical, detailed, logical, narrative, sequential, and theoretical.
Visual messages work well when content is emotional, holistic,
immediate, spatial, and visual. However, combined verbal and
visual representations may be the best choice for complex mes-
sages. In these cases, the layout is very important.

Simplification
When Waller (2011) discussed the concept of simplification he
concluded: “simplification can be quite a complex business–
there are bold choices to be made, risks to be taken, and difficult
technical processes to control.” Simplification does not neces-
sarily result in documents that are either shorter or visually sim-
pler. Waller distinguished between five strategies of simplifying
documents: 1) Amplification strategies, 2) Personalisation strat-
egies, 3) Reduction strategies, 4) Reframing strategies, and 5)
Stratification strategies.
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 By amplification strategies the designer adds things that
help readers to understand the document. The additions may
consist of alternative versions. Answers to anticipated questions,
and complicated terms, may be explained in footnotes, side-
notes in printed documents, or popup boxes in digital docu-
ments. Simplified documents often use diagrams in order to ex-
plain difficult concepts.
By reduction strategies the designer simplifies the reader’s
task by presenting less information. In abstraction, the designer
“repackages” a subset of essential information content in an eas-
ily accessible form. In distillation, the designer rewrites the text,
to contain only the essence of the content. In omission, the de-
signer omits the less important parts of the content.
By reframing strategies, the designer sometimes may be
able to deconstruct a document and use some parts to recon-
struct a new document. However, some documents are beyond
rescue. Then the only option is to start again from the beginning.
By personalisation strategies, the designer may design sys-
tems to combine data from various sources into personal docu-
ments for individual customers.
By stratification strategies the designer may make clear dis-
tinctions between different types of content. The designer may
use clear typography to bring some content to the foreground
and may effectively hide other content in small print.

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Information costs
Information costs is one of the administrative principles in in-
formation design. This main section is divided in the following
sections: Cost of production, and Cost of reading.

Cost of production
The information designer must have control over all of the costs
for the design and production of any information sets. It is, how-
ever, also important to consider and plan for future costs related
to technical production, distribution and storage. This should be
done early in the design process. A small mistake may prove very
costly. The information designer will have to:
• Consider the costs for design and production of the infor-
mation set.
• Consider future costs for distribution and storage.
• Plan and execute continuous reviews of all costs for the in-
formation set.
Good legibility and good readability are probably always eco-
nomically advantageous, whereas poor legibility and poor reada-
bility may be a costly business for all parts involved. Good design
models make the production of documents simple and inexpen-
sive. In my view, it is not economical to cram too much infor-
mation on a page. It is better to edit the text and reduce its bulk,
and thereby increase its legibility.
Engineering designers spend as much as 30% of working
time on searching and accessing information (Liu et al. 2008).
An average employee spends between 55% and 65% of the day
working on documents (either producing or reading them). This
is a significant amount of time, representing a gigantic financial
investment on the part of the employer (Stadler, 2003).

Cost of reading
When many people have to read and understand information
during working hours, the cost incurred will be great. It can be
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expensive to produce information and learning materials, but it
usually costs even more to store, find, and use it. The greater
number of individuals who must partake of certain information
is, the greater the cost will be. The cost of reading is determined
by the type of documents, as well as by the groups that will read
them.
Presenting information in a suitable way offers great oppor-
tunities for saving money in any organization. In a handbook
called Plain Talk from the Cabinet Office, provided for use by
members of that body in Sweden, Ehrenberg-Sundin (1982)
stated that judicious planning of texts can save millions of
crowns. (1 Swedish crown is approximately 1/8 of a US dollar.)
Ehrenberg-Sundin wrote as follows (in translation):
It is expensive to read texts! The cost of reading is often
many times greater than the cost of writing and printing the
material. Besides, if readers do not understand the text, or if
they interpret it incorrectly, it becomes VERY expensive!
This problem may be solved by planning the text better. It
should have a purpose and the selection of its content must
agree with that purpose. Thus, we can avoid the greatest
reading expense. If we help the reader further by writing
comprehensible language and giving the text a sensible
presentation as well as an arrangement that is logical to him,
we shall have saved still more time and money.
The cost of reading and understanding text and pictures is in
most cases many times greater than the cost of producing the in-
formation sets. Ehrenberg-Sundin offered an estimate:
For a report that has cost Sw.cr. 80,000 to print and just as
much to write (four months' salary for a committee secre-
tary), the cost of reading it will be Sw.cr. 1,600,000 if 1,000
persons spend eight working hours each (at Sw.cr. 200 per
hour) to read and understand it. The greater the number of

114
 people who are meant to read a text, the greater the incentive
is to expend extra effort on making it easy to read!
In the 1980.s private companies often estimated the cost per
hour at Sw.cr. 500. Since 1982, These costs have increased con-
siderably. However, the ratios remain the same. Thus, in indus-
try, savings in this area can be greater than in the public sector.
Melin et al. (1986) referred to a cost estimate that was car-
ried out at the Swedish Telecommunications Administration
(now Telia). The total cost of a 20-page technical report was es-
timated at Sw.cr. for each page as follows: writing 5.60, printing
1.40, storage 25.00, and reading 225.00. In other words, the cost
of reading the report was many times greater than all the other
costs put together. Here the author's work on the text repre-
sented only two percent of the total cost.
In many countries, the public-school systems face limited
budgets. Teaching and learning must be more cost effective.
Here, linking information and instructional technologies at the
school sites, and at the district level may provide substantial
monetary savings.
Jennings (2012) calculated the cost for reading of e-mail in
large corporations. It takes, on average, about 90 seconds to read
an email with more than ten sentences. And this is expensive: “If
a company has 50,000 employees that receive twenty emails a
day that do not contain relevant information, then the company
is losing a lot of money! To be precise the company is losing
1,500,000 minutes, or 25,000 hours, of daily payroll time. If the
average salary of those workers is $30/hour, then the company
loses $750,000 every single day.” According to this calculation
the cost for reading of e-mail is $15 per person per day. This sum
will add up to substantial amounts also in small organizations.

115
Esoteric jargon
It may be quite difficult to create information materials that are
easy to understand for the intended audience. On the other hand,
it is simple enough to require ease of comprehension. But what
do we actually imply when we say that a message is comprehen-
sible? To someone working with information, it is not sufficient
that a message is produced and transmitted, as in radio and tel-
evision, nor is it sufficient that a message is produced, transmit-
ted and received by an audience. The act of communicating is not
complete until our different messages have been both received
and understood by the intended audiences. In other words, our
messages must always be comprehensible; otherwise they will
not have any desired effect.
This main section is divided in the following sections: Scien-
tific and technical language, Good information quality, and
Poor information quality.

Scientific and technical language

Both scientific and technical languages must be able to convey
information in effective ways to the intended receivers. In their
ideal forms these languages are characterised by brevity, clarity,
and precision. Melin (1992) noted that comprehensibility in a
text depends on abstraction, complexity, context, perspective,
and redundancy. These qualities are themselves difficult to de-
scribe, small wonder, then, that the comprehensibility of text de-
fies assessment. In my view, we can say that a message is com-
prehensible if the intended receiver can grasp it without diffi-
culty. Unfortunately, this is often not the case.
Squires and Ross (1990) found that in one industry sample
more than half (56%) of the documents that workers were re-
quired to understand were above their level of comprehension.
In another study Thiel (1985) found that almost one third (30%)
of secretaries had difficulty reading at the levels required by their
jobs, and half (50%) of the managers and supervisors were una-
ble to write paragraphs free of mechanical errors. It is quite
116
obvious that communication does not always function as people
have anticipated.
Young (1989) cited the following sentence as a warning in
The Technical Writer's Handbook (p. 206): “Conditional sym-
bolic modified single-digit arithmetic using optical content-ad-
dressable memory logic elements: Conditional symbolic modi-
fied signed-digit arithmetic operators.” Those who are uniniti-
ated will most likely perceive this kind of esoteric and impene-
trable jargon as totally incomprehensible. Readers who don’t
know the codes are totally left out. When esoteric and impene-
trable jargon cause “one-way only communication” it has no
value outside of very initiated circles. We find it unsettling when
experts speak down to us; it puts us into a defensive frame of
mind and may even cause us to become obstinate in a childish
way. Interaction analysts describe this as a “You're OK, I'm not
OK” reaction. However, what we should be striving for is “You're
OK, I'm OK” situations.
In one experiment, Kirkman (1992) asked a group of people
to rate six different versions of four scientific and technical texts.
In terms of content, these texts were equal to each other, but they
varied in their style of language. Some three thousand people
took part in the experiment. In the case of all four texts, the test
group rated the versions that were written in an active, direct and
personal style as being the easiest to read and understand. Con-
trarily, the versions written in a passive, indirect and neutral
style, with complicated sentence structures, were judged by the
test group as being the most difficult to read and understand.
It seems as though arcane texts have become a global prob-
lem in scientific and technical documentation. Kirkman opens
the first chapter in his book Good Style with the following two
paragraphs (p. 2):
It is surely axiomatic that the aim of technical writing is to
transmit information accurately, quickly and economically
from one person to another. Then why do so many

117
 scientists and engineers make their writing so heavily un-
readable?
Obviously, their subject matter is sometimes complex and
conceptually difficult; but frequently the ‘un-readability’
stems from the use of a style that makes the reader’s task
much heavier than it need be.
When a document is to be read and understood by several people,
there is reason to expend effort on achieving information of good
quality. When this is achieved, we can discern the information's
aesthetic, informative, pedagogical, and technical qualities, and
sometimes even its entertainment value.
In a multiple case study Haggerty (2019) studied six multi-
lingual undergraduate writers’ discourse socialization in an aca-
demic language program in a Canadian university. This study fo-
cused on students’ changing perceptions and performances of
written academic discourses. Results suggested a need to: 1)
(re)consider the time needed, and the degree of complexity in-
volved in academic writing instruction and, 2) maximize align-
ment of pedagogical objectives with multilingual learners’ back-
grounds as well as their perceived academic and disciplinary
writing needs.

Good information quality

What is “good information quality?” It can be defined as the de-
gree of congruity between the sender’s and the receiver’s subjec-
tive perceptions of the information, as well as of the reality that
the information represents. By investing resources in improving
the quality of information, we can achieve better product and
project quality, while, at the same time making large cost savings.
Cotton (1995) noted six barriers to understanding of a verbal
message. These barriers are:
• We may not know the meaning of the word that is being used.
• There can be different meanings of the same word.
• There can be a misunderstanding of English grammar.
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• There can be a misunderstanding because of context.
• Sometimes we do not understand the inference.
• Personal but erroneous explanations.
Good documentation implies very good comprehensibility and
low cost, as well as rapid accessibility when it is needed, and only
then in fact. Poor comprehensibility diminishes the receiver’s
confidence in the sender of the documentation and heightens the
risk of unsound decisions. Many good suggestions may be re-
jected because the people who determine their practical merit
simply do not understand what the suggestions call for.

Poor information quality

Drew and Grimes (1985) found that adjunct information is
needed to fully understand any text. Explanatory information
that is easily reachable places a text within a realm of under-
standing, as opposed to information without any additional eas-
ily accessible references.
There have been many lawsuits against manufacturers in
USA. These lawsuits have claimed damages as a result of acci-
dents occurring, or products breaking because of poor quality in
the language of instruction manuals (Helyar, 1992). The courts
are demanding that brochures, information sheets, labels, and
technical manuals all are written in comprehensible language,
and that descriptions and instructions are both readable and leg-
ible. Everywhere, plaintiffs' counsels are searching frenetically
for sections of text and parts of pictures that might be interpreted
in conflicting ways. If a manufacturer’s technical documentation
is difficult to understand, he can lose a lawsuit and then have to
pay large sums of money.
According to Brown and Bookman (1997) all documents face
the following challenges:
• Does all of the publication’s intended audience have the same
background, or do some people need a little brushing up be-
fore they see the whole picture?
119
• Does everyone reading the documents have precisely the
same command of English?
• Does the audience truly know the meaning of all terminology
used in any specific field?
• Does the learning process need to be accelerated for employ-
ees, readers, or students?
• How certain is it that everyone a document reaches truly un-
derstands that document in the same way?
• How quickly can students, users, and readers assimilate then
actually use the information they are given?
Any writer needs to know the answers to these questions in each
specific case. The information designer must have control over
the costs for the design and production of the information set. It
is, however, also important to consider and plan for future costs
related to technical production, distribution and storage. This
should be done early in the design process. A small mistake may
prove very costly.
As previously mentioned good legibility and good readability
are probably always economically advantageous, whereas poor
legibility and poor readability may be a costly business for all
parts involved. Good design models make the production of doc-
uments simple and inexpensive. In my view, it is not economical
to cram too much information on a page. It is better to edit the
text and increase its readability.

120
Terminology
The increasing complexity of modern society, as well as the in-
terlinking and overlapping of many subject fields place great de-
mands on the accuracy of communication between people. Every
subject field needs its own terminology. A terminology is a struc-
tured set of concepts and the terms that are used to represent
them in a specific subject field. A terminology is also the study of
the relationships between concepts and terms. The study of ter-
minology encompasses study of concepts, conceptual models,
definitions, idioms, referents, semantics, and terms.
This main section is divided in the following sections: Ter-
minology theory, and Terminology work.

Terminology theory
According to terminology theory a concept is an idea of some-
thing formed by mentally combining all its characteristics or par-
ticulars, a mental notion of a referent. A concept is not bound to
any particular language. For concepts to be represented verbally
and in writing, they must be given denominative and descriptive
linguistic expressions.
A referent is an object linked to a specific concept, explained
by a definition, and given its own specific term. The object can be
abstract or concrete. A term, or a technical expression, is the lin-
guistic representation of a concept in a given subject field. The
term is often a single word, but the term may also consist of a few
words. We can regard a term as a “label.” The term need not be
exhaustively explanatory.
A definition is a linguistic description of a concept, based on
a number of characteristics. A definition should be short, precise
and stylistically homogeneous. It must not contain words like
“often” and “sometimes.” Normally it is possible to replace a term
in a text with its definition.
A subject field is a field of human knowledge to which a ter-
minological record is assigned. An idiom is a fixed expression
whose meaning is not discernible from the definitions of the
121
individual words of which the expression is made up. A concep-
tual model is a systematic description of the relationships be-
tween concepts in a subject field, a particular area of thought.

A connection model illustrates

terminology theory and the
connections between 1) concept,
2) referent, 3) term, and 4) definition.
Sometimes one term is used for very different concepts. This
may of course be problematic. To demonstrate this, I have listed
five examples of different meanings of the concept “perspective.”
Example 1. Freeman (1988) provided the following broad defini-
tion of the word perspective in his book on photography (p. 156):
“Perspective is the appearance of objects in space, and their rela-
tionships to each other and the viewer.”
Example 2. The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
(Longman, 1990) has three definitions of the word perspective
(p. 767):
... the art of drawing solid objects on a flat surface so that
they give a natural effect of depth, distance, and solidity
... the way in which a situation or problem is judged, so that
(proper) consideration and importance is given to each part
... a view, esp. one stretching far into the distance.
Example 3. The New Websters Dictionary and Thesaurus (Ot-
tenheimer, 1991) provides the following two definitions of the
word perspective (p. 282):

122
 ... the art of drawing objects on a plane surface to give the
impression of the relative distance of objects, indicated by
the convergence of their receding lines; relation of parts of
the problem, etc. in the mind.

Example 4. According to The Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus

(Tulloch, 1995) the word perspective has five different meanings
(p. 136):
1a the art of drawing solid objects on a two-dimensional sur-
face so as to give the right impression on relative positions,
size, etc. 1b a picture drawn in this way. 2 the apparent rela-
tion between visible objects as to position, distance, etc. 3 a
mental view of the relative importance of things (keep the
right perspective). 4 a geographical or imaginary prospect.”
Example 5. According to Wikipedia (2016) the word perspective
is defined in the following way: “Perspective, in context of vision
and visual perception, is the way in which objects appear to the
eye based on their spatial attributes; or their dimensions and the
position of the eye relative to the objects. There are two main
meanings of the term: linear perspective and aerial perspective.”

Terminology work
Many words have different meanings, sometimes several mean-
ings. In information design the important noun clarity, and the
important adjective clear both have several meanings.
One meaning of the noun clarity is “the quality of being clear
and easy to understand.” A second meaning is “the ability to
think clearly and not be confused.” In information design these
two meanings of clarity refer to the concept readability. A third
meaning of the noun clarity is “the quality of being easy to see or
hear.” In information design this meaning of clarity refers to the
concept legibility.
One of many meanings of the adjective clear is “easy to un-
derstand, hear, read, or see.” In information design this meaning

123
of clear refers to the concept readability. Another meaning of the
adjective clear is “pure or easy to see through with no marks or
areas that are less transparent.” In information design this mean-
ing of clear refers to the concept legibility. Dictionaries may have
several rather similar, but partly different, explanations of mean-
ings of these terms.
To make information exchange efficient, all staff in any ma-
jor R&D project must use terms and concepts that are not mis-
understood. Research and development is generating a never-
ceasing flow of new concepts and new terms. In pioneering tech-
nologies, clear-cut definitions and descriptions of concepts, pro-
cesses, products, and services are particularly important. Simul-
taneous development in different parts of the world involves the
risk of similar terms being used with different meanings, or–vice
versa–dissimilar concepts being given identical terms. As a re-
sult, coordination in some form or other is needed.
Organisation of terminology work
In pioneering technologies, clear-cut descriptions and defini-
tions of concepts, processes, products, and services are particu-
larly important. Simultaneous developments in different parts of
the world involves the risk of similar terms being used with dif-
ferent meanings, or–vice versa–dissimilar concepts being given
identical terms. As a result, coordination in some form is needed
within any major project for research or development.
Terminology work involves continuous collection, review,
description, definition, and presentation of new concepts and
their terms. These terms should be made available as soon as
possible to the people who need to have access to them in their
daily work. This may be done as printed or electronic documents.
Individual staff members or groups of staff create new concepts
and new terms. This means that there will be a number of “orig-
inators” of “preliminary terms” or “working terms,” and their
corresponding descriptions and definitions. The people who cre-
ate concepts and terms may be called “originators of terms.” They

124
should get into contact with the “terminology coordinators,” who
continuously collect new terms and concepts related to their own
field of activities and expertise and compile their department or
project glossaries.

This is an example of an organisation for terminology work

within a research organisation.
The terminology coordinators may organise one or more
temporary or permanent “terminology committees.” Concepts
and terms of importance to several staff members in one or a few
groups should be discussed in these committees, which may oc-
casionally include a representative of the terminology admin-
istration, with a chairperson and a secretary, should maintain
contact with the terminology coordinators and they convene the
“terminology council.” The terminology council may discuss
problems of common interest and then make the necessary deci-
sions. The terminology administration's tasks may also include
successively making a list of terms, or a combined glossary, from
those locally compiled by the terminology coordinators.

125
 The tangible results of the terminology work may be a glos-
sary and an encyclopaedia. The glossary usually contains brief
explanations of terms. The encyclopaedia describes terms in
more detail and may also include symbols, illustrations, and con-
ceptual models. The glossary and the encyclopaedia may be
stored in a common database in order to be accessed by all staff
over an internal computer network or over Internet. In accord-
ance with a publishing schedule, the terminology council may
also choose to produce books or booklets. Most of the work on
single concepts is done in preparation for, and to follow up, the
meetings of the terminology-council.
ISO/TC 37 is a technical committee within the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO) that prepares standards
and other documents concerning methodology and principles for
terminology and language resources in the contexts of multilin-
gual communication and cultural diversity. ISO 704:2009 is an
ISO standard. This standard establishes the basic principles and
methods for preparing and compiling terminologies. It describes
the links between objects, concepts, and their terminological rep-
resentations. Another important ISO standard is ISO 860:2007.
This standard specifies a methodological approach to the harmo-
nization of concepts, concept systems, definitions and terms.
Concepts and terms
When we develop a terminology with concepts and terms within
a specific area it is important to set up some terminology require-
ments, such as these examples:
1. Create concepts and terms early in the development phase.
2. Base terminology on standards and standardisation work.
3. Do not use circular definitions, too narrow, or too wide defi-
nitions.
4. Make terms linguistically effective and compatible with the
language system.
5. Make definitions correct, precise, and easy to understand.
6. Do not establish unnecessary terms.
126
7. Dismiss terms with several different meanings.
The principles that guide the selection of terms and concepts
within a project may be summarised as follows:
1. Define and describe concepts and terms that are relevant and
specific to the project.
2. Concepts and terms must be relevant and suited to their pur-
pose.
3. Adapt product names and terms to the most important mar-
kets.
4. Use words that convey positive messages.
5. Avoid ambiguous words, and words with unfortunate conno-
tations.
6. Avoid misleading synonyms and technical terms.
7. Be careful with acronyms.

