The degree to which prose can be understood, is based on the complexity of words and sentences.
Readability is determined by the factors such as:
- word length,
- word commonality,
- sentence length,
- number of clauses in a sentence, and
- number of syllables in a sentence.
This is seldom considered in design.
- Complex information should be presented in the simplest form.
- For enhanced readability, omit needless words and punctuation, but be careful not to sacrifice meaning or clarity in the process.
- Avoid acronyms, jargons, and untranslated quotations in foreign languages.
- Generally, use active voice. But consider passive voice when the emphasis is on the message and not the messenger.
- When attempting to produce text for a specific reading level, use published readability formulas and software apps designed for this purpose. - Edward Fry’s Readability Graph