A common aphorism in the halls of education is that the writing skills of Americans decline over time. Compared to the "golden age of letters," so the argument goes, each subsequent generation of writers is worse than the last. Although contemporary readers and educators commiserate over encounters with bad writing, a fair comparison of 18th…

Proposes that readability formulas cannot predict text difficulty. Presents results of an experiment designed to demonstrate that "text difficulty" is determined by individual differences (perception) and not by the objective qualities of a text. (NH)

Proposes, as a follow-up to a previous article about applying a phonological reading model to technical communication, that educators and practitioners of technical communication would benefit from a thorough understanding of the speech instinct. Explores the speech instinct, how humans developed it, and how it has been and still is fostered by…

Examines the phenomenon of "silent speech" (unconsciously translating what is read into a speechlike code to create meaning) based upon research of cognitive psychologists and psycholinguists. Develops a phonological model of reading based on this research; applies the model to technical communication--use of punctuation and pronouns, introducing…