Most terms are nouns, verbs, and adjectives. We can write terms
as abbreviations, compounds, derivations, loans, multi-word
terms, single words, symbols, and “vacant words” (letter combi-
nations not yet used as words). There are many ways to define
new terms, based on content, context, extent, and operation:
• Content. Use super-ordinate concepts and limiting character-
istics. Include subordinate terms successively.
• Context. Use new terms in contexts where they cannot be mis-
understood. Provide references for technical terms.
• Extent. Some terms can be defined by listing phenomena,
sub-concepts, or rules.
• Operation. Use definitions of the manner in which the result
of specific measurements is obtained.
It may be a good idea to collect all terms in the project and pro-
duce a glossary, and maybe also an encyclopaedia. Every descrip-
tion of a term in a glossary may be seen as a separate information
element, or lexical unit. These units are sometimes called arti-
cles, or entries. The first word in an entry is an entry term, or a

127
headword. Usually terms have distinct and short definitions,
without visual illustrations. Every entry in the glossary has an
owner. The owner is always responsible for the accuracy of the
definition of the term.
An individual concept may have up to four entry terms: an
English denomination, an English abbreviation, a national de-
nomination, and, in some cases, also a national abbreviation. Of-
ten abbreviations just refer to main entries. Some concepts re-
quire a full presentation. They can be described in more detail in
an encyclopaedia, often with both text and pictures. A glossary
may function as an index to an encyclopaedia.
A terminology process
To make information exchange efficient, all the staff members in
any major R&D project must understand new concepts and use
terms that are not misunderstood. In order to ensure good qual-
ity of glossaries, encyclopaedias, and other information materials
it may be a good idea to follow a standardized process for termi-
nology work. Without a defined process, it is always a major risk
that some important aspects are forgotten from time to time.

This is an example of a terminology process, from definition of

the needs all the way to the finished terminology.

128
 One effect of research and development is the generating a
never-ceasing flow of new concepts, and new required terms.
Some concepts may be common to more than one field and may
thus acquire more than one corresponding term. Each term con-
sidered separately is seen to be appropriate and may be ratified;
but synonyms are thereby created which may cause a great deal
of trouble later. It is necessary therefore to look at times outside
the narrow limits of the field in question and see if some concepts
occur in other fields where they may have already proper terms.
Conceptual models
The definition of individual concept’s super ordinate, subordi-
nate, and collateral relationships is an important part of termi-
nology work. An associative concept system shows functional re-
lations between concepts. A partitive concept system shows the
different parts that together form a super ordinate concept. A ge-
neric concept system shows different types of hierarchical con-
cepts. The same concept can be included in the different types of
conceptual systems. Conceptual models are also called concep-
tual hierarchies and concept systems.
We may further consider the previous examples regarding
the term “perspective” and its use for different concepts. The fol-
lowing examples concern different types of perspectives.

Aerial perspective. An aerial perspective is a phenomenon re-

lated to the clearness of the atmosphere. Objects viewed from a
long distance are indistinct. This is because the air is never abso-
lutely clear but filled with a grey or greyish blue haze, which
makes distant objects seem wrapped in mist and partly hidden.
Bird’s-eye perspective. Objects are viewed from a high position.
Central perspective. Lines in the picture converge at a common
point of intersection–the limit or main point–even though they
are parallel in reality.
Child’s perspective. See Verbal-linguistic perspectives.

129
Colour perspective. In a colour perspective, colours and hues
gradually change from being clear in the picture's foreground
into being blurred in its background.
Contents perspective. Perspective based on contents: synony-
mous with perspective based on meaning (below).
Cropping perspective. See Overlapping perspective.
Cropping perspective. The cropping perspective–certain objects
placed in front of others–is used to enhance the impression of
depth in a picture.
Eye-level perspective. Here objects are viewed straight from the
front and at the same level as the viewer.
Forced perspective is a line perspective. It is a form of optical
illusion. Forced perspective is used in architecture, film, photog-
raphy and video to manipulate human visual perception.
Gentleman's perspective is higher than the eye-level perspective
but lower than the military perspective.
Geometrical perspective. The placement of objects within a pic-
ture is important in geometrical perspective. This is common
among traditional Japanese and Mayan artwork.
Imaginary perspectives. During the Baroque era, perspective
was used in pictorial art and architecture for the purpose of cre-
ating illusionistic effects, or imaginary perspectives.
Line perspective. Here objects are conceived as being placed be-
hind a picture plane onto which straight beams of light (so-called
straight lines) are projected.
Military perspective is higher than the Gentleman's perspective
and used in several historical paintings of troops and battles.
Multi-view perspectives. In multi-view perspectives several dif-
ferent views appear at the same time in a picture.
Normal perspective. A “normal” way of viewing could be said to
represent the eye-level perspective or normal perspective.
Overlapping perspective. When certain objects are placed in
front of other objects this will enhance the impression of depth
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in a picture. The overlapping perspective, cropping perspective,
or playing-card perspective should always be used with cautious-
ness.
Parallel perspective. In a parallel perspective, the distance is
endless, and parallel lines of an object are parallel in the picture
too.
Playing-card perspective. See Overlapping perspective.
Positional perspective. A positional perspective is based on the
fact that objects seem smaller and less distinct the further they
are from the viewer.
Psychological perspectives. Psychological perspectives are visu-
alisations of psychological and social, subjective values.
Rank perspective. See Value perspective 1.
Reversed line perspective. In a reversed line perspective, the
foreground seems to be “smaller” than the background. The
straight lines converge in the direction of the viewer. This per-
spective is frequent in Japanese and Chinese art.
Shadow perspective. In a shadow perspective, projected shad-
ows are sharply accentuated, as a means of displaying the loca-
tion of different objects and their spatial relations to each other.
Significance perspective. See Value perspective 1.
Simultaneous perspective. In the medieval simultaneous per-
spective, time is a spatial dimension.
Status perspective. See Value perspective 1.
Time perspective. A time perspective with a “time-line” is a sim-
ple one-dimensional scale with markings for important events.
This is often used in graphics and schematic pictures to visualize
the relationships between different historical events.
Tonal perspective. Light tones appear to advance and dark tones
appear to recede. A light object against a dark background will
normally stand forward, with a strong sense of depth. This phe-
nomenon is called tonal perspective.

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Value perspective 1. In art of more ancient date, and even in
primitive art, there are many examples of perspective based on
meaning, contents, and value. The significance, rank, status, or
value of depicted objects is evident from the size of objects in a
picture.
Value perspective 2. Value perspective is synonymous with per-
spective based on meaning (above).
Verbal-linguistic perspectives. The concept “perspective” is of-
ten used figuratively and in transferred senses: verbal-linguistic
perspectives. In a situational context, for example, we may say
that someone “sees reality from a child's perspective.”
Worm’s-eye view, or frog perspective, of an object means that it
is viewed from below.
Obviously, some of the perspectives mentioned in the list above
are related to each other. When we group different meanings sys-
tematically, it becomes evident that a number of concepts are
missing. It is easier to survey the relationships between concepts
when they are systematically arranged. As is evident from the hi-
erarchy on next page, most perspectives are pictorial spatial per-
spectives related to our perception of depth.

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 Pictorial perspectives
Spatial perspectives
Line-based positional perspectives
Line perspectives
Central perspective
Worm's-eye perspective
Eye-level perspective
Gentleman's perspective
Military perspective
Bird's-eye perspective
Time perspective
Forced perspective
Curvilinear perspective
Parallel perspective
Reversed line perspective
Area-based positional perspectives
Aerial perspective
Colour perspective
Tonal perspective
Overlapping perspective
Shadow perspective
Other positional perspectives
Geometrical perspective
Multi-view-perspective
Psychological perspectives
Imaginary perspective
Simultaneous perspective
Value perspective
Verbal-linguistic perspectives
Aural perspectives

The term “perspective” also carries meanings not related to

depth. Psychological perspectives are visualisations of psycholo-
gical and social, subjective values. Verbal-linguistic perspectives
are used figuratively and in transferred senses. An aural perspec-
tive is an apparent spatial distribution of perceived sounds.
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Pictorial perspectives
The word perspective usually refers to a reproduction on a plane
surface of a three-dimensional object. This reproduction conveys
to the human eye the same impression of depth as that of the real
object. It is a matter of creating an illusion of depth, for example
on a paper. As is evident from the above examples, most perspec-
tives are spatial perspectives. But the term “perspective” also
carries other meanings. Psychological perspectives are visuali-
sations of psychological, subjective values.
Verbal-linguistic perspectives
The concept “perspective” is also used figuratively and in trans-
ferred senses: verbal-linguistic perspectives. In a situational
context we may say that someone “sees reality from a child's per-
spective” (viewpoint). We “put a thing in its proper perspective”
(approach), and sometimes it is important to be able to “view
things in different perspectives” (views), and “keep the right per-
spective.” We create a mental view of the relative importance of
relationships or aspects of a matter or problem.
The concept also applies to the manner in which we survey
an area, a field of interest. We may, for example, “get the supply
and demand of a product into perspective” (general view). In the
programme for the “6th European Conference for Research on
Learning and Instruction” (EARLI, 1995) it is noted that (page
20-21): “Symposia should provide an opportunity to examine
specific problems or topics from a variety of perspectives. ...
Thus, individuals with diverse views can interact on a topic of
sufficient scope and importance.”
Critics throughout the history of art and literature have used
many methods to analyse works created by others. Lodge (1984)
gave the following fourteen examples of analytical perspectives:
allegorical, archetypal, biographical, Christian, ethical, existen-
tialist, Freudian, historical, Jungian, Marxist, mythical, pheno-
menological, rhetorical, and structural. In his book “Visual Com-
munication. Images with Messages” Lester (1995) emphasized

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six perspectives for analysing images in the media through which
we see. These perspectives are: personal, historical, technical,
ethical, cultural, and critical.
Aural perspectives
The ear is efficient in receiving and localizing sound within our
environment. Our ears bring us a world of sound that has depth
and distance. Schwartz (1973) noted that any “soundscape” has
three layers, or planes, of acoustical information. There are fore-
ground sounds, context sounds, and background sounds. Ac-
cording to Wenzel (1992) people have a natural ability to isolate
sounds in relationship to their approximate positions; behind,
above, below, to the sides, or in front of the head. Ferrington
(1994) defined aural perspective with respect to distant sounds,
intimate sounds, and moving sounds. Distant sounds are far
away from us. Intimate sounds are close-up. Moving sounds
move in juxtaposition to the listener. Although sound is three-
dimensional it is the sound generated by moving objects, or the
movement of the listener in relationship to a sound, that
strengthens the perception of three-dimensionality.

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 Oral presentations
We can speak because we have a specially constructed vocal ap-
paratus with which to make appropriate sounds, and because we
also have areas of the cortex of the left hemisphere in the brain
dedicated to producing language. Boca’s area, an anterior zone in
the left frontal cortex, is thought to articulate speech. A posterior
zone called Wernicke’s area is thought to be the repository for the
ideas to be articulated. The two areas are connected so that this
expression of ideas through speech can take place.
In oral presentations, it is important that it is easy to clearly
hear the individual words and sentences. As previously men-
tioned legibility in the written message is comparable to audibil-
ity in the spoken message. It is important that the listeners
clearly understand the words in oral presentations.
This chapter includes the following main sections: Verbal
communication, Listening, Speech and body language, Speech
and stills, Speech and moving pictures, and Assessments of
speakers.

Verbal communication
Man is the only terrestrial species to acquire a language in the
true sense of the word. However, the ability to form concepts is
not unique to the human brain.
When an infant cry it is a basic form of communication. To
some degree crying is specific for the special individual. Parents
often quickly learn how to understand the meaning of different
kinds of crying. They can also distinguish their own child’s crying
from the crying of other infants. After some time, the child learns
to express a wide range of emotions and needs.
Usually we understand what we are saying. We know what
we mean. However, we can never be sure that other people per-
ceive our verbal messages in the way we have intended. On the
contrary, people perceive and depict a given message in widely
differing ways.
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 The term “spoken language” is often taken to mean direct,
informal verbal language. A sender and a receiver share a highly
interactive communications situation. This situation offers im-
mediate feedback and opportunities for explanations and correc-
tions. However, the situation is highly transient and impossible
to re-hear/re-see.
On the other hand, the spoken word in technical media lacks
any interactive components to facilitate communications. Televi-
sion, though, does have limited, sender-controlled or simulated
interaction. These media all lack immediate feedback but are
non-transient, at least in principle, and their messages can be
played back. Speech conveyed by technical devices depends on
the quality of the reproduction technology employed and even on
factors such as cost. Speech reproduction devices often clip
higher frequencies, thereby impairing reception conditions for
the listener and conveying speech less adequately than direct
conversation.
This all means that the reception conditions of the spoken
word conveyed by technical media are similar to the reception
conditions of the printed word. The sender must plan her or his
message carefully. She/he must practice cognitive clarity and
avoid ambiguity–both acoustically and optically. As is the case
for the printed word, the language used by broadcast media for
recurrent messages, such as weather forecasts, can be rational-
ized and formalized.
Dahlstedt (1979) predicted that the verbal language used in
media would not only develop on its own terms but also exert an
impact on the spoken language as a whole. The media probably
do have a levelling effect on the spoken language and thereby
contribute to the gradual disappearance of dialects. As a result of
its wide-ranging coverage, the language of broadcast media tends
to become national standards to a greater extent than direct con-
versation. A wide range of listeners and viewers with widely var-
ying backgrounds must be able to understand the language of
broadcast media.
137
 Spoken language presupposes an ability to capture and con-
vey thought with precision and clarity, and to know how the in-
terlocutor may interpret words (Ricardo et al., 2019).
Visuals designed to complement oral instruction does not al-
ways automatically improve the achievement of the learners
(Dwyer, 1978). For certain types of educational objectives and for
certain types of learners, oral instruction without visualisation is
as effective as visualized instruction. All types of cueing tech-
niques do not equally facilitate the instructional effectiveness of
different types of visual illustrations in oral instruction.

Listening
Speech does not come to us as series of individual words. Hearing
a sentence, a word, or even a single syllable requires the listener
to integrate a changing pattern of auditory stimulation. This in-
tegration demands some form of short and temporary buffer
storage. It is likely that perception relies heavily on such tempo-
rary sensory memory stores that can hold a representation of the
initial sounds until the entire word has been heard. Thus, we
must extract the words from a stream of speech.
The recognition of words in continuous speech is a complex
process. Phonemes are recognized even though their pronuncia-
tion is affected by neighbouring sounds and by individual ac-
cents. Carlson (1993) noted that our recognition of words in con-
tinuous speech is far superior to our ability to recognize the same
words without their contexts. We use contextual information in
recognizing what we hear.
Pressley and Miller (1987) reviewed experiments concerning
children’s listening comprehension and oral prose memory. They
concluded the following ordering of conditions with respect to
their potency for affecting children’s learning of prose:
• Sentences + complete pictures sentences + two incomplete
pictures.

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• Sentences + two incomplete pictures (that is, partial picture)
sentences + single incomplete picture.
• Sentences + single incomplete picture sentences only.
Pressley and Miller (1987) reflected on Paivio’s dual-coding ap-
proach to memory (Paivio, 1971, 1983, 1986, 1991). Memory is
greater when a verbal and a visual code are activated at the same
time, rather than only one of them (Mayer, 1993a; Moreno and
Mayer, 2000). Cotton (1995) defined four major levels of listen-
ing skills when a teacher is talking or instructing. These levels
are: 1) Skim listening. 2) Surveying listening. 3) Search listening.
4) Study listening.
Most people listen intermittently and select things of inter-
est. When we study, we take an active part in the content of the
material. We read texts, we listen to music, and we read pictures.
This consciously perceived information is processed, sorted, and
stored in parts of our long-term memory. In the case of a picture,
we may need to focus on different portions of it a number of times
(so-called “eye fixations”) to be able to describe it later on.
In one project Griva et al. (2018) designed a program for de-
veloping young children’s critical awareness of linguistic diver-
sity through popular culture texts. It was a collaborative, creative
and multimodal educational environment in a Greek primary
school. They carried out the program during two school years. In
the first school year, an intervention was implemented to 2nd
grade children. In the second school year, a similar intervention
was applied to children of the 1st grade.
The results of the intervention during the first school year
revealed a positive impact of the program on children’s ability to
easily distinguish between different types of speech styles due to
age, geographical, and socio-economic factors. To some extent
the children understood that the texts of popular culture tend to
display language diversity in a distorted and stigmatized way.
The authors will continue and involve a greater range of popular
culture texts, and a wider sample of students

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Speech and body language
Listeners cannot back up and review oral information in the
same way they can with printed information. So, every oral
presentation should commence with a brief overview of the con-
tent to be discussed, followed by the discussion, and concluded
with a summary of the main points. This will enable listeners to
obtain the best possible grasp of the message. It is also appropri-
ate to include time for questions.
In addition to oral language all speakers employ their body
language. A continuous contact between a speaker and listeners
can be sustained solely with the “speech of body language.” Body
language reflects a person’s attitudes, emotional state, and per-
sonality. It discloses whether a speaker is angry, annoyed, confi-
dent, happy, lying, pleased, truthful, or uncertain.
Children, and even adults, are often highly sensitive to mes-
sages conveyed with body language. So, a speaker’s eye move-
ments, gestures, glances, mimicry, movements of arms and legs,
posture, and presentation method can serve to confirm or reject
her or his oral message. Some experts claim that the body lan-
guage is often more important than the actual words in an oral
presentation. Ringom (1988) wrote as follows (p. 29, in transla-
tion): “Most of the research reports I have studied indicate that
words only account for about 10%, intonation about 17%, and
body language (i.e., mimicry, eye, ear, and leg movements, and
posture) about 73% in a communications process.”
Body language is both instinctive and something we mimic
and learn. A gesture often means different things in different cul-
tures. We convey facts with words but emotions and values with
our bodies. People are usually unable to “lie” with their body lan-
guages. We listen more emotionally than intellectually.
Keller and Burkman (1993) noted that the enthusiasm of an
instructor might stimulate positive motivation among listeners
and students. A sensitive speaker can learn to use articulation for
clarifying, enhancing, punctuating, and underlining, the vitality
of words, facial expressions, gestures, and movements. The
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choice of clothing can also convey fairly detailed and personal in-
formation. This is especially the case for markers and symbols
associated with particular groups of people.
A speaker must always be clearly visible for the audience.
The speaker should not hide behind a rostrum, and only show a
part of the face. It is an advantage for the speaker to be able to
move around freely in front of the audience. The speaker must be
able to see the listeners in order to maintain contact with them.
It is difficult to make an effective presentation in a dark room
with a spotlight shining in the eyes.
Practical demonstrations of real objects can arouse interest,
improve the ability to comprehend a message, and reinforce per-
ception of the message. It is even better to give the audience a
chance to examine and touch the objects. The playback of au-
thentic, brief, sound illustrations can easily enhance a sense of
reality or create a particular mood.
It is more interesting to listen to a varied voice than a colour-
less and monotonous voice. Voice pitch and volume affect the
credibility of a message. A low pitch is more credible than a high
pitch. Both a high and a low vocal volume lend credibility to a
message. A speaker can use brief pauses as commas, longer
pauses as periods, and a change in intonation as question marks.
Listeners need time to absorb conveyed information.
Many listeners have impaired hearing and they often read
lips. It is important to use a comprehensible and natural lan-
guage. Avoid needless technical jargon and explain necessary
technical terms. The speaker must arouse the curiosity and inter-
est of the listeners, capture and retain their attention, and pre-
vent the development of undesirable situations.
An oral presentation may consist solely of speech, but this is
usually not sufficient for achieving the best possible result. All
listeners must be able to hear what is said. In a large auditorium,
it may be necessary to use one or more microphones and suitable
loudspeakers. Before the presentation it is important to ensure
that all technical equipment is in good working order.
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Speech and stills
An oral presentation may last from a few minutes to several
hours. The amount of time spent on preparations may range
from nothing at all to weeks or even several months. A speaker
who is unable to exemplify her or his message with real objects
should use visual support.
Stills can be used to approach reality more closely, create in-
terest, provide concrete examples, reinforce the message, show
what something really looks like, supply an overview and a struc-
ture of the topic, or just to summarize the presentation. We
should use visuals in an active way. People remember things they
have seen more readily than things they have heard. Speakers
should describe, explain, and ask questions about visuals. It is
not enough just to show the pictures in a rapid pace without any
comments at all.
Speakers who wish to make propaganda on behalf of some
cause, such as a political or a religious standpoint, usually convey
their messages in another way. Speaking calmly and in a clear
voice, they usually begin with their best arguments, making it
easy for listeners to concur. Listeners ultimately begin feeling
that they are part of some common group. Once the speaker’s au-
thority has been established, her or his vocal pitch and tempo
tend to rise successively. The speaker then creates a strong sense
of anxiety, guilt, or uneasiness in the audience. At this point, the
skilled speaker offers examples of how this anxiety, sense of guilt,
and uneasiness will be dispelled if the audience behaves in a par-
ticular way. Any objections are quickly and smoothly trans-
formed into recommendations on the way the group should act.
When information is the objective, the oral presentation
should not be too comprehensive. It is a common error to supply
far too much information. Limiting the information to its essen-
tials may prove to be difficult, but it is usually necessary.
Speech and visuals can complement and reinforce one an-
other in an effective manner. Informative words need visuals,
and informative visuals need words. A summary or more detailed
142
information should often be supplied as written documentation
after an address. If documentation is distributed before the oral
presentation, the audience could lose interest in the rather slow
performance.
This main section is divided in the following sections: Visual
contributions, Projected images, and Wall charts and other pic-
tures.

Visual contributions
Stills can comprise different kinds of diagrams, drawings,
graphics, maps, photographs, tables, and text. We should avoid
visuals containing excessive detail. Do not use visuals needlessly!
The visuals used should be relevant to the context and make a
genuine contribution in the presentation. They should also be
easily grasped. In an oral presentation, listeners have few oppor-
tunities for detailed study of a visual at a comfortable pace.
The visual is usually displayed at a considerable distance and
at a point in time selected by the speaker. A visual employed in
an oral presentation should be designed differently than a
printed picture in a book or a report. In oral presentations, each
visual should only depict a single idea, object, or trend. Multiple
visuals should only be displayed simultaneously in direct com-
parisons, e.g., of different objects or events. When a series of pic-
tures is used, it is important for the subjects to be depicted on the
same scale to prevent viewer confusion.
Wileman (1993, p. 19) showed a way to organize the relation-
ship of verbal and visual images along a continuum, the ver-
bal/visual continuum, or the degrees of visualisation. Seven
types of visuals, ranging from purely verbal to purely visual rep-
resent this continuum:
1. Reader Frame (pure verbal).
2. Emphasized Reader Frame.
3. Reader Frame with Visual Cues to Meaning.
4. Verbal/Visual Balanced Frame.

143
5. Pictorial or Graphic Symbol Frame with Verbal Cues to
Meaning.
6. Emphasized Pictorial or Graphic Symbol Frame.
7. Pictorial or Graphic Symbol Frame (pure visual).

Whenever visuals are displayed, the speaker always runs the risk
of losing contact with the audience. Suggestive visuals can easily
create a number of associations that deflect the audience’s
thoughts away from the subject of the presentation. However, the
speaker can pave the way for improved audience comprehension
of a subsequent visual by disclosing in advance what the visual
depicts. The audience will then find it easier to identify important
picture content and select a relevant interpretation. When a pic-
ture is shown, viewers need some time to interpret and under-
stand its contents.

Projected images
In oral presentations, it is not enough that a picture has an inter-
esting content and is well executed with a high technical quality.
The picture must also be used under optimal conditions. A poor
picture will always give a poor projected image that will be per-
ceived as having low quality. A good picture with high quality
contents and execution may be perceived as having anything be-
tween low and high quality.
When a “medium good” picture is projected under optimal
conditions that image may be perceived as better than a “good
picture” that is projected under bad conditions. Poorly executed
and poorly presented pictures will influence the understandings
of the whole presentation. Good projected images are needed to
achieve a good oral presentation. For this we need to have good
quality pictures, good quality projectors, good quality screen,
perfect lighting conditions, and no disturbances like irritating
sounds etcetera.
The speaker must never be positioned so she/he blocks the
audience’s view of a visual. It is always important that all kinds

144
of projectors are placed in stable positions. Even small move-
ments of the projector will cause “jumps” of the projected image
on the screen.
In some instances, listeners could also make personal notes
on documentation handed out in advance, thereby improving
their ability to remember the content of the presentation. It is
important to be well prepared. It is necessary to ensure in ad-
vance that any technical equipment to be used is working
properly, and that curtains for room darkening also are in work-
ing order. Find out how to turn the lights in the room on and off.
The design of the room as well as the surrounding areas will in-
fluence the possibilities for a good presentation. Noise from
drills, fans, radio and television in rooms nearby will easily dis-
tract the speaker as well as the audience.
Overhead transparencies
For many decades people used overhead projectors with trans-
parencies (OH). Many speakers found it easier to write on the
transparencies than on the old blackboards, and later white-
boards, that was found in most conference rooms. It was often
rather easy to prepare transparencies before presentations. Not
many speakers use overhead projectors and transparencies now-
adays.
Overhead transparencies can only be projected with an over-
head projector. Room illumination (at least illumination near the
screen) must be reduced. To prevent image distortion, the top of
the screen must usually be tilted forward. The projector should
be put at such a distance from the display screen that the com-
plete image is projected on the screen. If parts of the image fall
on the wall, outside the screen, this may be quite disturbing. It is
also very important that the whole image is in focus. Dirt on the
transparency, on the lenses, or on the screen is also disturbing.
Dirt makes the image less effective, and the speaker less credible.

145
It seems that many speakers sometimes actually talk to the
projected image, rather than to the audience.
An overhead projector should only be switched on while pro-
jecting a transparency. A visual should not be displayed any
longer than it takes to explain its contents. A composite overhead
can be formed with a basic transparency and one or more add-on
transparencies prepared in advance. Complex drawings should
be prepared in advance of the oral presentation.
However, successively exposing parts of a transparency by
removing, e.g., obscuring pieces of paper, is usually unsatisfac-
tory (although a common practice, even by many visual experts).
Adult viewers could be distracted by the picture’s dark areas and
begin wondering about the hidden information instead of giving
their full attention to the presentation.

146
 Many speakers use text transparencies, or “word-visuals,”
containing key words in attempting to supply an overview, clar-
ify, reinforce, and summarize complicated arguments. These
texts must then be brief and concise. They must also be easy to
read. For good legibility, characters should be boldface, distinct,
and large, never less than 5–6 mm high (on the transparencies)
when projected in a room the size of a normal classroom. Larger
rooms require larger character sizes.
Normal text, containing both uppercase and lowercase let-
ters, is easier to read than texts using only uppercase letters.
Overhead transparency texts should usually consist of black
characters on a light background or white characters on a dark
background. Text transparencies are useful for speakers but are
sometimes very boring to an audience.
Slides and PP
It is not enough that a slide be well designed and has a high tech-
nical quality. Every slide should also be projected and used in a
correct way. A room must be properly darkened for the most ad-
vantageous projection of filmstrips and mounted slides, unless
equipment is available for back projection, i.e., projection from
the rear onto a matte-glass screen. Normally a slide’s subject
should appear against a black background.
Text slides should only be used to a limited degree. Texts
should be light (white or yellow) on a dark background (e.g.,
black or dark blue). Many colour combinations are hard or even
impossible to read. Nowadays PowerPoint Presentations, PPP,
and similar digital presentation systems have replaced many se-
ries of old filmstrips, overhead transparencies, and slides. Illus-
trations are stored in computer files and projected with data-pro-
jectors. New series of illustrations still follow the verbal/visual
continuum, ranging from purely verbal to purely visual, devel-
oped by Wileman (1993).

147
This kind of image is good for OH- and PP-presentations. It is
too much to show that letters vary with respect to colour, height,
line, size, style, and width in one single image. Here it is very
clear that the x-heights of Garamond, Georgia, and Verdana in
the same nominal size are very different.

This situation (left) is far too common in presentations with

Power Point and similar digital systems. The second picture
(right) is projected in a correct way.

148
 PowerPoint presentations is common for conveying infor-
mation in face-to-face information and training. These presenta-
tions often have “bulleted lectures.” The presenter reads lists
with facts while the audience may, or may not pay attention to
the messages. The result may be scraps of passive learning. Tra-
ditional “bullet lectures” often combine displayed text, spoken
words and images in ways that may actually hinder comprehen-
sion and make learning more difficult (Jordan and Papp, 2013).
According to Tufte (2003) PowerPoint is a competent slide man-
ager and projector. But rather than supplementing a presenta-
tion, it has become a substitute for it. Such misuse ignores the
most important rule of speaking: “Respect your audience.”
According to Ricketts (2018) oral PowerPoint presentations
may not represent the best way to communicate. “Bullet-point
lectures” rarely engage audiences in critical active learning strat-
egies such as debate, discussion, introspection, problem-solving
and social interaction. In “bullet-point lectures” people often
combine displayed texts, spoken words and images in ways that
may actually hinder comprehension and in fact make learning
more difficult for members of the audience.
Comprehension often suffers when learners get lost in dis-
tilled facts and generalizations. Ricketts (2018) provides a num-
ber of good examples of use of instructional images such as dia-
grams, drawings, photos, and video clips. Text on slides should
be limited to concise headings and labels. Bullet lists are not
used. The total number of slides is limited to prevent audiences
from becoming lost in details. Ricketts (2018) provided the fol-
lowing bullet list with four “Key takeaways” as a summary of the
article (p. 34):
• Active training techniques are effective because they engage
learners in tasks that promote deep thought, discussion,
problem solving, social interaction and hands-on learning.

149
• Passive training is less effective because learners are rele-
gated to merely listening and watching as an instructor does
the mental, social and physical work.
• Bullet-point lectures may be poorly suited for meaningful
training because they usually adopt a passive learning model
and tend to combine spoken words and displayed text in ways
that may actually decrease comprehension.
• PowerPoint can promote active learning when we eliminate
lengthy bullet lists and use instructional images to guide
group discussions, problem-solving activities and hands-on
experiences.

Wall charts and other pictures

Wall charts, mounted photographs, some posters, picture col-
lages, wall maps, and roller blind-type maps are usually excellent
teaching aids, provided they are relevant to the context and large
enough for the audience to see distinctly. These visuals can be
mounted on a wall or, for small groups, placed on a table. Only
use one visual at a time unless different visuals are to be com-
pared. Remove any unneeded visuals so they do not distract the
audience.
An episcope, a device capable of projecting opaque originals,
such as text and visuals on paper, or even small objects, is used
sometimes, although not very often anymore. The episcope can
be used for projecting any kind of text or visual, such as material
printed in books and newspapers. There is then no need for spe-
cial overhead transparencies, slides, or computers. A room must
be very dark for effective projection of episcope images. Using a
flannel board and flannel board visuals always demands prepa-
rations. But this presentation form can be rather effective, espe-
cially when the audience consists of children.
Speakers can write or make simple drawings on a conven-
tional whiteboard or use a flip chart on a stand in a room with
full room lighting. A flip chart is a large pad of paper bound so
that each page can be turned over. Digital whiteboards, inter-
150
active whiteboards, and online whiteboards are different ver-
sions of electronic whiteboards. They are all very modern ver-
sions of the old whiteboards. An electronic whiteboard is an in-
teractive display, which is connected to a computer and able to
display all kinds of images and video. The electronic whiteboard
is freestanding or mounted on a wall, from small to vary large.
Using fingers, a pen, or a special input device the speaker can in-
teract with the whiteboard and the computer. Everything that is
seen on the whiteboard can be printed on paper, and often dis-
tributed by e-mail. Nowadays electronic whiteboards are used in
exhibitions, offices, schools, and other places were people gather
to listen to presentations.

Speech and moving pictures

As a rule, the content of films and television programs is pre-
sented in a preordained fashion, which tends to encourage rela-
tive passivity in viewers. The same is true of prepared oral
presentations. The reader of a book digests textual and pictorial
information at his own pace. If the information presented in the
book has a structured surface, i.e., one in which the information
is integrated into a single context, the reader can focus his atten-
tion relatively freely. The experience is akin to the way we take in
information in real-life situations.
Interactive video programs make it possible to combine
sound and moving pictures. They can arouse considerable activ-
ity and commitment in the user. Because an interactive video
program can stimulate the user to perform at a high cognitive
level, it has the potential to function well, both as a conveyor of
information and as a teaching aid.
Events that are hard to illustrate with stills and difficult or
hazardous experiments can be depicted with moving pictures,
i.e., film, video, computer animation, or TV. A brief example only
lasting a minute or two may suffice. Video is an excellent aid. A
speaker can conveniently introduce the appropriate moving se-
quence at exactly the moment when it has the maximum impact.
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Sequences can also be repeated one or more times if necessary.
Various combinations of different audio-visual presentations,
i.e., words and text, audio illustrations and sound effects, stills
and moving images in colour or black and white, convey infor-
mation in pre-recorded presentations, such as film.
All “traditional” information and teaching programs can be
used in a “linear” way. Programs can be produced using cine-
matic or video techniques. They can be distributed as film prints,
videocassettes, or video discs in various formats. Programs can
also be distributed as broadcast TV programs or as satellite
and/or cable TV transmissions.
The power of visual images is well illustrated by the film Pre-
cious Images. This film was a gift to the American movie audi-
ences. The Director’s Guild commissioned the film in 1986 in
honour of its 50th anniversary. Precious Images consists of a
6½-minute assemblage of classic moments from 469 favourite
movies, past and present. Some moments linger for a few sec-
onds, but many are as short as eight frames (1/3 of a second). The
average is 20 frames (less than a second). Viewing this film is a
rather strange experience. The carefully chosen images retain
their meaning and emotional impact and trigger one’s memory
of these classic motion pictures.
When people flip through 15–20 television channels in less
than a minute (Matsushita, 1988) to decide which programme
they want to see, they did not at all take the time to actually listen
to the sound. Thus, the decisions to view certain programmes
were only based on the pictorial style of content.

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Assessments of speakers
Oral presentations include the use of speech and pictures in all
kinds of business presentations, and in lectures in schools etc.
Areas of special interest include speech and body language,
speech and demonstrations, speech and still pictures, as well as
speech and moving pictures. It may be concluded that a wide-
spread use of visuals in oral presentations is evident, as is the
need to improve the quality of such presentations in a variety of
dimensions. This main section is divided in the following sec-
tions: Business presentations, and Schools and universities.

Business presentations
During the 1980.s and the 1990.s almost all speakers used either
overhead transparencies or conventional slides in their business
presentations (Griffin, 1989, 1990; Pettersson, 1993). It was
more common that speakers used overhead transparencies than
slides. But those who used slides showed more images than those
who used overhead transparencies in their presentations. On av-
erage, speakers used two pictures every third minute. The most
common image categories were 1) Word visuals, 2) Diagrams, 3)
Photographs, and 4) Graphs. Word visuals were predominantly
lists of words that provided verbal support to the presentation.
Photographs included pictures of people or products. Diagrams
showed visual representations of direction, flow, or procedures
to be followed in the completion of a process. Graphs showed nu-
merical data as bar graphs, pie graphs, as well as a variety of spe-
cial-purpose graphs.
Speakers often underestimated, and listeners often overesti-
mated the length of presentations. Speakers said they “normally”
used visual support. Listeners, however, often expressed a differ-
ent opinion. This is in close agreement with a study of the use of
visuals in textbooks and in teaching aids (Pettersson, 1990),
where far more teachers than students answered that they nor-
mally talked about the visuals in the textbooks.

153
 Speakers and listeners all agreed that overhead transparen-
cies were the most frequent visual medium, followed by slides.
The most common purpose of the presentations was “to inform.”
Again, speakers and listeners expressed similar opinions.
Most visuals were prepared by the speakers or by their office
staffs. According to the listeners about one third of the pictures
were “good” or “very good,” and two thirds were judged “not ac-
ceptable.” The listeners considered about one fourth of all speak-
ers “good” or “very good,” and no less than three fourths were
judged “not acceptable.” The speakers often made comments
such as the following in their business presentations:
• Are you able to read this text?
• I know that you can’t read this text.
• I will read this text for you, since it is too small.
• Oh, this text is not sharp enough! I will read it for you.
• Please excuse my poor handwriting.
• The copying machine is in rather poor condition.
• This text is blurred so I will read it for you.
• Unfortunately, you may not be able to see this text.
• You don’t have to read this text.
It was far too common that speakers just ignored the poor quality
of their own visual materials. Speakers appeared to often over-
use the technique of word visuals. It seems they clogged the vis-
ual communication channel with excessive information.
In the mid 1990.s business people started make use of “elec-
tronic presentations” (Griffin et al., 1996a; 1996b). At this time,
an electronic presentation was defined as a presentation, which
made use of a computer with software for presentation of
graphics, and also one of many kinds of projection devices. In
this study, almost equal number of men and women gave elec-
tronic presentations, and they really felt that they were very ef-
fective. However, respondents could not depend on the various
electronic devices. Since reliability was poor many speakers had
overhead transparencies for safe backup. In the mid 1990.s
154
overhead transparencies continued to be judged as the most ef-
fective medium for business presentations.
Tufte (2003, 2006) argued that people strongly overused all
kinds of PowerPoint-materials in their business presentations.
And Tufte adamantly stated that improper visual design was re-
sponsible for the “Columbia Space Shuttle disaster” that oc-
curred in 2003. The visual presentations were too complex and
also inconsistent.
In 2007 Griffin repeated his previous study on the use of im-
ages in business presentations (Griffin, 2010). During the 1980.s
and the 1990.s speakers had used overhead transparencies and
slides. However, in 2007 PowerPoint had been available for a few
years and become a very popular choice. All speakers in this
study used PowerPoint for their visual support. This time the
most common image categories were 1) Word visuals, 2) Photo-
graphs, 3) Diagrams, and 4) Graphs. So, photographs and dia-
grams had changed their positions.
During the 1990.s word-visuals were about half of all images.
With PP the proportion had increased to almost two thirds of all
images used in business presentations. Griffin concluded that the
use of word visuals had reached “alarming proportions.” It is pos-
sible that the overuse of word visuals actually hinders audience
comprehension of the intended messages.

Schools and universities

Many teachers in different countries spend most of their time in
the classrooms talking to their classes (Ferrington, 1994; Gus-
tafsson, 1980a, 1980b; Pettersson, 1991; Sigurgeirsson, 1990). It
appears that teachers generally teach the way they were taught,
following the traditional approach to education, providing pre-
packaged information to their students.
Heinich et al. (1982) noted that students must be able to an-
alyse the structure of a lecture in order to distinguish between
relevant and irrelevant information. Students must be infor-
mation literate to be able to learn effectively.
155
Use of media
In a cross-cultural study (Pettersson et al., 1993) geography
teachers in Australia, Greece, Japan, Sweden, and the United
States were asked to what extent they were using different media
as well as different types of pictures in their teaching. The total
average media usage in schools was surprisingly similar in Japan
(37), Australia (32), Sweden (32), and the US (30). (Here index
25=every month, 50=every week.) In Greece (18), teachers were
more conservative in their use of media in teaching than the
teachers in the other countries in the study. At the beginning of
1990.s teaching was very much a chalk talk-activity. These geog-
raphy teachers used formulas, maps, tables, and word visuals
every week. Other kinds of pictures were used less frequently.
When students have difficulty in using their knowledge in an
independent and active way this reflects the way of teaching
(Lundgren, in Ljunghill 1993). Most teachers have access to dif-
ferent media. However, media was not widely used in teaching.
Slide-lectures
Findings indicate that university teachers clearly differ in their
use of media compared to business people who make business
presentations. During the 1990.s university teachers usually used
the whiteboards and textbooks in their teaching (Pettersson,
1991). During every day lectures, use of other media was rare.
Several media were never used at all, or only used a few times
during a whole semester. This has changed. Nowadays many
teachers use Internet and WWW. Students often work on assign-
ments where they need to access Internet and WWW.
According to Avgerinou and Gialamas (2016, p. 136) workers
of the 21st Century must be educated toward developing creativ-
ity, and skills in communication and information technologies,
mathematics, and science.
Hallewell and Crook (2019) defined a “slide-lecture” as: “a
lecture, or a part of a lecture, in which a large electronic display
shows a sequence of discrete visual screens (text, multimedia, or

156
a combination of both) whilst the lecturer speaks.” Slide-lectures
have the potential to be multimodal performances in which voice
is coordinated with visual information.
In spite of much criticism PowerPoint assisted slide-lectures
are still common in Higher Education. Text bullet-points are
ubiquitous in this kind of slide-lectures. These slides may impose
linearity into instructional communications (Kinchin et al.,
2008). However, so far little is known about the learning condi-
tions that the slide-lectures create.
Hallewell and Crook (2019) examined the extent of the inte-
gration of texts on slides, and oral presentations in eleven lec-
tures in psychology. They analysed patterns of semantic matches
between speeches and slide-texts. The results showed two styles
of speech-slide relationship. In the referent style the lecturer
reads the text on the slide. In the scaffolding style the lecturer
blends the text on the slide into her/his spoken narrative. Ac-
cording to Hallewell and Crook students might benefit from a
consistent style.
Despite the fact that we live in the information society, and
are witnessing rapid technological development, it is still “chalk
talk” to a large extent that counts in the school environment.

157
 Written presentations
An essential difference between the spoken and the written mes-
sage is the time available and needed for transmitting them. The
speaker and her or his listeners communicate in real time. On the
other hand, the writer and his reader can take the time they need.
In the written message, legibility, readability, and reading value
are vitally important to the message's comprehensibility.
To be verbally literate, one must learn the basic components
of a written language. Just a few basic elements and a set of prin-
ciples are actually enough to create an almost infinite number of
expressions. Most people can learn to communicate with written
language, and many develop their own personal style.
This chapter includes the following main sections: Begin
writing, Writing strategy, Linguistic usage, Writing style,
Captions, and Professional writing.

Begin writing
The main goal in information design and in instruction design
should always be clarity of communication, even if we also ex-
pect presentations to be aesthetically pleasing, and in some cases
also intellectually rewarding. Here the noun clarity refers to “the
quality of being clear and easy to understand,” and also to “the
ability to think clearly and not be confused.” A third meaning of
clarity is “the quality of being easy to see or hear” (Diction-
ary.cambridge, 2016). The expression clarity of communication
refers to the two concepts legibility and readability.
This main section is divided in the following sections: The
main writing objective, and Functional writing

The main writing objective

The main objective is to provide information materials, includ-
ing the intended messages, needed by the receivers in order to
perform specific tasks (Briggs and Wager, 1989; Fleming and
Levie, 1993; Lipton, 2007; Lohr, 2010; Pettersson, 2002; Smith
158
and Ragan, 2005; Wileman, 1993). The receivers may be seen as
“doers.” They may develop new experiences, skills, and under-
standings.
We write information materials for someone to read and un-
derstand in order to do something. We need to “know” the reader
and the actual situation and define the purpose of any text. A
good starting-point is to consider what the reader may misun-
derstand in what we are about to write, and then actively prevent
these possible misunderstandings. The more complicated a sub-
ject matter, the more important it is to make the text comprehen-
sible and manageable for our readers. This means working with
the language, structure, terminology, and writing style.
As previously noted the physical act of writing one's thoughts
with the help of a pen and paper, or a keyboard and a computer,
does not usually require a great deal of time. It generally takes
more time to work out the contents. The writing processes en-
compass more than merely writing, and they are relatively inde-
pendent of the language used in the documents.
A receiver analysis might contain evaluation of what we
know about the receivers' basic understanding of the subject
matter, their attitudes, capacities, experiences, linguistic compe-
tence, motivation, prejudices, skills, social background, trade
knowledge, and vocation, as well as their age and the various
groups that they may belong to or identify with. All of these fac-
tors are decisive for formulation of the text. We need to gather
and sort our material, as well as outline and plan our presenta-
tion. We need to choose the graphical form and the medium. It
may be possible to use established models, fixed writing patterns,
and templates. When we have formulated the text, we will need
to process it and adapt it, so that it will suit our readers.

Functional writing
In information design writing should be functional. It is different
from creative writing in the same way as graphic design is differ-
ent from fine arts. We may have to rewrite the text many times
159
before it is finally right. Although it may be true that even the
most complicated texts can be presented in a comprehensible
form, all writers need practice, practice, and still more practice.
A number of authors offer hints on how to write effective texts.
As an example, Rowntree (1966) offered the following twelve
guidelines:
• Dramatize whenever possible.
• Talk directly to the reader.
• Use active verbs and personal subjects.
• Use contractions.
• Use illustrations, examples, and case studies.
• Use rhetorical questions.
• Use short paragraphs.
• Use short sentences.
• Use the first person.
• Use verbs rather than nouns and adjectives.
• Write about people, things and facts.
• Write as you talk.
Liljestrand and Arwidsson (1979, p. 15) asserted the following
advice (in translation):
Complicated texts are often defended on the grounds that
their subject matter is complicated. In reality, however, the
more difficult the subject is, the more one must attempt to
express it in a comprehensible way. It is surely more reason-
able to expect that someone who is writing for several people
expend effort on the writing of his text, than that the various
receivers be obliged, each on his own, to expend effort inter-
preting it!
Strömquist (1991) maintained that everyone must practice writ-
ing to become good at it. Writing is a skill that we can learn.
Strömquist wrote the following (p. 35, in translation): “It is only
by writing yourself you will fully understand the complexity of
the writing process; only by writing yourself you will discover
160
where the problem lies.” Bergquist (1991) gave textbook authors
five terse and vigorous instructions in the form of “command-
ments” (in translation):
• The first commandment: Don't write! Even if the author’s
first impulse is to start to write at once, it is essential to begin
with an outline.
• The second commandment: Use pictures! Get a picture to il-
lustrate each section; wait with your text.
• The third commandment: Write captions for each picture!
Each picture should have a relevant text, which may even
have a heading.
• The fourth commandment: Talk to your editor! Together, the
writer and the editor can expand a factual outline into a de-
tailed outline for each layout. The outline contains room for
both text and pictures.
• The fifth commandment: Write in a structured manner! The
text should complement the pictures. Therefore, write in the
space between the pictures. The editor provides the author
with exact data about the number of strokes each line of text
may fill.
The actual process of creating integrated verbal and visual infor-
mation is called infography (Pettersson, 1989, p. 206; 1993, p.
173). It includes all the intellectual and practical skills and work
needed for design of messages. The term infography was initially
used mainly for information graphics in newspapers and in tele-
vision but has since been used in a wider perspective for for-
mation and execution of all kinds of combined verbal and visual
messages used for the presentation of information in all media.

161
Writing strategy
As a rule, the information designer must respect copyright as
well as other laws and regulations that are related to design, dis-
tribution, production, storage, and any use of information mate-
rials. This concerns the use of artwork, illustrations, logos, lyrics,
music, photographs, specific sounds, symbols, texts, trademarks,
video recordings, and any other elements. It is also important to
honour business agreements, and respect ethical guidelines.
The rights of copyright holders are protected according to
agreed ethical rules, international conventions, and terms of de-
livery. Full copyright protection for a “work” or a “production”
requires creativity, fixation, and originality. This protection is in-
ternational. The name of the copyright holder must be stated in
each published document containing pictures and texts
For literary works the copyright protection duration is the
length of the authors’ life plus another 70 years. In many coun-
tries, all kinds of pictures with artistic or scientific merit also en-
joy protection for 70 years after the death of the copyright holder.
Drawings usually belong to this category.
In order to convey high-quality information to the user the
information designer sometimes will have to suggest some mod-
ifications, and ask original authors, draftsmen, and photogra-
phers for permission to make changes in their original works. In
some cases, the information designer may also be a stakeholder
as far as copyright is concerned.

Writing is much more than just “writing.” There are four sub-
processes between the Commission (C) and delivery of the final
Script in the “general writing process.” These sub-processes are
1) Analysis, 2) Preparation, 3) Writing the text, and 4) Doing the
touching-up.
162
 A basic “general writing process” or “general writing strat-
egy” may be used when writing for non-professional audiences.
Unlike all the strict rules of grammar, the following suggestions
will change as new research conclusions supplant the old
knowledge base in this area.
This main section is divided in the following sections: Anal-
ysis, Preparation, Writing the text, and Doing the touching-up.

Analysis
Define the purpose of the intended message. Are there any spe-
cific requirements? Define the receiver of the intended message.
Define the type of representation that will be needed. What char-
acteristics do the readers have? Note important facts. Will the
readers be positively or negatively disposed to your message?
What are their expectations? What external factors can influence
how the readers will interpret your message? What financial con-
ditions or limitations apply in your case?
The purpose of an intended message may be advertising of a
product or a service, entertainment, establishing a change of be-
haviour, information, instruction, learning, deciding, performing
an action of any kind, providing a business proposal, providing
education, training, or any combination of these and many other
examples.
There are many groups of receivers or information interpret-
ers. The receivers of an intended message may be business part-
ners, colleagues, course participants, dentists, employees, minis-
ters, retired professors, students, teachers, teenage boys, teenage
girls, veterinary surgeons, or a “general” audience–just to men-
tion a few possible audiences. There are of course many more
groups of receivers. It is obvious that a person may belong to sev-
eral groups of receivers, or “target groups.” There are always dif-
ferences among members of any group.

163
Preparation
When you create a message, proceed step by step from what you
know about the readers. What are the readers' levels of
knowledge? Make a preliminary writing plan. Plan and allot suf-
ficient time. Preliminary planning may take up the bulk of a
writer’s time.
Study the subject matter carefully. Gather material by read-
ing, interviewing experts, making observations, and sometimes
performing experiments. Sort out the material that will be in-
cluded with your own text. Proceed from what you know about
the readers' potential for understanding it. Focus on the most im-
portant aspects of the topic.
Use time to carefully structure the material. This may be
more important than the actual writing. Make an outline of your
subject matter; you can refine it and go into details step by step
later on. A technical report should have a title, a table of contents,
an abstract or a summary, an introduction, a description and an
analysis, a conclusion (including your own viewpoints), and a list
of sources or references. Avoid footnotes and appendices since
they are seldom read.
Plan for the use of pictures. We can use pictures to make it
easy for the reader to understand a message. Pictures and text
must interact to produce unity. Pictures and text that belong to-
gether should also be put close together in the document.
There are different types of outlines, for example, narrative
and logical outlines. Do not switch between different types in the
same document. Emphasis the main points for clarity.
Start with the known; and proceed to the unknown. Write
brief and interesting titles and headings. Avoid long, boring, and
complicated headings and titles. The headings should give the
readers the opportunity to “activate” their pre-understanding
and, so to speak, connect to the correct track for the reading
(Strömquist, 1996). Provide the text with a date, and maybe doc-
ument number, security classification, and other administrative

164
information. Many organisations have strict rules regarding ad-
ministrative information.
Choose a graphical form that suits the material and the se-
lected medium. It will make things easier for the readers if infor-
mation of the same kind is presented in a similar way. A well-
thought-out graphical form contributes to the readers' interpre-
tation and understanding of the message content. Many organi-
sations have very strict rules regarding graphical form for all
their documents.
Plan for reviews. Documentation that is not technically cor-
rect must not be used for learning support or as a course mate-
rial. The documentation must be re-edited and re-edited until it
receives approval.
Generally speaking a genre is a specific type of type of film,
literature, music, and more. According to Bateman (2017, p. 169)
a genre provides principles for addressing the conventions and
expectations operative in the design and interpretation of arte-
facts or performances and allows collections of such artefacts or
performances to be grouped into socially recognizable categories.
Although developed originally in the study of language and liter-
ature, genre is now being extended also to multimodal contexts.
Books are usually arranged by genre in a bookstore. Most
documents conform to a set of “genre conventions.” In infor-
mation design, the term genre means a type of document that is
common enough to have acquired a special name, such as bill,
catalogue, direction for use, form, handbook, leaflet, mainte-
nance documentation, map, poster, and user guide. These are all
types of documents that carry clear expectations about their con-
tent, organization, and their style. In design genres are useful be-
cause they are shortcuts in work (Waller, 2016, p. 43). By using a
strong genre convention, the designer knows what kind of ap-
proach to use.

165
Writing the text
Let your writing be clear, concise, and simple. Express yourself
in specific rather than in unspecific terms. Use an appropriate
and consistent terminology. Analyse, argue, compare, describe,
make associations, refer, all according to what you understand is
needed in the situation. Use a style that is natural for you. Avoid
both colloquial language and excessively formal constructions.
Avoid writing in a style that is too laconic or too sterile. Do
not allow yourself to become “chatty.” Sentences that are too
dense, that is, sentences in which too many ideas are concen-
trated and presented at the same time, will make your text a te-
dious reading. Break up the text in more paragraphs and make it
more readable. It may be possible to let every paragraph encom-
pass a single unit of content. Typically, an explicit sentence con-
tains a subject and predicate.
Avoid convoluted and too long paragraphs that meander in
all directions. Sentences should say one thing at a time. Do not
cram them with many different ideas. In general, try to vary the
length of your sentences to increase reading ease, but avoid sen-
tences that are too short or too long.
Try not to insinuate subjective values into your text. If it is
your own opinion you are expressing, make this clear to the
reader. Avoid gender stereotyping and sexism. Use aids such as
dictionaries and encyclopaedias. There should be a theme run-
ning through the text. Try to find a unifying principle. Clearly
show what you want to express.
Use concrete examples that illustrate the principles when the
subject is on a high plane of abstraction. You may use metaphors
and similes. Metaphors and similes make it possible for readers
to create their own inner, mental pictures.
If the text shows a high degree of specification and examines
several details, you should summarise every now and then and
draw the possible conclusions. Sometimes you may find it neces-
sary to write your foreword, introduction, and summary after you
have written the body of the piece. List your references.
166
Doing the touching-up
It is usually a good idea to let a text “rest,” at least for a couple of
days. Read your text from the reader’s point of view. Make the
necessary amendments. Check that the finished text corresponds
to the planned text in accordance with the requirements.
Edit your text! Trim away the unnecessary bulk and add nec-
essary connections. Iron out all inconsistencies. Simplify the lan-
guage if that is possible. Clean up the punctuation. Every single
sentence should be easy to read!
Check the style and the grammar. Discrepancies hinder the
reader’s progress and make the writer less credible for the reader.
Check the spelling and word division at the end of lines. In some
cases, your word processing program can help you with this.
Check references and other formal aspects of your text.
Refine the layout and typography so that headings, pictures,
and tables are presented in an aesthetically pleasing graphical
form. Make use of the possibilities that typography offers.
Make sure that all verbal and visual elements are reviewed
before production, publishing and distribution. Use a consistent
typographic style. Produce and distribute the text. Store the text
for future use.

167
Linguistic usage
Any language has rules for grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
It is necessary for communication. Nowadays personal comput-
ers use software applications for composition, editing, and for-
matting of texts before it is time to print documents. Many com-
petent word processing applications have features like:
• Automatic checking of grammar and spelling.
• Automatic creation of tables of contents, and other indexes.
• Collaborative editing (several people work on a document).
• Control of different versions of a document.
• Editing of text.
• Tools to create individual dictionaries.
• Tools to create layout and typography.
• Tools to create schematic illustrations.
• Tools to create tables.
• Tools to handle photographs.
Computers with various processing applications are used for ex-
ample within education, homes, journalism, publishing, the
business world, and within the literary arts.
In linguistics, the term syntax has two meanings. Syntax is
the actual principles, processes, and rules that govern the struc-
ture of sentences in a given language. This is especially important
for word order. Each language has its own syntax. The term syn-
tax is also used for the study of the governing principles, pro-
cesses, and rules that govern the structure of sentences in a given
language.
It may be rather hard for non-native speakers to actually
“think” in any foreign language. As a consequence of this non-
native speakers may easily create texts that are not trustworthy.
Sometimes it may be a very good idea to write in the mother
tongue and then ask a professional translator to translate and
adapt the text to the other language. So called “false friends” are
words that looks almost the same in two languages but have dif-
ferent meanings.
168
 The term syntax is also used in other areas, such as program-
ming languages in computer science, and modern logic. In lin-
guistics, grammar is the set of structural rules governing the
composition of words, clauses, and phrases, in any given natural
language. The term grammar also refers to the study of such
rules. It includes morphology, phonology, and syntax. These
studies are often complemented by phonetics, pragmatics, and
semantics.
Some grammars are available on Internet, and some compe-
tent word processing applications include main rules. Key con-
cepts like subject, predicate, noun, verb, adjective, adverb, prep-
osition, pronoun, punctuation, and spelling, are briefly men-
tioned here. Consult established grammars for advice. A good ex-
ample is Oxford Modern English Grammar (Aarts, 2011).
This main section is divided in the following sections: Sub-
ject and predicate, Nouns and verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs, Con-
junctions, Determiners, Prepositions, Pronouns, Punctuation,
and Spelling

Subject and predicate

In grammar, the word subject refers to the part of a sentence that
contains the verb and gives information about the subject. Other
meanings of the word subject are: 2) The thing that is being con-
sidered, discussed, or studied. 3) A person, situation, or thing
that is written about in an article, a book, or in a picture etc. 4) A
person who lives in or who has the right to live in a particular
country. 5) An area of knowledge that is studied in school, col-
lege, or university.
In traditional grammar predicate and subject are the main
parts of a sentence. The predicate modifies and provides an idea
of the subject, such as what it does. The predicate must contain a
verb, and it must agree in number with the subject. In modern
theories of grammar and syntax the predicate of a sentence cor-
responds to the main verb. Here the arguments of the predicate
are not included.
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Nouns and verbs
A noun is a word that refers to an animal, an event, a person, a
place, a quality, a substance, or a thing. It is not always possible
to identify a noun by its form. “Nouns” is the largest of the four
open word classes.
New nouns may easily be created from other nouns, by con-
version of adjectives and verbs, and from other types of words.
Nouns in English do not have grammatical gender. However,
many nouns refer specifically to female or male animals or per-
sons (such as cow, bull, mother, and father). In English, nouns
form the largest word class.
Noun phrases function grammatically as nouns within sen-
tences. They consist of nouns together with any objects.
A verb expresses an activity. The activity may be an action,
an occurrence, or a state of being. A verb is one of the main parts
of a sentence. Along with adjectives, adverbs, and nouns, “verbs”
is an open word class. The basic form of the verb is the infinitive
(such as write). There is also a “to-infinitive” (to write)
Most verbs have three or four forms: 1) Singular present
tense form (he writes). 2) Present participle form (he is writing).
3) Past tense form (he wrote), and 4) Past participle (he has writ-
ten). Most verbs are “regular verbs,” and have identical past tense
and past participle forms (-id). In English, there are about one
hundred irregular verbs with different forms.
Verb phrases consist of verbs together with complements,
modifiers, or objects. A verb phrase headed by a finite verb may
also be called a predicate.
Cognition theories have assumed that the sensorimotor sys-
tem is causally involved in processing motor-related language
content. With fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) it
is possible to measure the brain activity by detecting the changes
associated with local blood flow. The blood flow increases when
an area of the brain is in use. Cerebral blood flow and neuronal
activation are coupled. Findings from combined computational
and experimental approaches with fMRI demonstrated that
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nouns and verbs are grounded in the sensorimotor system
(Horoufchin et al., 2018). The common activation patterns of ob-
jects and nouns, and of actions and verbs engage brain areas as-
sociated with the canonical and the mirror neuron systems, re-
spectively.

Adjectives
An adjective describes, modifies, predicts, and qualifies a noun,
a noun phrase, or a pronoun. Adjectives like big, fat, mean, nice,
old, small, thin, and young give us more information about a per-
son or a “thing.” “Adjectives” is an open word class.
Many adjectives are formed from nouns by addition of a suf-
fix, such as: -al, -ful, -ic, etc. Some adjectives have comparative
and superlative forms (such as fast, faster and fastest). Some ad-
jectives have irregular forms (such as good, better, best). Many
adjectives do not have inflected comparative and superlative
forms. They can be qualified with more and most (such as beau-
tiful, more beautiful, most beautiful).
Many pairs of opposites have degrees of the same feature
and are gradable. Some adjectives are un-gradable. They repre-
sent properties that apply or not. It is not possible to be 70%
pregnant.
Adjective phrases consist of words that play the role of an
adjective in a sentence. It may be a single adjective with added
complements and modifiers.

Adverbs
We use adverbs in order to describe, modify, and add more in-
formation about an adjective, another adverb, a clause or a whole
sentence, a determiner, a verb, and less commonly about a noun
phrase. Along with adjectives, nouns, and verbs, “adverbs” is an
open word class. Adverbs have many different functions. Typi-
cally, adverbs express or indicate the degree and frequency of
something, a level of certainty, manner, place, and time. Adverbs

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give answers to questions such as: How? What? When? Where?
Adverb phrases can be used in a sentence, as if they were adverbs.
We should link sentences, and paragraphs with conjunctions
and/or adverbs (although, and, because, but, even, however,
moreover, nevertheless, or, since, therefore, thus), making sure
at the same time that the things linked together bear a logical re-
lationship to each other.

Conjunctions
Conjunctions express logical relations between clauses, phrases,
and sentences. In English, main conjunctions are: and, as well
as, but, for, nor, or, so, such as, and yet. These words can be used
to link two or more items of equal grammatical status. Conjunc-
tions belong to the closed word classes.
Conjunctions of time include words such as: after, before,
since, until, when, and while. Conjunctions of cause and effect
include words such as: as, because, in order that, now that,
since, and so. Conjunctions of concession or opposition include
words such as: although, even though, though, whereas, and
while. Conjunctions of condition include words such as: even if,
if, in case, only if, whether or not, and unless. The conjunction
that produces content clauses, as well as words that produce in-
terrogative content clauses such as: how, when, where, and
whether.

Determiners
In English, determiners constitute a relatively small “closed word
class.” This group includes articles (such as a, an, the), and cer-
tain demonstrative words (such as this, that, and which). Posses-
sive words (such as my, and whose), some quantifying words
(such as all, and many), and numerals (one, two, three...) also
belong here. Some phrases (such as a couple of) can be determin-
ers. Many words that serve as determiners can also be used as
pronouns (such as many, that, this). Determiners were tradition-
ally classified along with adjectives.
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 Determiners are used in the creation of noun phrases. In
many situations, it is required for a noun phrase to be completed
with an article or some other determiner. It is not grammatically
correct to say: “Books lay on table.” We may say: “My books lay
on the table.”

Prepositions
In grammar, a preposition is a word that is used before a noun, a
noun phrase, or a pronoun, and connecting it to another word.
Prepositions describe relationships between words in a sentence.
Prepositions are locators in place and time. A single preposition
may have many meanings. Many words that are prepositions can
also serve as adverbs. There is no definite formula or rule for
choosing a preposition. Prepositions form a closed word class. In
English, the following prepositions are common: after, among,
before, behind, between, by, despite, during, from, in front of, in
spite of, in, on, opposite, over, through, to, under, and with. Con-
sult a dictionary or a style guide for advice.

Pronouns
In English, pronouns constitute a relatively small “closed word
class.” It is rare for a new pronoun to be admitted into a language.
A pronoun is a word that is used instead of a noun or a noun
phrase. Pronouns are often used to refer to a noun that has been
mentioned earlier in the text. This closed word class includes 1)
Demonstrative pronouns, 2) Interrogative pronouns, 3) Personal
pronouns, 4) Relative pronouns, and 5) Other pronouns, mainly
indefinite pronouns.
Demonstrative pronouns are this (plural these), and that
(plural those). These four words can be used as determiners (in
each case followed by a noun).
Interrogative pronouns are who, what, and which. For em-
phasis, all three can have the suffix -ever. The possessive form of
who is whose. The word what refers to “things.” Use the pronoun

173
which to ask questions about the alternatives. Interrogative pro-
nouns can also be used as relative pronouns.
Personal pronouns (I, me, you, he, she, it, they, etc.) are in
place of noun phrases. Possessive pronouns (my, mine, your,
yours, etc.) refer to possession.
Relative pronouns are who (with the derived forms whom,
and whose), which, and that. Here which refers to things rather
than persons. Use the pronoun that in restrictive clauses.
We use indefinite pronouns (such as anybody, everybody,
and somebody). Word endings like -body, -one, -thing, and -
where refer to people, places and things in a general way. Reflex-
ive pronouns end in -self or -selves (myself, themselves, etc.).
Pronouns (such as it, they) and the pronominal adjectives (its,
theirs) cannot be orphans; they must always have a parent noun
close by.
We will really confuse the readers if we talk about “it” with-
out revealing until later what “it” really represents. When writing
technical English, it is a good idea to repeat the important terms
to avoid uncertainty.

Punctuation
The idea with punctuation is to make it easier for the reader to
understand the content of the text. With visual means, other than
the letters of the alphabet, punctuation provides a lot of infor-
mation about single words and sentences. Phonological or rhe-
torical punctuation tells the reader where to pause and where to
stop, and how to emphasise and pronounce certain words.
Grammatical punctuation is linked to the boundaries and struc-
ture of the sentences, and should clarify the logical context, as
well as the ideas behind the content in the text. The clearer and
simpler we manage to formulate an idea, the less important it is
to use punctuation. Other signs and symbols can also help make
writing more efficient and readable. Absence of punctuation may
be damaging to the writer’s credibility (Kirkman, 1991, p. 12).

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Phonological punctuation
Some punctuation marks show the reader where to make a pause
when reading a sentence, and where it ends. The most common
mark for stop (.) is called full stop in the UK, and in the US it is
called period. This punctuation mark is used to show the end of
most sentences. It is also used to show abbreviation of names as
initials. An astonishment or a surprise is followed by an excla-
mation mark (!). A question is followed by a question mark (?).
A colon (:) is used to explain or start an enumeration. It tells
the readers that the following words are closely related to the pre-
ceding clause. There are several ways of using the colon: 1) A list
will follow. 2) Further information will follow. 3) Introducing an
example of what was said in the first part of a sentence.
A comma (,) provides boundaries between clauses and
phrases, and makes the text easier to read and understand. A
comma can help the readers pick out the intended meaning more
easily. Reading a sentence, we have written aloud can help us de-
cide if a comma is necessary or not. We should use commas to
avoid ambiguity. We may use semicolon (;) to break up listings
with commas. It will join two grammatically complete, independ-
ent clauses to form a single, compound sentence.
Some English language terms have letters with small diacrit-
ics, or diacritical marks, added to certain letters. Most of these
terms are loanwords from French, and some from other lan-
guages. Diacritical marks appear above, below, or within a letter,
and sometimes also between two letters. Diacritical marks
change the sound-values of the letters to which they are added,
and they show the reader how to pronounce these words. Diacrit-
ics are primarily adjectives, but sometimes used as nouns.
The acute accent (á) is a diacritical mark in many written
languages. It is a glyph added on top of a letter.
The grave accent (à) is a diacritical mark in many written
languages. In English, grave accents are sometimes used in po-
etry and song lyrics to indicate that a usually silent vowel is now
pronounced.
175
 The cedilla (ç) is a hook added as a diacritical mark at the
bottom of a letter, here c. This hook is called cédille in French,
cedilha in Portuguese, and cedilla in Spanish. In Catalan, French,
and Portuguese, the cedilla is only used under the letter c.
The cirkumflex (ô) is a little hook above a letter. It is a dia-
critic mark used in many languages. The cirkumflex is sometimes
retained on loanwords. In mathematics, this diacritical mark is
called a hat, a house, or a roof.
Grammatical punctuation
We use punctuation to help the reader understand the text. This
shall help clarify logical contexts and the thoughts behind it. The
clearer and simpler we manage to formulate a thought, the less
important is our use of punctuation.
An asterisk is a typographical symbol. The asterisk has dif-
ferent meanings in different areas. In scientific publications, the
asterisk may be employed to denote the statistical significance of
results when testing hypotheses. Popular significance levels are
<0.05 (*), <0.01 (**), and <0.001 (***).
There are four kinds of brackets, ordinary brackets (),
square brackets [ ], brace brackets { }, and angle brackets < >.
They are used for parenthesis in the text with comments, expla-
nations and references. Square brackets may be used within a pa-
renthesis.
With the typewriters, we had to create a dash (—) with two
hyphens (--). With desktop publishing, and typography this is
not necessary. Em is the square of the body of type. In 12 point
type the em dash is 12 points wide. In desktop publishing, we can
create the em dash, or em rule (—), the en dash or en rule (–), as
well as the hyphen (-). A hyphen can clarify our meaning when
we are using two or more words to form a compound adjective.
Using hyphens is a way of making expressions with three or more
nouns in a row more precise. The em dash is used to indicate a
break in thought. There should be no space before or after the em
dash. The en dash is used between numerals (e.g., 33–45, and as

176
a minus sign (e.g., –12). We can use hyphens to clarify our mean-
ing and make expressions with three or more nouns in a row
more precise. The underscore (_) appeared on the typewriter
and was used to underline words. A series of underscores may be
used to create a blank to be filled in on a form.
The American English favour double quotation marks (“ ”)
for primary quotations and use single quotation marks (‘ ’) for
quotes within a quote. British English may use either single or
double quotation marks for primary quotations. Exclamation
marks (!) and question marks (?) are placed either inside or out-
side of the quotation marks depending on whether they apply to
the whole sentence or only to the actual quot. In British English,
commas and periods are usually treated in the same way. In
American English, commas and periods are usually placed inside
the quotation marks regardless. Guillemets (« ») are another
form of quotation mark. These are sometimes called French quo-
tation marks.
The slash (/) has many names and occurs in four versions.
In language, the slash is traditionally used as a substitute for the
two words “or,” and “per.” Since the late 20th century, the slash
is also used to permit gender-neutral language, such as “he/she,”
and “s/he.” A backslash (\) is a typographical mark and is the
mirror image of the common slash. The backslash is mainly used
in computing.
The group coupling signs includes the four ways to count:
plus (+), minus (–), multiplication (x) and division (:). The char-
acters are used together with the surrounding numbers, without
spaces. The group comparison signs include equal to (=), not
equal to (≠), approximately equal to (≈), less than (<), and
greater than (>). The tilde (~) is a grapheme. In English, tilde
means “approximately.” In some languages, the tilde is used as a
diacritical mark (˜) placed over a letter to indicate a change in
pronunciation.

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Other signs and symbols
We can use a number of simple signs to make our writing more
efficient and readable. Here are some examples:
¶ The alinea sign (¶), or paragraph mark, paragraph sign, par-
aph, and pilcrow is a typographical character showing individual
paragraphs. The section sign (§), or silcrow, is a typographical
character that usually refer to a particular section of a document,
such as a legal code. Like the dagger (†) and double dagger (‡),
it is also sometimes used to link to a footnote where the asterisk
(*) is already in use on a certain page.
& The ampersand is the logogram “&,” representing the con-
junction word “and.” Ampersands are commonly seen in author
partnerships of two or more people, in business names, as well
as some abbreviations containing the word and, such as R&D (re-
search and development).
@ The at sign (@) read aloud as “at,” or at symbol, and com-
mercial at is most commonly used in email addresses.
• A bullet, or a bullet point (•) is a typographical symbol used to
introduce items in a bulleted list, or unordered list. Here bullets
can have many different shapes, such as arrow, circular, dia-
mond, and square. The list items are not arranged in any hierar-
chical order, but sometimes in alphabetical order. However, all
numbered lists should be arranged in hierarchical order. An el-
lipsis (...) is a series of dots indicating that a word or a segment
of a text is omitted.
© The copyright symbol (©), the letter C inside a circle, is used
in a copyright notice. Since 1989 it is optional to use a copyright
notice. The Berne Convention makes copyright automatic. Copy-
right is a legal right created by the law of a country that grants
the creator of an original work exclusive right for distribution
and use of this work. A similar symbol is the sound recording
copyright symbol (℗).
° The degree symbol (°) consists of a small raised circle. It is a
typographical symbol, which is used to represent alcohol proof,
degrees of arc (e.g. in geographic coordinate systems), degrees of

178
temperature, diminished quality in musical harmony, and hours
(in the medical field).
" An inch (") is a unit of length in the imperial and United States
customary systems of measurement. Since July 1959 an inch is
25.4 mm. A foot (') comprises 12 inches. The length “three feet
two inches” can be written as 3' 2" (96,52 cm). The infinity sym-
bol (∞) is a mathematical symbol representing the concept of in-
finity. The infinity sign is a common typographic element of
graphic design, and it is used in several corporate logos.
¶ The paragraph sign (¶), see alinea sign above.
% The percent sign (%) is the symbol used to indicate a percent-
age, which is a ratio expressed as a fraction of 100, such as 20%.
The permille sign (‰) is the symbol used to indicate a ratio ex-
pressed as a fraction of 1000. The permyriad sign (‱) is the sym-
bol used to indicate a ratio expressed as a fraction of 10 000. This
symbol is also known as a basis point. Higher proportions than a
fraction of 10 000 use parts-per notation and have no individual
names. Some style guides recommend a space between the num-
ber and the percent sign, while other style guides recommend no
space. In Swedish, the percent sign should be preceded by a
space. This is also the case with all other units in Swedish.
® The registered trademark symbol (®) is a symbol, and not
an enclosed R. Trademark symbols have been registered with a
national trademark office. Not officially registered trademarks
can be marked with the trademark symbol (™). Unregistered
service marks are marked with the service mark symbol (℠).

Spelling
For many of us non-native English speakers, it is often very hard
to distinguish between British and American English. For infor-
mation on these differences we may turn to, for example, Appen-
dix 3 in Kirkman’s book Full Marks (2003). There is a variety of
usage between the suffixes -ise and -ize in verbs (and in nouns
that end with -isation and -ization). The source of the suffix is
Greek (-izo), a suffix that has been added to words in English,

179
French, Greek and Latin. The American convention is to use -ize;
in Britain both spellings prevail.

Writing style
As previously mentioned the choice of words, expressions, pic-
ture elements, and symbols creates the style. A writing style that
includes abstract words, acronyms, complex sentences, jargon,
long sentences, passive constructions, and stilted language may
obstruct the reading of a text. A few guidelines may be used to
enhance readability of text and pictures in information design,
and scientific and technical writing.
This main section is divided in the following sections: Abbre-
viations, Active and passive voice, Be clear!, Be consistent!, Be
precise!, Bias-free writing, Capitalisation, Citations and refer-
ences, Emphasise text!, Keep it simple!, Personal versus imper-
sonal, Use lists!, Write effective captions!, Write effective head-
ings!, Short text messages.

Abbreviations
If possible, we should avoid using to many abbreviations in our
texts. The term abbreviation includes both normal abbreviations
and acronyms. A normal abbreviation is a shortened form of a
word or a phrase by any method. As an example, Prof is an ab-
breviation of the word Professor. A contraction is a reduction of
the size of a word by bringing the first and the last letters to-
gether. As an example, Dr is a contraction of the word Doctor.
Many British publications do not have full stops or periods
in any abbreviations, such as social titles like Mr and Ms, and
countries such as US for United States. Periods are usually in-
cluded in American English. However, in some cases periods are
optional, as in US, or U.S. for United States.
An acronym is a pronounceable word formed from the first
letter or letters of the significant words of a descriptive phrase,
as in the popular example LASER (Light Amplification by Stim-
ulated Emission of Radiation). The letters forming an acronym
180
are always capitalised and have no punctuation between them. It
is usual to define abbreviations and acronyms in full the first time
they appear in a text. After some time, an acronym may become
an “ordinary” word in the vocabulary of a language and should
then be written with lower case letters. Sometimes abbreviations
and acronyms may be defined in a special list.

Active and passive voice

An active voice is the grammatical form in which a person or a
thing performs an action of a verb. The active voice is direct (per-
former–verb–receiver) and emphasizes the performer of an ac-
tion. The active voice is clear, concise, and vigorous. The reader
knows at once who is responsible for the action. Many style
guides, like The Publication Manual of the American Psycholog-
ical Association (APA), recommend using the active voice as
much as possible.
A passive voice is the grammatical form in which the subject
receives the action of the verb. The passive voice is indirect (re-
ceiver–verb–performer) and emphasizes the receiver (or prod-
uct) of an action. It can be awkward, weak, and wordy. The reader
may not know who is responsible for the action. In fact, the actor
may be completely omitted in the passive voice. We may use pas-
sive voice when the actor is irrelevant, less important, or un-
known, and when we want to focus on the action or on the recip-
ient of an action. Traditionally passive voice has been preferred
in medical and scientific journals. However, there is a movement
within many science disciplines away from passive voice.

Be clear!
We may put ourselves in our readers’ situation. We should struc-
ture the text and try to be as clear as possible in information de-
sign. One of many meanings of the adjective clear is “easy to un-
derstand, hear, read, or see” (Dictionary.cambridge, 2016). In in-
formation design this meaning of clear refers to the concept
readability. (Another meaning is “pure or easy to see through
181
with no marks or areas that are less transparent.” In information
design this meaning of clear refers to the concept legibility.)
In order to improve readability, we have to avoid compli-
cated, long, and polysyllabic words. We should also avoid foreign
and strange words. Use ordinary words to explain all new terms
and new terminology. Express one idea per sentence. Do not
state the obvious. Use a simple word order and avoid long-
winded and never-ending expressions.

Be consistent!
It is always important to be consistent in information design.
One meaning of the adjective consistent is “always behaving or
happening in a similar, especially positive, way. Another mean-
ing is “in agreement with other facts or with typical or previous
behaviour or having the same principles as something else” (Dic-
tionary.cambridge, 2016). The opposite of consistent is incon-
sistent.
Use new terms and new terminology in a consistent way. All
inconsistencies may confuse the readers. The ideal is to use the
same words for the same concepts in all related documentation.
Do not mix the tenses. Avoid formal language. Do not write-con-
tracted forms, such as it’s, he’s, and he wouldn’t. Use the ex-
panded forms, it is, he is or he has, and he would not for better
clarity. It is especially important to be consistent in scientific and
technical writing.

Be precise!
It is important to be precise and work with precision in infor-
mation design. One meaning of the adjective precise is “exact and
accurate.” Another meaning is “very careful and accurate, espe-
cially about small details.” One meaning of the noun precision is
“the quality of being exact.” Another meaning is “the qualities of
being careful and accurate.”
We need to choose our words carefully and avoid imprecise
and vague words. It is better to be accurate and exact than vague.
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Prefer the concrete and the direct in favour of the abstract and
indirect. Never use an abstract noun when a straightforward ac-
tive verb is better. We should not pile up adjectives, or words we
want to use in the manner of adjectives, in front of a single noun.
We should avoid using three or more nouns in a row. It is espe-
cially important to be precise in scientific and technical writing.

Bias-free writing
A survey of American university presses undertaken by the Asso-
ciation of American University Presses indicated that scholarly
publishing was lagging behind in adopting guidelines for bias-
free and non-sexist language. The Association of American Uni-
versity Presses established a “Task Force on Bias-Free Lan-
guage.” In 1995 Schwartz et al. published the book Guidelines for
Bias-Free Writing. This book provides a large number of practi-
cal guidelines related to 1) Gender, 2) Race, ethnicity, citizenship
and nationality, 3) Disabilities and medical conditions, 4) Sexual
orientation, and 5) Age.
The Task Force writes (p. 1): “The following recommenda-
tions are not intended as prescriptive; their purpose is to encour-
age sensitivity and common sense.” However, it is really easy to
perceive the many guidelines as rules, rules that are hard to fol-
low in practical situations. But many stereotypical terms that are
used nowadays may be perceived as highly offensive, so it is im-
portant to edit texts with this in mind. Let us at least: “encourage
sensitivity and common sense.”

Capitalisation
Writing a word with its first letter as an upper-case letter and the
remaining letters in lower case is possible in writing systems with
case distinction. Conventional writing systems for different lan-
guages have different conventions for capitalisation.
There are international conventions for how to capitalise
special concepts in a body text, words in chapter headings, words

183
in section headings, and words in titles. These conventions differ
between languages and also between different style guides.
It is not at all un-common to use “all-capital printing” for
running text on some posters and wall charts. All-capital running
text is sometimes also used on slides, and on transparencies, and
in computer-aided presentations. There is no good reason for
this. All-capital printing has been shown to markedly reduce the
speed of reading (Henney, 1981; Poulton and Brown, 1968;
Tinker, 1965).
In some situations, people choose to use “small caps.” Small
caps or small capitals are an alternative set of capitals used for
text setting. These SMALL CAPITALS are smaller than standard
CAPITALS.

Citations and references

It is important to identify references in academic writing, as well
as in scientific and technical writing. We use citations to direct
readers to previous discussions and sources, and to be honest.
There are many different systems to make references to the work
of others. Each citation system has its advantages and disad-
vantages. There are two broad categories of citation systems. In
the Vancouver System emphasis is placed on easy and quick ac-
cess to bibliographic data. Sequential numbers, either bracketed
like this [1], [2], or superscript like this3, or both within the text
refer the reader to endnotes or to footnotes for details about the
cited sources. Endnotes are notes at the end of the total text.
Footnotes are notes at the bottom of the same page. A notes sys-
tem may or may not use a full bibliography. Sometimes research-
ers using this system also include a final bibliography at end of
the document. An endnote and a footnote may look like this:
[4] Pettersson, R. (2002). Information Design, An introduction.
Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Com-
pany.

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The Harvard Referencing System is a “parenthetical referencing
system.” Here emphasis is placed on the name of the author and
the date of the work. This information is put within parenthesis
in the text and refers the reader to an alphabetical reference list
at the end of the document with details about the sources. This
list may be called Bibliography, References, Works cited or
Works consulted. A citation for a book in the text looks like this
(Pettersson, 2002, p. 106), and the corresponding reference
looks like this:

Pettersson, R. (2002). Information Design, An introduction.

Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing
Company.
Different fields of study, organizations and publications favour
different citation systems, and different citation styles. Many or-
ganizations have created styles to fit their own needs. A large
number of different guides exist. Three common citation systems
are American Psychological Association (APA, 2010), Modern
Language Association (MLA, 2009), and Chicago Manual of
Style (2010). APA style is often used in the behavioural and social
sciences. The guidelines were developed to assist reading com-
prehension and reduce bias in language. MLA style is often used
in the arts and the humanities, as well as modern language stud-
ies, cultural and media studies. Chicago style is often used in eco-
nomics and history, as well as some social sciences. The Chicago
style allows for both Vancouver and Parenthetical referencing.
Engineering, mathematics, and medicine use other styles.
Generally speaking information in citations includes the fol-
lowing elements:
• For an article in a journal: author(s), article title, journal title,
date of publication, and page number(s).
• For an article in a newspaper: author(s), article title, name of
newspaper, section title, page number(s), and date of publi-
cation.

185
• For a book: author(s), book title, publisher, and year of pub-
lication.
• For a chapter in a book: author(s), book title, editor(s), pub-
lisher, year of publication, and page numbers.
• For a website: author(s), article title, publication title, URL,
and date of access.
It is clear that a large number of different guides for citations and
references exist. In each case editors and instructors will specify
the required system and style.

Emphasise text!
The most important elements in an information material may be
emphasized to enhance attention and perception. Emphasis may
be used to attract, direct and to keep attention to parts of the
content. It is possible to provide emphasis in information mate-
rials with the help of a number of specific design elements.
There are a several possibilities to emphasize elements in
text and typography. We can use bold face, colour, and italics,
print key words in any colour, use light against dark, use small
against large, and we can underline key words (Lipton, 2007;
Mayer, 1993; Tinker, 1965).
The major examples of stylistic variation of regular text are
bold, italic, and bold italic. Headings are usually set in bold
and in black. Headings can also be set in colour. In many
documents some words are set in the italic style. However, bold
and italic words are not common. We can set key words in a
different colour, for example blue, green or purple. We can
sometimes use light characters against a dark background, for
example in some signs. However, don’t overuse this possibility!
When used purposefully, contrast can reveal the structure of
the content helping readers see relationships among the parts
(Ivory et al., 2001). Italics give emphasis to a word or a group of
words. In order not to confuse the readers, it is important to es-
tablish a consistent system for how to signal emphasis in a text.

186
Use italics for emphasis sparingly; too many italicised words may
reduce the effect of the emphasis. Use italic to mark a single im-
portant word, and to show contrast between words. In a text ital-
ics can show titles of books and other documents. Use italic to
mark a word that would have been stressed if spoken.
Other possibilities to emphasize paragraphs in texts are add-
ing adjunct questions to relevant information (Mayer, 1993b)
and statements of objectives for emphasis (Briggs and Wager,
1989; Mayer, 1993b).

Keep it simple!
Use the KISS-principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid). The KISS-prin-
ciple states that most systems work best if they are kept simple
rather than made complicated. Use a simple language with a de-
fined and established terminology. As previously mentioned
complex and long sentences require more cognitive capacity to
process mentally than short and simple sentences. Klare (1985)
concluded that active, affirmative, clear, declarative, essential
and short words in simple, short and precise sentences are the
most readable. We know that an easily comprehensible text is
characterized by short sentences with simple structures, short
and familiar words, and how well the language and the style are
adapted to the intended readers.
We should leave out needless words and pictures. Avoid
buzzwords, grandiose and pompous words, jargon, and slang.
Restrict superfluous intensifiers (for example words like much,
quite, rather, and very). Avoid tautologies that are saying the
same thing twice. This does not mean that all our sentences have
to be short, and not at all that we have to avoid all detail.

Personal versus impersonal

Nonfiction, or spelled non-fiction, may be either objective or sub-
jective. Here the author has the intention to tell us about some-
thing that is factual, real, and true. The author may want to

187
discuss a special topic with the readers, and here a personal style
may be the most appropriate.
In fiction, the author explicitly leaves it open if and how her
or his work refers to reality. Here we expect characters and
events to be more or less imaginary and invented for the story.
In technical and scientific descriptions and instructions we
want to focus on the actual subject matter. Here an impersonal
style, or third-person point of view, is the most appropriate
choice. In instructions and rules, the informal you is often the
most effective form of address.

Use lists!
Related items can often be efficiently presented in lists. Some-
times we may choose to present as few as two complex items in a
list. Three or fewer simple items can be listed within a sentence.
Four or more items are best presented as a bullet list or as a num-
bered list. Never present a single item in a list. Each item in a list
must begin with a capital letter, have the same general form, and
use the same syntax. Do not use commas or full stops at the end
of list items that are not complete sentences. When a list item is
a complete sentence it should end with an exclamation mark, a
full stop, or a question mark. We can use a bullet list when the
itemised data does not need a particular sequence. We can use a
numbered list when the itemised data need a particular se-
quence. Sometimes it is necessary to use a secondary list within
a primary list. Items in a secondary list may start with an en dash,
or with a hyphen.
The previous paragraph (with fifteen lines) is divided and
edited into this bulleted list (with seventeen lines):
• A list may have as few as two complex items.
• Three or fewer simple items can be listed within a sentence.
• Four or more items are best presented as a bullet list (such as
this one), or as a numbered list.
• Never use a list for a single item.

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• Items must begin with capital letters.
• Items must have the same general form.
• Items must use the same syntax.
• Do not use commas or full stops for incomplete list items.
• End complete sentences with exclamation marks, full stops,
or question marks.
• Use a bullet list when the itemised data does not need a par-
ticular sequence.
• Use a numbered list when the itemised data need a particular
sequence.
• Sometimes it may be necessary to use a secondary list within
a primary list. Here is an example.
– A secondary list starts with an en dash, or with a hyphen.
– If possible, we should avoid using sublevels within lists.
– There should be at least two items in any list.
As we can see this list needs some more space than the paragraph
with the same content. However, a list of this kind provides a bet-
ter overview of the content.

Write effective captions!

It is usually possible to interpret most pictures in many ways un-
til they are “anchored” to one interpretation by a caption. In tech-
nical and scientific documents, most pictures need a partnership
with words that will confirm, clarify and reinforce their mes-
sages. The information designer has to adopt the language in
captions to fit different reader categories. Captions should be
brief and easy to understand. A picture without a caption has lim-
ited informational value. A picture is usually too ambiguous on
its own. In information design the main function of captions is to
help the reader select the intended content in the picture. Further
see the following main section Captions.

189
Write effective headings!
The purposes of headings, or headlines, are to attract the atten-
tion of the readers, make the subject matter readily apparent,
and indicate the relative importance of items in the document.
Headings enhance and show the hierarchic structure, make the
subject matter readily apparent, and indicate the relative im-
portance of different items. Always make headings relevant to
the subject matter.
Headings on different hierarchic levels will provide the read-
ers with clear reference points and help them organize infor-
mation cognitively for better retention and recall. Headings set
in different type versions aid comprehension of the text content
(Jonassen, 1982).
Well-written headings help the readers to quickly find the
information they want in a document. Headings show the read-
ers how we have structured our text in the document (Cisotto and
Boscolo, 1995; Jonassen, 1982; Mayer, 1993b). We should never
use a full stop (.) in a heading. However, a heading question is
followed by a question mark (?), and a heading exclamation is
followed by an exclamation mark (!).

Short text messages

Haryono et al. (2018) examined how university students used
linguistic characteristics in their Short Text Messages (SMS).
They studied morphology, syntax, and typography in English, In-
donesian, and Japanese. Their analyses included step by step cat-
egorizing and defining of text categories. Students used capitali-
zation and punctuation inconsistently. They used abbreviations,
omissions, repetitions, and tolerable colloquial language. Stu-
dents used phonetic spelling in a way similar to the general use
in daily communication in the Faculty. The results provided re-
sources for improvement of language learning and enabled stu-
dents to use language appropriately.

190
Captions
In 1982 Jonassen (p. 305) noted that: “It is well established that
picture interpretation is closely tied to individual experiences
and expectations; even students with similar backgrounds and
abilities do not always interpret a picture in the same manner.”
Jonassen concluded that we have to (p. 307): “simply and di-
rectly inform the learner of picture content and purpose ... in a
separate caption, adjacent to the picture.”
As previously mentioned it is possible to interpret most pic-
tures in many ways until they are “anchored” to one interpreta-
tion by a caption (Barthes, 1977). The only way to really assure
that information conveyed by pictures in information materials
is clear and unambiguous to the intended audience is to write
captions (or legends as they sometimes are called) for each pic-
ture and tell the reader what to see (Bernard, 1990; McDougall
and Hampton, 1990; Zimmermann and Perkin, 1982). This will
increase the readability of the pictures.
In one study Pettersson (1990) presented views expressed by
teachers and students. One of the findings stated that captions
are needed to explain what is important, and to indicate how pic-
tures should be interpreted since visuals always can be inter-
preted in multiple ways. However, when Melin and Pettersson
(1991) studied how captions and illustrations co-operated in
three textbooks for junior high school, they found that captions
did not fill the purpose they could have filled. Captions were sel-
dom the “bridges” between illustrations and text that would ease
understanding of the text as well as of the pictures.
Captions are important, especially in information and in-
struction. Winn (1993) noted that students often need specific
instructions regarding how to look at, and interpret a picture.
Captions can effectively direct attention where the designer
wishes it to be directed within the picture. As previously men-
tioned the main function of captions in information design is to
help the reader select the intended content in the picture. The
absence of captions in textbooks might cause students to
191
overlook these visuals, perceive them as decorative elements
without any educational potentials, which reduces learning effi-
ciency (McTigue & Flowers, 2011; Trahorsch and Bláha 2020).
This main section is divided in the following sections: Con-
tent of caption, Form of caption, and Caption–picture relation-
ships.

Content of caption
Pictures that will be used for information purposes should always
have captions. This is the only way to assure that information
conveyed by these pictures is clear and unambiguous. The cap-
tion and the visual should interact as parts of a whole and inte-
grated message. A caption should describe image contents and
govern the way a picture is read: a picture producer’s intentions
about what the reader is supposed to see and learn from each il-
lustration should be as clear as possible.
Captions can tell the reader what pictures can’t. They can
convey non-visual senses more effectively than photos. They can
tell time, temperature and size. Captions can explain the causes
of what a photo show. They can also explain the consequences
that may follow.
Captions can call attention to what readers may overlook in
a picture. We should use captions also in order to explain any
techniques that may have been used to create special effects in
pictures. A photographer may use double exposure, filters, spe-
cial lenses, and special processing in order to achieve unusual ef-
fects. In a similar way a fine artist may use a variety of special
drawing techniques.
Captions that accompany visuals help students make con-
nections between scientific principles and the real world, thus re-
inforcing their understanding of scientific concepts (Weitkamp
and Burnet, 2007). To a large degree, readers see what they are
told to see in an image. To get maximum impact from a visual we
should introduce the visuals before presenting it. We create a

192
“pre-understanding” of how a picture may be interpreted, based
on the context in which the picture is shown (Pettersson, 1989).

Form of caption
We have to adopt the language in captions to fit different reader
categories. Examples of reader categories are general readers
(children, teenagers, adults...), technical readers, and specialist
readers. McDougall and Hampton (1990, p. 134) remarked that
a printed photo is, in fact, past tense but captions are usually
written in present tense to immediacy. However, when an activ-
ity must be explained, present tense and active verbs are appro-
priate. The caption should be brief and easy to understand.
A general reader knows little, if anything at all, about the
subject matter. The captions and the pictures are kept attractive,
informative, and simple. They should not be too complicated
and, thus, distracting to the reader. A technical reader will un-
derstand technical concepts but may not at all be familiar with
the special terminology. A specialist reader has a good under-
standing of the subject matter. Both the text and illustrations,
which may consist of detailed drawings, graphs, technical photo-
graphs, ultra-sonograms, or other realistic pictures or symbols,
may be detailed.
According to McDougall and Hampton (1990, p. 150) good
captions are brief enough to remain interesting. An excessively
long caption diverts the reader’s attention from the main thread
in the overall text. Just as it is natural for the main text to refer
to the caption, it is equally important for the reader to be able to
make her or his way with ease from the caption to the main text–
not merely the readers who shift back and forth between the
main text and the caption! This also applies to an equal degree to
the many readers who begin with the pictures and captions with-
out any intention of reading the entire main text and who are
only interested in obtaining detailed information on a particular
illustrated section.

193
 A caption can have a heading as an additional link between
the picture and the caption. A good caption title provides a short
summary of the combined information. The title of a caption
should be short and distinct. Quite often one word is enough. The
title could give answers to questions like these: Who? What?
When? Where? Why? How?

Caption–picture relationships
We need to tell the reader or viewer what we want her or him to
see and learn from the illustration (Grootens-Wiegers et al. 2015;
Pettersson, 1989, 1993; Winn, 1993). We need to explain the pic-
tures. Photographs nearly always need a partnership with words
that will confirm, clarify and reinforce their messages (McDou-
gall and Hampton, 1990, p. ix). However, we may also find cap-
tions with several apparently different functions. Sometimes
captions are used just as labels. They may convey factual content,
or information about events. The captions may function as
“bridges” between the main text and the various illustrations.
Captions may also evoke emotions in the viewer.
King-Sears et al. (2018) studied the use of graphs, maps and
graphic organizers in popular eighth-grade history textbooks in
the USA. Graphic organizers and maps were used more fre-
quently across texts than graphs. Although most visuals were
constructed well, few texts explicitly or implicitly connected the
visuals to the texts’ narrative, which has literacy implications for
students’ comprehension.
As previously noted a picture without a caption has limited
informational value. A picture is usually too ambiguous on its
own. A picture caption must describe the picture and guide the
reader to the specific interpretation that the information de-
signer wanted to convey to the reader. Captions and pictures can
have different kinds of relationships, such as 1) Redundant, 2)
Relevant, 3) Irrelevant, 4) Contradictory, 5) Positive, and 6) Neg-
ative relationships.

194
 In a redundant relationship, similar information is con-
veyed via words, sound, and visuals. For example, subtitles can
be added to a television program, so that the action displayed on
the screen is described by words.
In a relevant relationship, the information presented via a
text or sound supplements the information supplied in the visual.
Visuals with relevant relationships to a spoken or printed text
can greatly enhance the text’s informative effect, and vice versa.
Captions should be redundant or relevant to the picture. Then
the reader will be able to process the information effectively and
create necessary mental representations and reach an under-
standing of the intended content.
In an irrelevant relationship, pieces of information pre-
sented in various channels are independent of one another. In
television programs the picture sometimes deals with one aspect,
the text with another, and the sound with a third.
A contradictory relationship exists when the information in
various channels conflicts. This is disastrous for any informative
program and any learning material.
A positive and redundant caption will influence our percep-
tion of the content in the picture in a positive way.
A negative and redundant caption will influence our percep-
tion of the content in the picture in a negative way.
Schriver (1997) discussed five kinds of relationships between
texts and visuals: 1) Redundant, 2) Complementary, 3) Supple-
mentary, 4) Juxtapositional, and 5) Stage-setting. In her system,
a redundant relationship allows the viewer to see identical infor-
mation in both text and picture. In a complementary relation-
ship words and pictures complement each other. In a supple-
mentary relationship one format dominate over the other. In a
juxtapositional relationship texts and visuals are presented at
the same time. In the stage-setting relationship one format pro-
vides the context by forecasting upcoming themes. It may be an
illustration at the beginning of a chapter.

195
This is a part of a photograph from Yellowstone National Park,
where tourists are looking at the hot springs. We can use posi-
tive as well as negative captions to describe any picture. The
content in a caption will influence our perception of the picture.
(See book 4. Image Design: Digital image manipulation.)
Consider the following two alternative captions to this pic-
ture. Both examples have the same number of words.
1. Already in 1872, the authorities managed to preserve a large
area in the western part of USA for all people to enjoy. Thus, the
marvellous Yellowstone National Park is the oldest Park in the
world. This picture shows how easy it is for visitors to access the
hot springs and enjoy the wonders of nature. Various minerals
create an “artistic” and colourful environment.
2. Already in 1872, the authorities regulated our possibilities to
move around at our own will in the western part of USA. This
picture shows an area with hot springs in the Yellowstone Na-
tional Park. The steam has a nasty smell and it may cause seri-
ous illness. It is a very dangerous surrounding. Take a step in
the wrong place and you may disappear forever.
196
 It is easy to influence and maybe “manipulate” the reader’s
perception of the content in a picture. As previously noted we
need to tell the reader or viewer what we want her or him to see
and learn from the illustration.

It is important to place images and captions correctly. On Au-

gust 5, 1979 (the illustration to the left), a newspaper told us in
its Sunday supplement that avoiding dangerous fungi is very
important. The title reads: “Life threatening to choose wrong.”
The top caption is about the toxic “destroying angel” (Amanita
virosa). The bottom caption is about the tasty “horse mush-
room” (Agaricus arvensis). However, this is completely wrong!
The two captions and the two images are mixed. The errors
were not discovered until the Sunday supplements already had
been distributed. The publisher published a correction in the
daily newspaper (the illustration to the right).

197
Professional writing
The term professional communication encompasses advanced
writing and visual design activities at workplace settings. It in-
cludes design of information materials, instructions, manuals,
presentations, proposals, reports, and more. Schriver (2011)
made substantial literature reviews of the two concepts “exper-
tise” and “writing” and their implications for professional writ-
ing. Surveys in the workplace suggest that professionals spend
an average of a quarter of their time writing. Existing literature
suggests that experts in professional communication and infor-
mation design need not only have schematic and tacit knowledge,
but also extensive cultural, rhetorical, and social skills.
My “information and message design model” include the fol-
lowing four activities: 1) Analysis and synopsis, 2) Production of
draft, 3) Production of script, and 4) Production of original and
master. Each process activity includes a design sub-process, pro-
duction of documentation, and a review process. Main infor-
mation and message design tools will include words (printed and
spoken), symbols, pictures (drawings and photos), typography
and layout, light and light effects, sound and sound effects.

The “information and message design model” includes four pro-

cess activities. Each process activity includes a design sub-pro-
cess (P1–P4), production of needed documentation (1–4), and a
special review process (R1–R4). The production activities are
analysis and production (P1) of synopsis (1), production (P2) of
draft (2), production (P3) of script (3), and production (P4) of
original 4) and master (5). C = commission.

198
 This main section is divided in the following sections: Anal-
ysis and synopsis, Production of draft, Production of script, and
and Production of original and master.

Analysis and synopsis

During an introductory analysis and planning phase it should be
possible to analyse the intended message, analyse and define the
intended information interpreters (or audience), their abilities,
experiences, and goals. It is also necessary to analyse the require-
ments, define the purpose and the objectives, organize the work,
and select a suitable method for framing of the verbal and visual
messages. Unfortunately, many production teams may spend too
little time and effort on this very important phase.
When the objectives, the purpose, the receivers, and the type
of representation for the intended message are decided, it is pos-
sible to start working on a synopsis. A subject matter expert or a
work group produces the synopsis, an overview of the forthcom-
ing information or learning material. It is important, already at
this stage, to decide on a suitable structure of the material. This
creates the conditions for the material to have a good reading
value for the intended readers. However, what is interesting to
one person may be dull to another, and the same message may
be interesting at one instance but uninteresting at another occa-
sion. Each group of readers selects information material on the
basis of personal preferences.
The contents and the structure of the synopsis may be re-
viewed and approved by an expert or by a special committee with
sufficient subject matter expertise.
The information designer needs to acquire knowledge about
the broader context in which the final designs will take place in
order to anticipate reactions of those who exert power over pro-
jects in large bureaucratic organizations (Schriver, 2011a). Ad-
ams (1999, p. 19) concluded that designing good information-
giving material is a difficult task, but it is one that can be assisted
greatly by appropriate usability testing. Users of information
199
products still largely blame themselves when faced with poor de-
signs. Thus, a push for a research-based information design must
come from the information designers. In each case members of
the specific user group may be invited to evaluate preliminary
texts and sketches for drawings, photographs, and video.
Zimmermann and Perkin (1982) pointed out that the in-
tended audience should have the final say about the content, il-
lustrations and sequences that are used. Administrators and oth-
ers indirectly connected with the project usually will have an
abundance of suggestions for revision, or state that they do not
understand the message. But, the materials were not designed
for this group. Not all kinds of technical information could be
transferred primarily through illustrations.
Members of the group of intended users may form one or
more focus groups. These groups should be asked to discuss and
review the information material at the various steps in the pro-
duction process. Focus group sessions may be helpful in answer-
ing questions of how and why people behave as they do, and how
they understand the subject matter in an information material.
It may often be a good idea to ask members of the group of
intended users to actually use the product in a realistic situation.
This exercise may be videotaped for further analysis. It is also
possible to provide the test persons with a set of realistic assign-
ments. They may be asked to communicate their thoughts on
how and why they chose to proceed in certain ways. We may also
interview the test persons, and give them questionnaires to fill in.
Results from these tests should be the basis for revision of next
generation of the information material.
When text and pictures are being produced for informative
purposes, it may be a good idea to start by trying to “visualize”
the information to be conveyed to the readers. “Visualizing” a
message means that we attempt to materialize it in an effective
synthesis of words and pictures. Visualisation is usually a com-
plex task, never a single act on its own, and it requires the

200
collaboration of several different parties. Here we can note the
following six steps:
1. Requirements. Analyse the commission and the require-
ments. Define what the sender wants to achieve. Find out
about the project budget.
2. Receivers. Define the intended receivers of the information
message. Consider age, gender, socio-economic factors, and
views expressed by (previous) intended receivers.
3. Objectives. Define the objectives for the message.
4. Representation. Select the most suitable medium for each
message.
5. Production. Organize the work. Select a method for framing
of the verbal and visual messages. Produce synopsis for text
and pictures.
6. Reviews. A subject matter review will ensure that the content
is relevant to the intended audience. A pedagogical review
will ensure that the material is well structured.
When applicable, the results from tests on previous editions of
the information materials should be the basis for production of
new information sets. Interviews with information designers
showed that they feel that they have good possibilities to use their
creativity during the first sub-process in the design of infor-
mation. Usually this possibility will decrease during the work in
the following sub-processes. The number of possible alternatives
decreases during the process that restricts the creative possibili-
ties. Another important reason for this is the substantial increase
in cost for each sub-process.

Production of draft
The subject matter experts produce the basis of the very first “raw
draft” (sometimes simple sketches), from which the subject mat-
ter experts, technical writers, and graphics editors may produce
a first draft with outlines for the pictures. Here we can note the
following six steps:
201
1. Versions. Establish a system for control of the various ver-
sions of the documents. Use a document numbering system.
2. Text. Study the raw draft. Work with text design. Write the
text. Create and use standard templates. Use only one word
processing system within the project.
3. Pictures. Study the raw draft and the text. Work with image
design. Draw simple sketches with clear explanations for
drawings and photographs.
4. Integration. Organize interplay between text and pictures.
5. Graphic design. Prepare work with typography and layout.
Bring any last-minute ideas into the process. Prepare the pre-
liminary manuscript.
6. Reviews. A subject matter review will ensure that the content
is correct and relevant to the intended audience. A pedagogi-
cal review will ensure that the material is well structured and
comprehensible. The information material must also be
highly legible and readable and have a high reading value.
When possible members of the group of intended users
should be asked to review the draft.

Production of script
All necessary work on the text and on the schematic pictures as
well as ideas for important photographs arising from the com-
ments made by the reviewers should be incorporated in the in-
formation material in this phase, the production of the script.
When the script is ready, the information material looks like
completed information or learning material. We can note the fol-
lowing seven steps:
1. Versions. Control the versions of the document.
2. Text. Edit the manuscript into its final version.
3. Drawings. Order or produce all the originals based on the pre-
viously approved sketches.
4. Photographs. Produce prints that are suitable for reproduc-
tion in accordance with sketches or test shots.

202
5. Graphic design. Work with typography and layout.
6. Reviews. Review the verbal and visual materials. Make an
overall check of linguistic usage, writing style, terminology,
typography, and layout before the script can be confirmed as
the original. The design and testing of non-verbal material are
more complicated and require much more time than the de-
velopment of comparable verbal materials. Simple does not
mean easy. It is a good idea to invite members of the intended
audience to evaluate the final texts, drawings and photo-
graphs, and to listen to their comments.
7. Copyright. Be sure to check copyright clearance for all mate-
rials before the technical production starts. This may save a
lot of trouble later on.

Production of original and master

Before the original can be confirmed as the master, where the
text and the visuals finally are brought together, there should be
an overall final check according to the following six steps:
1. Versions. Make sure that the final versions of the various
parts of the documents are used for the originals.
2. Text. Check the quality of the technical production.
3. Drawings. Check the quality of the technical production.
4. Photographs. Check the quality of the technical production.
5. Graphic design. Check the quality of the technical produc-
tion.
6. Corrections. Correct any errors.

203
 Credibility
According to Doblin (1980, p. 104) the goal of credibility, to per-
suade, leads to intended behaviour such as voting, buying, lov-
ing, giving, and so forth. A message that is not believed cannot
persuade. A crude presentation (like a typewritten letterhead) or
a “hucksterish presentation” (like the TV ads of auto dealers) may
not be believed. Careful presentation may be required to over-
come prejudices held by decoders.
Bettinghaus and Cody (1987) noted, “There are a number of
early studies that clearly establish credibility as an important fac-
tor in persuasion” (p. 84). Sources possessing more credibility
for an audience are more effective in persuasion. What makes a
picture credible? What does it mean that a picture has high cred-
ibility? What does a high credibility picture look like? What is the
actual meaning with the concepts credible and credibility?
Important components of credibility are: 1) The sender or
the source, 2) The message, 3) The medium, and 4) The specific
context for the message. These four components all influence
each other and they also influence our overall notion or under-
standing of credibility.
This chapter includes the following main sections: Credibil-
ity of the sender, Credibility of the medium, Credibility of the
message, and Credibility of the context.

204
Credibility of the sender
Fleming and Levie (1978, p. 1999) noted: “The credibility of a
source is an attribution that is conferred upon the source by the
receiver.” Tedeschi and Rosenfeld (1980, p. 234) stated: “Credi-
bility refers to the truthfulness of the source over the occasions
when his or her communication can be checked for accuracy.”
This main section is divided in the following sections: Credibility
variables and definitions, and Personal credibility.

Natural credibility. For centuries people considered this wood-

cut, about 23.5 x 29.6 cm, from 1515 by Albrecht Dürer to be a
true representation of a living Rhinoceros. Several artists have
used this picture as a model for their own, new images of rhinos
into the 19th century. Albrecht Dürer had high credibility as a
“sender.” The text above the picture tells the reader about the
animal. Picture: Wikimedia Commons.

205
After studying several photographs of the Indian rhinoceros, I
drew this simple line drawing in 2013. The drawing shows the
accurate proportions of this big and magnificent animal. An In-
dian rhinoceros may be 12.5 feet long, and 6 feet high. The
weight may be 2.2 tons. In the wild, along the foothills of the
Himalayas, the average life span is 40 years.

Credibility variables and definitions

Many dictionaries have different definitions of the concept cred-
ibility. One of the three words believe, believable and belief are
often used in definitions. Here is one definition from the Diction-
ary.cambridge (2016): “credibility, the fact that someone can be
believed or trusted.” The receiver of a message believes in a
sender with high credibility.
Simons (1986, p. 130) argued: “Credibility, it turns out, is a
complex notion consisting, essentially, of respect variables (e.g.,
perceived intelligence, knowledge of subject); trust variables
(e.g., perceived objectivity, fairness); and attraction variables
(e.g., perceived warmth, dynamism, interest in audience).”
Later Bettinghaus and Cody (1987, p. 85) defined credibility
in the following way: “Credibility is a set of perceptions about
sources held by receivers.” Thus, when we want to find out if a
source is credible, we should ask potential receivers about their
opinions on the matter. The source or the sender may be an “in-
stitution” such as a broadcasting company or a newspaper. The
sender may also be an individual person. Almost every study on
“source credibility” seems to agree on the existence of an
206
expertise factor or a competence factor, as well as a “trustworthi-
ness factor” or a safety factor.
In information materials photographs and bright, warm col-
ours give credibility to the organization behind the message
(Kensicki, 2003). Frequent use of archive pictures may cause
quality problems. In many situations, it may be better not to have
any pictures at all than employing pictures of poor quality.
According to Bettinghaus and Cody (1987), almost every
study on “source credibility” seems to agree on the existence of
both an expertise or a competence factor, and also a trustworthi-
ness or a safety factor. There are obviously various levels of cred-
ibility. At least we can distinguish between high and low levels. A
source with a high degree of trustworthiness may be described
with words like agreeable, calm, congenial, ethical, fair, forgiv-
ing, friendly, gentle, honest, hospitable, just, kind, nice, patient,
pleasant, sociable, unselfish, and warm.
The opposite words would describe a source with a low de-
gree of trustworthiness. A source with a high degree of expertise
may be described with words like able, accurate, authoritative,
experienced, informed, intelligent, knowledgeable, skilful, and
trained. In this case the opposite words would describe a source
with a low degree of expertise.
High-credibility sources exert a more persuasive influence
on the receivers than low-credibility sources. Thus, for the sender
it may be very important that receivers are informed about the
level of expertise of a high-quality source. And this is often seen
in advertisements where selected experts give their “expert opin-
ions” on the quality of a specific product or a certain service.
Linderholm (1997) argued that messages with logical argu-
ments based on facts are useful tools when the goal is to change
an attitude. Such messages may also increase the credibility of
the sender. However, the sender must also provide evidence
against an undesired attitude, otherwise the sender will lose
credibility.

207
 Hovland et al. (1953) stated that people who show high ac-
ceptance of a message from a high credibility source may show
less acceptance later on, after a few weeks. They called this the
sleeper effect. Through the 1950s and 1960s the sleeper effect
had a firm place in the persuasion literature. However, later Cook
and Flay (1978) demonstrated that the sleeper effect could not be
reliably demonstrated without very specific conditions.
According to Fleming and Levie (1978, p. 225) the adverse
effects of a low credibility source can be lessened if the source is
identified after, rather than before the message is presented to
the audience. Once people have made up their minds and formed
their opinions they are not always inclined to change these opin-
ions easily.
Hovland et al. (1953) also argued that people who receive a
message from a source with low credibility may show an increase
in acceptance of the message after some time has passed. The
negative influence from the source diminishes.

Personal credibility
Kouzes and Posner (1993) studied the credibility of leaders, and
how leaders in business may gain and may lose their credibility.
They found that most people appreciate leaders with high credi-
bility. Above all such leaders are honest, foresighted, inspiring,
and competent. They are also just, fair, supporting, liberal and
broad-minded. According to Kouzes and Posner a credible source
is reliable, objective and dynamic.
Ehrenborg (1984) declared that the credibility of a speaker
is very much influenced by her or his actual performance in front
of a live audience. Our body language must always be in close
agreement with our messages. A speaker that is lying will usually
soon be exposed by the body language. An audience will believe
what they see much more than what they hear. Visual aids of poor
quality may actually be devastating for the credibility and image
of the speaker as well as the credibility of the message. Simons
(1986, p. 96) discussed how we perceive people, and concluded
208
that a credible image of a person helps make one’s ideas more
credible, and vice versa.
In connection with accidents, crimes, and verdicts several re-
searchers have discussed the credibility of eyewitnesses. Eyewit-
ness identification has been cited as the single most persuasive
source of all kinds of evidence that can be used in a court of law
(Loftus 1996; Woocher, 1977), but also as the most frequent
cause of wrongful convictions (Rattner, 1988). The reliability of
testimony depends on many factors, including circumstances at
the time of an event, the witness’s emotional state and memory
function, etc.
According to Lindsay (1994) eyewitnesses are generally con-
sidered by jurors to be highly credible sources of evidence. How-
ever, many factors can intervene here and create inaccurate tes-
timonies. The memory can be radically altered by the way an eye-
witness is questioned, new memories can be implanted and old
ones altered in subtle ways (Loftus, 1996). Some witnesses find
it easy to remember events accurately and in great detail. At the
same time the memory of other witnesses may be faulty. Some-
times people fill in memory blanks unconsciously so a memory
still seems correct to them. Witnesses such as this might then be
convinced that he or she is supplying highly accurate infor-
mation, even when it is highly inaccurate.
According to Christianson (1990), witnesses often change
their recollections to conform to descriptions supplied by other
witnesses or information in the media. This is a subconscious
process that is independent of whether an event was emotionally
charged or banal.
After a series of experiments with mock jury studies Lindsay
(1994) found that witness confidence consistently influenced ju-
ror verdicts and perceptions of witness accuracy, whereas a vari-
ety of other factors had little or no effect on the verdicts. Jurors
actually made determinations of guilt or innocence by distorting
the evidence to conform to their opinions and decisions. Lindsay
concluded that the most important contributions that psycholo-
209
gists can make in the eyewitness area would result from develop-
ing techniques that increase the accuracy of eyewitness reports,
or the accuracy of eyewitness identifications.
Leippe (1994) made three credibility experiments and dis-
cussed the appraisal of eyewitness testimonies. Judgements in-
cluded ratings of believability, confidence, consistency, estimate
of cued recall, and confidence in identification accuracy. Leippe
viewed eyewitness testimony as “persuasive communication”
whereby the witness attempts to persuade the jury that her or his
testimony was accurate. Leippe concluded that a thorough un-
derstanding of eyewitness persuasion is an important theoretical
and practical goal, and a variety of factors influence the believa-
bility of eyewitness testimony.
Due to the ethical standards expected from the medical pro-
fession, consumers generally regard a testimony from a medical
doctor as credible and trustworthy (de Lange, 2016). Consumers
expect that products that are endorsed by the medical profession
are effective and are safe to use. Misleading practices include the
use of medical practitioners to endorse unsubstantiated prod-
ucts.
Around the world consumers would expect that their official
“Advertising Standards Authorities” favour any complaints from
consumers. However, in one occasion the Advertising Standards
Authority of South Africa (ASASA), actually ruled in favour of an
advertiser rather than of a complaint from a consumer.
All rulings made by ASASA are binding upon the advertiser,
the advertising practitioner, and also the medium in which the
advertisement appears. In this specific case the advertiser used a
slogan claiming medical endorsement, despite the fact that the
marketing material violates existing Acts as well as the ethical
code of the medical profession.

210
Credibility of the medium
Communication takes place when a sender successfully manages
to convey a message to a receiver. The sender transfers her or his
message to the receiver with the help of different media. A me-
dium with a specific message is a representation. All representa-
tions are the result of biological, cultural, economic, emotional,
historical, political, religious, social, and subject matter factors.
Actually, all we have got to communicate with are various kinds
of representations. Obviously, the sender wants the chosen rep-
resentations to have high credibility. This main section is divided
in the following sections: Who will trust the news? and Media
and learning.

Who will trust the news?

According to Becker et al. (1976) the credibility of a medium de-
pends on a number of variables, including receiver characteris-
tics such as age, gender and level of education. The National Swe-
dish Psychological Defence Planning Committee has carried out
comprehensive studies of the credibility of various media
(Arvidsson, 1977, 1980, 1981a, 1981b; Törnqvist, 1974).
At the end of the 1960s, television was considered superior
in credibility, although by the beginning of the 1970s, radio was
considered most credible. During the 1980s, radio and television
were felt to be equal in credibility. It is primarily the younger gen-
eration who have the most faith in television. Few persons trust
the information they find in newspapers. The older we are, the
more credible we find the morning papers. Furthermore, trust in
the morning papers increases with our level of education.
One visual ploy to gain credibility is to use elaborate borders,
similar to those on bonds or banknotes, for other displays. Arvid-
son (1977, 1980) discussed early research on credibility with re-
spect to mass media and defined four credibility concepts: 1) con-
fidence, 2) credibility, 3) believability and 4) accuracy. According
to Arvidson confidence and believability are properties of the
public, while credibility and accuracy are properties of the mass
211
media. Confidence, credibility, believability and accuracy are all
important aspects of persuasion.

Media and learning

According to Keller and Burkman (1993) learners will be more
motivated to learn if they believe in the truth and appropriate-
ness of the materials presented to them. In science, the goal has
always been to present physical phenomena in an objective man-
ner. However, in reality it is impossible to present the real thing
in a book. Tønnesson (2012, p. 25) defined the intention to por-
tray reality as a characteristic of non-fiction literature.
The credibility of an instructor or a set of course materials is
influenced by several factors concerning the qualifications of the
instructor, the reputation of the publisher, the quality and struc-
ture of the arguments in a message, and the correspondence of
values and beliefs between the learners and the source of mate-
rials. Thus, Keller and Burkman formulated the following princi-
ple of motivation: “Learner confidence and efforts to succeed are
increased in proportion to the perceived credibility of the source”
(p. 22). They also noted that commercial producers have found
that users’ first impressions of a media product are very im-
portant to getting them to adopt (buy) it. Consequently, they
spend a lot of time and money in giving their products a favour-
able feel or image.
An information material with a (sufficiently) pleasing aes-
thetic form has greater potential for conveying a particular mes-
sage than un-aesthetic material. The sender’s choice of graphical
form will generate either positive or negative expectations in the
receiver, while the choice of typography and layout may often
give the reader a specific pre-understanding of the content of a
message. In other words, it is always important that an infor-
mation material exhibit good legibility, and, if it is a spoken mes-
sage, distinctness. The message may be aesthetically pleasing,
but its content is more important than its form.

212
Credibility of the message
It is quite obvious that different specimens within a medium,
such as individual newspapers, books, television programmes,
movies, records etcetera will differ widely in their credibility de-
pending on the contents of the various messages. Thus, the cred-
ibility of the message is influenced by the credibility of the spe-
cific medium; and the credibility of the medium is influenced by
the credibility of the message. The same message will be per-
ceived in different ways in different representations. And the
same kind of interactive influence can be seen between the rep-
resentation and the sender. This main section is divided in the
following sections: A credible message, Manipulated messages,
and Graphical integrity.

A credible message
Fleming and Levie (1978, p. 203) noted that: “The receiver’s eval-
uation of the message will affect the receiver’s evaluation of the
source.” Thus, an effective message has to be both credible and
merit credibility. To a similar effect Bettinghaus and Cody (1987,
p. 100) stated:
What sources say is extremely important, but how they say
it and how they behave while saying it does dramatically af-
fect the receiver’s perceptions of the source, thus influencing
the extent of attitude change the receiver is likely to experi-
ence.
What is typical for a message with high credibility? In my opin-
ion, it must be possible to understand the message and to be able
to believe that the information is correct. The information can’t
be too divergent from the usual situations. Furthermore, a high
credibility message has a good structure, convincing arguments,
proper references, and relevant examples. It is also a major ad-
vantage if both text and pictures have good legibility as well as
good readability.

213
 Becker (1996, p. 184) argued that the introduction of digital
imagery and the electronic transfer of images have had a pro-
found effect on the way photographs are handled and thought
about. These technological developments have raised the pro-
spect of images that are no longer anchored to their photo-
graphic, film-based original. In principle changes in the image
can now occur at any point in the chain of events from the taking
of the picture to its publication. There is no way for the reader to
detect this.

Manipulated messages
Digitally manipulated journalistic photographs emerged in the
press in the mid–1980s. Often digital re-touching had signifi-
cantly altered the photographic messages (Alling-Ode and Tubin,
1993; Ritchin, 1990). According to Becker (1996) controversy
over these cases of image manipulation centred on the control of
the image–whether it should be in the hands of the photogra-
phers, the editors, or the printers and the technicians.
The early debate of image manipulation focused on the ques-
tion of the photograph’s journalistic credibility. The credibility of
the press photograph was reasserted as central to the authority
of the journalistic event, accompanied by urgent warnings about
the dangers in uncontrolled applications of new technology.
Still pictures, as well as moving photographic images, are not
always imprints of what actually was in front of the camera.
Movie productions often use special effect scenes created with a
blend of techniques. Digital manipulation of images has now
reached a point where it is often impossible for viewers to see
what has been altered and what has not.
Fetveit (1997) suggested that our trust in film images would
be a product of institutional warrant rather than blind faith in the
documentary power of photography. To some extent trust will
pass from the photographic technology to the institutions and to
the discourses where the images are used. When people view
movies like Jurassic Park, Independence Day and King Kong
214
they are not likely to believe that these actually are true stories.
Here the purpose is entertainment and not information. The in-
tention is not to present a representation of the “real world” but
to present a representation of an “imagined world,” a fantasy or
a dream. In such a situation a manipulated image may employ
high credibility.
McDougall and Hampton (1990, p. ix) argued that in jour-
nalism, a photograph should reflect reality without distortion.
According to McDougall and Hampton credibility is the quality
most desired. There should be no room on the printed page for a
deliberately dishonest picture. Smith (1998) cited Scherer (1975)
who contended that there are at least six criteria a researcher
should answer before attaching any authenticity to photographic
meaning: 1) Who took the photograph? 2) When was it taken? 3)
Why was it taken? 4) What were the photographer’s intentions
and motivations? 5) What type of photographic equipment was
used? 6) What were the feelings of the subject toward being pho-
tographed?
When confronted with claims such as “100% clinically vali-
dated” and “clinically researched” the consumer could infer that
the product has been subjected to independent, relevant, and un-
biased clinical trials, that it is safe and effective, and that there is
sufficient scientific evidence to support these claims.
In one report de Lange (2020) illustrates how labelling
claims of a “testosterone booster supplement” misleads consum-
ers. The label text exaggerated and misrepresented research as
evidence for the efficacy of the product. In this case no such trials
ever took place.

Graphical integrity
According to O’Keefe (1990) the use of visuals is always more
persuasive than the use of numerical statistics. This is true for all
kinds of receivers. The use of misleading illustrations in compar-
isons and statistics reduces the credibility of the message itself.
And Tufte (1983) argued that lying or misleading graphics
215
cheapen the graphical art everywhere. When a chart or graph on
television lies, it lies tens of millions of times over; when a major
newspaper chart lies, it lies hundreds of thousands of times over
to a great many important and influential readers. Tufte (1983)
gave six principles that will result in graphical integrity (p. 77):
1. The representation of numbers, as physically measured on
the surface of the graphic itself, should be directly propor-
tional to the numerical quantities represented.
2. Clear, detailed, and thorough labelling should be used to de-
feat graphical distortion and ambiguity. Write out explana-
tions of the data on the graphic itself. Label important events
in the data.
3. Show data variation, not design variation.
4. In time-series displays of money, deflated and standardized
units of monetary measurements are nearly always better
than nominal units.
5. The number of information-carrying (variable) dimensions
depicted should not exceed the number of dimensions in the
data.
6. Graphics must not quote data out of context.
Good designs are intriguing and curiosity provoking, drawing the
viewer into the wonder of the data. Later Tufte (1983, p. 87)
noted:

Graphical competence demands three quite different skills:

the substantive, statistical, and artistic. Yet most graphical
work today, particularly in news publications, is under the
direction of but a single expertise–the artistic. Allowing art-
ist-illustrators to control the design and content of statistical
graphics is almost like allowing typographers to control the
content, style, and editing of prose. Substantive and quanti-
tative expertise must also participate in the design of data
graphics, at least if statistical integrity and graphical sophis-
tication are to be achieved.

216
In summary the credibility of the message is influenced by the
credibility of the specific medium; and the credibility of the me-
dium is influenced by the credibility of the message. The same
message will be perceived in different ways in different represen-
tations. And the same kind of interactive influence can be seen
between the representation and the sender.

Credibility of the context

In the receiving of a verbal and visual message, all receiver pro-
cesses are influenced by prior experience in relation to age and
gender, as well as by cultural, economic, historical, political, re-
ligious, and social factors. Such experiences in the social context
will influence our individual selection processes, our mental pro-
cesses, and our response processes. These factors have a major
influence on how various receivers relate to verbal and visual
messages of different kinds, and on how meaning is subsequently
constructed.
Photographers documenting the horrors, violence and disas-
ter of war have sometimes been rejected because their photos
“cannot be true.” And it is not possible for ordinary people to be-
lieve in them. It is clear that the context in which a message is
received will influence the credibility of the message as well as
the medium and the sender, and vice versa.
There is also an internal context. Within a medium credibil-
ity may be influenced with the help of typography, layout, sound
and sound effects. For example, different placements of a mes-
sage within a newspaper may influence the credibility of that spe-
cific message. For many people textbook authors are “high-cred-
ibility” sources. People believe in them. However, throughout
history the use of pictures in various media has always been
highly subjective. Many readers and viewers may not understand
that all pictures that are used in various media often have been
subject to selection, sometimes several times.
In the production of pictures in a textbook the author pro-
duces a manuscript and often also ideas for illustrations. The
217
editor develops some ideas to picture descriptions and orders
drawings and photographs. Artists deliver the drawings. Photo-
graphs are delivered by photographers and from picture ar-
chives. Pictures are selected, edited and produced. The readers
make the final selections in the printed book.
In the production of pictures in a paper a specific event is
presented with text and pictures and cause individual interpre-
tations. The photographers select among various possible mo-
tives and, later among the prints. Members of the editorial staff,
make a selection among the prints and produces text. The read-
ers make their selections among the printed information.
Evans (1978) noted that a sequence of photographs would
add credibility to a central picture (p. 175). One way of “manipu-
lating” and effecting the interpretation of image content is the
careful writing of captions. Views expressed in the captions re-
garding the messages in the pictures may vary from very negative
to very positive. Thus, the captions will influence what the read-
ers actually select to “see,” or rather “interpret” from the contents
in the images.
Thus, the drawing would influence our perception of the
photo, and vice versa. This may very well be true in some situa-
tions. The context may also be external, directly outside the me-
dium, i.e. the communication situation. Here different situations
may influence the credibility of the message.
It may be concluded that credibility of a message is depend-
ent on the perceptions and interpretations of the receivers, and
not necessarily on any actual characteristics of the senders or
sources. People do not seem to realize that pictures and texts in
media only represent a “fragment” of reality. The credibility of a
message is influenced by the credibility of the source, the mes-
sage, the medium, and the specific context.

218
 ID Library
At the beginning of this millennium there was a huge lack of text-
books for the new academic discipline Information Design. At
that time, I wrote some research papers, and also some basic
texts about communication, design, and information. Already in
2002 John Benjamins Publishing Company published my book
Information Design, An introduction in Amsterdam and Phila-
delphia. This was useful, but it was not enough. Of course, also,
other people contributed with research papers, and after some
time also with textbooks.
Since I retired, 1 January 2009, I have continued working
with research at the Institute for Infology. I have developed an
Information Design Library with 12 e-books. These e-books in-
clude 3 650 pages, and together they constitute my digital Infor-
mation Design Library, something I really wanted to have for my
own teaching many years ago.
• Message Design.
• ID Theories.
• Text Design.
• Image Design.
• Using Images.
• Reuse in Art and Design.
• Graphic Design.
• Cognition.
• Learning.
• Predecessors and Pioneers.
• It Depends.
• ID Concepts.
All these books are available at ResearchGate at:
< https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rune_Pettersson >

219
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 Appendix: Main concepts
Many concepts may have diffused and sometimes even multiple
meanings. For the purpose of this book I have used the following
brief descriptions of main concepts related to languages and text
design. Here these concepts are sorted in alphabetical order:
Active voice is the grammatical form in which a person or a
thing performs an action of a verb. The active voice is clear, con-
cise, direct, and vigorous.
Adjective describes a noun, a noun phrase, or a pronoun. Words
like big, fat, and old give us more information. “Adjectives” is a
major word class.
Adjunct information or background information helps us
understand the content of the text. Explanatory information
places a text within a realm of understanding.
Adverbs describe information about an adjective, an adverb, a
clause, a verb. “Adverbs” is an open word class. Adverbs give an-
swers to questions: How? What? When? Where?
Analysis is the first sub-process in the actual writing of a text. It
is important to define the problem during an introductory anal-
ysis and planning phase. The different steps include defining the
purpose and receivers of the intended message.
Audibility in the spoken word is comparable to legibility in the
written message. In oral presentations, it is important that it is
easy to clearly hear the individual words and sentences.
Body language may account for up to half, or even more, of all
our communications with others. Many gestures and movements
can be interpreted without ambiguity in a given cultural commu-
nity, but not outside that community. Body language is partly in-
stinctive, partly imitative and learned.
Clarity refers to 1) The quality of being clear and easy to under-
stand, 2) The ability to think clearly and not be confused,” and 3)
The quality of being easy to see or hear.” In information design
the concept clarity refers to both legibility and readability.

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Clause is the smallest unit that can express if something is false
or true. Typically, a clause has a subject and a predicate.
Clear. In information design the concept clear refers to both leg-
ibility and readability.
Closed word classes. The four word classes conjunctions, de-
terminers, prepositions, and pronouns, are regarded as “closed
word classes.”
Colon (:) tells the readers that the following words are closely
related to the preceding clause.
Comma (,) can help the readers pick out the intended meaning
more easily. We use commas to avoid ambiguity.
Concept is an idea of something formed by mentally combining
all its characteristics or particulars, a mental notion of a referent.
It is not bound to a particular language, but it must get denomi-
native and descriptive linguistic expressions.
Conceptual model is a systematic description of concepts in a
subject field. Conceptual models are also called conceptual hier-
archies and concept systems.
Conjunctions express logical relations between clauses,
phrases, and sentences. In English, main conjunctions are: and,
as well as, but, for, nor, or, so, such as, and yet.
Consistency. Inconsistencies will confuse the readers. Always
use the same words for the same concepts. Do not mix tenses.
Copyright. The rights of copyright holders are protected ac-
cording to international conventions, terms of delivery and
agreed ethical rules.
Copyright Act. All artistic works are protected for the origina-
tor's entire life plus an additional 70 years. Thus, many works are
protected for more than 120-130 years. This protection is inter-
national.
Cost of reading and understanding a document is in most cases
many times greater than the cost of producing the document.
Credibility is the fact that someone can be believed or trusted.

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Critical print size is the smallest character size for which read-
ing is possible at maximum speed.
Definition is a linguistic description of a concept. The descrip-
tion should be short, precise and stylistically homogeneous.
Design is: (1) The identification of a problem and the intellectual
process (verb) of an originator, manifesting itself in plans and
specifications to solve the problem. (2) The result (noun) and
outcome of a design process.
Determiners. In English, determiners constitute a small closed
word class. This group includes articles (such as a, an), and cer-
tain demonstrative words (such as this, that).
Distinctness. It is important that the listeners clearly under-
stand the words in any oral presentation. Distinctness in the spo-
ken message is comparable to readability in the written message.
E-book. An electronic book, e-book or ebook, is a book that is
published and made available in digital form. An e-book may
consist of text, images, or both. It is readable on the displays of
computers, and other electronic devices, such as laptops,
smartphones and tablets.
E-textbook. While a traditional printed textbook is used as a
standard work for the study of a particular subject, an electronic
textbook may be equipped with “special tools” that allow stu-
dents to access various resources on the Internet, highlight cer-
tain text segments, and take notes.
Extended text. The extended text concept implies that texts can
consist of a variety of communicative resources that form a joint
entity. Examples are written words combined with various forms
of illustrations, or a spoken text combined with gestures.
Full stop (.) can mark the end of a complete sentence. If the
whole sentence is in parentheses, the full stop should come be-
fore the closing bracket. If only the last part of the sentence is in
parentheses, the full stop should be outside the last bracket.

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Goal of credibility. A message that is not believed cannot per-
suade. A crude presentation may not be believed. Careful presen-
tation may be required to overcome prejudices held by decoders.
Grammar. In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules
governing the composition of clauses, phrases, sentences, and
words in any given natural language. The term grammar also re-
fers to the study of such rules. It includes morphology, phonol-
ogy, and syntax. These studies are often complemented by pho-
netics, pragmatics, and semantics.
Grapheme is the smallest semantically distinguishing unit in a
written language. It is analogous to the phoneme in a spoken lan-
guage. A grapheme may or it may not carry any meaning by itself,
and it may or it may not correspond to a single phoneme.
Hyphen (-) clarifies your meaning when using two or more
words to form a compound adjective. Using hyphens is a way of
making expressions with three or more nouns in a row more pre-
cise. Use hyphens after certain prefixes: not normally after Latin
and Greek prefixes, but often after English. See Dash.
Hyphenation. Lines can be broken according to different prin-
ciples. According to one principle, lines can be broken only be-
tween words. According to another principle, lines can be broken
also within words. This can be done phonetically or according to
etymology. In mechanical word breaks, lines are broken at the
most convenient point, regardless of meaning. It is known that
poor readers have difficulty reading hyphenated text.
Idiom is a fixed expression whose meaning is not discernible
from the definitions of the individual words of which the expres-
sion is made up.
Information design comprises analysis, planning, presenta-
tion and understanding of a message, its content, language and
form. The main objective is to provide information needed by the
receivers in order to perform specific tasks. Information design
is a process (verb) as well as a result (noun) of that process.
Infomercials should never be confused with infographics. An
infomercial is an advertising film which promotes a product in
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an informative and supposedly objective style. It may be a televi-
sion commercial, typically about five minutes, or even longer.
The main objective for infomercials are to create as many “im-
pulse purchases” as possible. When the intended target viewers
happen to view this kind of presentation, they will immediately
haste to use the advertised toll-free telephone number, or web-
site, and buy the presented product without any critical thinking.
Infomercials may describe, demonstrate, and display various
products and their “outstanding features”. There may be very fa-
vourable testimonials from some (well payed?) happy customers.
Obviously, infomercials, should never be confused with items
produced according to information design standards.
Language. Any system used for communication between people
could be regarded as a language. There are spoken, written, and
visual languages. Normal prose is often open to multiple inter-
pretations.
Legibility is determined by the technical design of text and pic-
tures. The reader should easily be able to see and distinguish all
different parts of a text. It can be measured rather objectively.
Linguistic comprehensibility. An easily comprehensible text
has short sentences, short words, and simple sentence structure.
Linguistics is the scientific study of language, its context, form,
meaning, and structure. Sub-fields are discourse analysis, mor-
phology, phonetics, phonology, pragmatics, semantics, semiot-
ics, stylistics, and syntax.
Listening skills. An active listener focus on the verbal message,
analyses the presentation, distinguishes between relevant and ir-
relevant information, and asks the presenter for explanations.
Literacy was restricted to the ability to use language to read
and write. Sometimes the ability to listen and speak was added.
Nowadays there are many literacies: 1) Literacy, 2) Musicacy, 3)
Numeracy, 4) Visuacy, 5) Electracy/mediacy, and 6) Area specific
literacies.
Metaphor transfers meaning from one thing to another. Meta-
phors can be verbal and visual.
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Metonym is something that denotes one thing, but is used to
refer to something else.
Mode. 1) A mode is a system of signs to express and represent
meanings. A multi-modal text is a text composed of more than
one mode. 2) The value that occurs most often in a distribution
of data. See Mean, Median.
Morpheme is the smallest grammatical unit with meaning in a
language. Morphemes are combined to form syntagms, i.e.,
words, phrases, sentences, and complete texts.
Morphology. 1) Generally speaking morphology is the study of
form and structure of anything. 2) In biology and life sciences
morphology is the study of form and structure of organisms and
their parts. 3) In linguistics morphology is a sub-field that study
of morphemes, or the internal structures of words in a language,
how words are changed, combined, formed, and modified.
Multimodal text. Texts can consist of a variety of communica-
tive resources, where meaning is communicated through combi-
nations of two or more modes, such as spoken and written lan-
guage, and also different patterns of meaning. These patterns
may be audio, gestural, spatial, tactile, and visual.
Navigation. 1) When we browse through a paper, an encyclo-
paedia, or a hypermedia system, we navigate using a combina-
tion of alphanumeric information (headings and subheadings)
and pictorial information. 2) Navigation is a metaphor to de-
scribe how readers interact with hypermedia texts.
Noun is a word referring to an event, a person, a place, a quality,
a substance, or a thing. It is not always possible to identify a noun
by its form. “Nouns” is the largest of the four open word classes.
Noun phrases can be used in a sentence as if they were nouns.
Open word classes. Adjectives, adverbs, nouns, and verbs, are
open word classes. They all accept new words.
Oral presentations. Speaker and listeners communicate in
real time. The writer and the reader can take the time they need.

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Originator of term. The people who create concepts and terms
may be called “originators of terms”. They should get into contact
with the “terminology coordinators”.
Passive voice has a complicated word order and subordinated
clauses. It makes your writing imprecise and difficult to follow.
Phonemes are basic units of sound without meaning. When
combined, they form units with meaning.
Phonetics is a sub-field in linguistics, with focus on the study of
the physical properties of the sounds made by the human voice
in speech, sound production and human perception of sounds.
Phonology is the study of phonemes, and combinations of these
units. The smallest written unit that fills a semantically differen-
tiating function is called a grapheme.
Phrase. A phrase may be any group of words. In linguistic anal-
ysis a phrase is a single unit within a grammatical hierarchy.
Pictographic languages have evolved in different cultures.
The Chinese language is an example of a living pictographic (ide-
ographic) language in which each character represents one or
more words.
Portmanteau is a word blending the sounds and combining the
meanings of two other words, for example the words information
and commercial are used to form the word infomercial.
Pragmatics. 1) In linguistics pragmatics is the study of relations
between words, and how we express ourselves. 2) In semiotics
pragmatics is the study of relations between signs and their ef-
fects on people.
Predicate modifies and provides an idea of the subject, such as
what it does. The predicate must contain a verb, and it must agree
in number with the subject.
Prepositions are words connecting nouns, noun phrases, and
pronouns to other words. They are locators in place and time.
Prepositions form a closed word class.
Pronouns are words used instead of nouns or noun phrases.
There are indefinite pronouns (such as anybody), personal
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pronouns (you), possessive pronouns (your), and reflexive pro-
nouns (yourself). Pronouns form a closed word class.
Punctuation makes it easier for readers to understand the con-
tent of the text. With signs and symbols, other than letters, punc-
tuation provides information about single words and sentences.
Quality. A good information material has a distinct structure, is
legible, readable, and relevant for the intended audience. In in-
formation design the content of the message is more important
than its context, execution, and format.
Readability of a message involves the reader’s ability to under-
stand style of graphic form, pictures and text. What makes a mes-
sage difficult to read is not as often the subject matter as the style.
Reading is a language-related activity performed by the re-
ceiver. Most people read instructional materials selectively.
Reading acuity is the smallest possible size of a text that we can
read.
Reading speed is the number of words we read per minute.
Reading value. A message should be well worth reading for the
intended audience. However, what is interesting to one person
may be dull to another. Each reader has personal preferences.
Referent is an abstract or a concrete object linked to a specific
concept, explained by a definition, and has a specific term.
Rhetoric is art and study of effective and persuasive language.
Semantics is the study of the meaning of verbal expressions
(lexical semantics), and the implications of fixed word combina-
tions (phraseology), and how these form meanings of sentences.
Semiotics, semiotic studies, refers to study of meaning of signs.
Meanings are culturally dependent. It is related to linguistics.
Sentence is a group of words with one or more finite clauses.
Complex sentences may contain multiple clauses. In many lan-
guages a sentence starts with a capital letter, and ends with a full
stop. An explicit sentence contains a predicate and a subject.

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Skimming. An active reader is skilled in skimming the text.
Skimming enables the reader to pick out key words and main
ideas in the text and, thereby, obtain a great deal of information.
Slide-lecture is a lecture in which the lecturer speaks whilst an
electronic display shows a sequence of visual screens with text,
multimedia, or a combination of both.
Style is the way of expressing thoughts in speaking and writing
by arranging words for clarity, effectiveness and ease of listening
and reading. The choice of words, symbols, and picture elements
creates the style. There are publication manuals and style guides.
Style guides. Style of text is dependent on the specific choice of
consistency, expressions, and words. There are a vast number of
style guides and publication manuals available.
Subject refers to the part of a sentence that contains the verb
and gives information about the subject.
Subject field is a field of human knowledge to which a termi-
nological record is assigned.
Synecdoche is a substitution of a more inclusive term for a less
inclusive one.
Syntactics is the study of relations among signs in different for-
mal structures.
Syntagm. 1) In verbal language a syntagm, or a sub-meaning, is
a word, a phrase, a sentence, or a complete text, formed by com-
bined morphemes. 2) In visual language syntagms, or sub-mean-
ings, form shapes that form visual syntagms, or sub-meanings.
These components interact to form complete meanings. Here a
key syntagm is the “meaning nucleus” of the visual.
Syntax. 1) The actual principles, processes, and rules that gov-
ern the structure of sentences in a given language. This is espe-
cially important for word order. Each language has its own syn-
tax. 2) The study of the governing principles, processes, and rules
that govern the structure of sentences in a given language.
Tablet, or tablet computer, is a mobile device. Tablets often
have touchscreen displays, and they resemble smartphones. But
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tablets are larger, and they may not support access to cellular
networks.
Term, technical expression, is the linguistic representation of a
concept in a given subject field, in which it has a specific and
carefully determined meaning. The term is often a single word,
but the term may also consist of a few words. A term can be re-
garded as a “label.”
Terminology is a structured set of concepts and the terms that
are used to represent them in a specific subject field. This is par-
ticularly important in pioneering technologies A terminology is
also the study of the relationships between concepts and terms.
Terminology administration is responsible for the organisa-
tion of terminology work within an organisation. The admin-
istration successively produces a list of terms, or a combined
glossary.
Terminology committees. The terminology coordinators
may organise one or more temporary or permanent “terminology
committees.”
Terminology coordinators continuously collect new terms
and concepts related to their own field of activities and expertise
and compile their department or project glossaries.
Terminology council discusses problems of common interest
in the work with new terminology, and then make all the neces-
sary decisions.
Terminology experts may review the information and learn-
ing materials with respect to the use of consistent terminology.
Terminology study encompasses study of concepts, concep-
tual systems, definitions, idioms, references, semantics, and
terms.
Terminology work involves continuous collection, review, de-
scription, definition, and presentation of new concepts and their
terms.

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Text design. Writers need to know as much as possible about
readers, the purpose of the writing, and how the message is to be
conveyed. Good text design is direct and simple.
Text standards. To avoid distracting the readers, the linguistic
usage as well as the style should be correct. There are several
good books available for American and British English.
Textbook. A traditional textbook is printed on paper. It is used
as a standard work for the study of a particular subject. A text-
book often includes special assignments for students, and refer-
ences to other literature.
Verb. A verb expresses an activity. It may be an action, an occur-
rence, or a state of being. A verb is one of the main parts of a
sentence. “Verbs” is the second largest open word class.
Word classes. There are eight types of “word classes” in Eng-
lish: 1) Adjectives, 2) Adverbs, 3) Conjunctions, 4) Determiners,
5) Nouns, 6) Prepositions, 7) Pronouns, and 8) Verbs.
Words. In linguistics, a word is the smallest, single element with
literal or practical meaning. A word may consist of only one mor-
pheme, but usually there are more. Words can be put together to
build phrases, clauses, and sentences. Spoken words are made of
phonemes. Written words are made of graphemes. Each meaning
of a word is defined and must be learned.
Writing. The physical act of writing one's thoughts with the help
of a pen and paper, or a keyboard, or a mouse and a computer,
does not usually require a great deal of time. It may take more
time to work out how the content of the message may be divided
between verbal and visual representations than to actually for-
mulate the contents.
Writing process. Limit the number of levels in the structure to
three or fewer whenever possible. Receivers are liable to have dif-
ficulty deciphering and following the structure of an information
material if more levels are used. However, in scientific and tech-
nical documentation more levels are often required.
Writing style. The subject matter in technical and scientific
texts is often complex and may be difficult to grasp. But what
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makes a text difficult to read is not as often the subject matter or
the combination of spelling, grammar, and syntax as the style. A
writing style that includes abstract words, long and complex sen-
tences, stilted language, jargon, and passive constructions may
obstruct the reading of the text.
Writing system is an organized and systematic method to use
a set of signs or symbols to represent a spoken verbal language.
The signs and symbols may be visible or tactile. Early writing sys-
tems were developed in Egypt and in Sumer about 5,200 years
ago, in China about 3,200 years ago, and in Mesoamerica about
2,600 years ago.
Written languages, composed of individual letters, provide
the bases for mass storage of data and information content, and
for communications between people at a great distance from one
another in terms of both space and time.

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