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1986-01-23
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*********************************************
* *
* *
* *
* P C -- R E A D *
* *
* Version 2.5 *
* *
* *
* *
*********************************************
Developed by:
Wash 'n Ware Software Products
P. O. Box 91016-199
Baton Rouge, La. 70821
CopyRight 1985
P C - R E A D Version 2.5 Page 1
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
Prologue .................................... 2
Introduction ................................. 3
PC-READ ...................................... 5
Using PC-READ ................................ 6
The Command Menu ............................. 8
F1 - Change Logged Drive ..................... 9
F2 - Display Reading Level ................... 10
F3 - Change Directory ........................ 11
F4 - Floating Reading Level................... 12
F5 - Mark and Process Text ................... 13
F6 - Terminate Program ....................... 15
Remember ..................................... 16
Your Evaluation Copy ......................... 17
Appendix A: The Formula ...................... 18
P C - R E A D Version 2.5 Page 2
PROLOGUE
Jean stopped in the hall. He read the nameplate
on the office door -- "W. Hannah, Vice President,
Marketing". Jean nervously flicked a few imaginary
specks from his coat. "Tap-Tap-Tap," he knocked.
"Come in," a voice grumbled. W. Hannah, V. P.,
Marketing, flipped through the Wall Street Journal as
Jean entered and set a slim report on the mahogany desk.
"Here's the report you'd asked me to prepare on the
Directions proposal."
Hannah's eyes never left the Journal as he reached
for the Directions proposal, hefted it, and pushed it
back.
"Too short, do it again. Put more words in it."
The gruff response was a dismissal; Hannah turned to
the mutual funds as Jean left the office, rushing to add
words to a report that hadn't been read.
P C - R E A D Version 2.5 Page 3
INTRODUCTION
While the above vignette is fictional, you may be
familiar with similar situations in real life. Too
often, the quality of a piece of writing is judged by how
many words it contains. The more words, the better the
writing. The longer the sentences, the better the
writing.
This attitude was reflected in most business and
government writing for many years (and still is in many
cases). Lately, however, a reader revolt has been
brewing. "If this writing is so good, then why do I have
so much trouble reading it? Why does it give me
headaches? Why do I keep putting off reading it? Why do
I find myself reading the same paragraph over and over
again? WHY CAN'T I MAKE ANY SENSE OUT OF IT?"
Some people now feel that writing should be judged
by how effective it is and not by how many words it
contains. If you can't read it easily, then the writing
is not effective. Since effectively relaying information
is vital, many organizations are seriously looking for
ways to improve the quality of their writing.
Some groups have tried creative writing or grammar
classes. These classes are designed to improve a
person's writing. Creative writing classes spur the
imagination, while grammar classes stress the
building-block approach to writing.
There is a third technique designed to improve your
writing. This approach judges the "readability" of
writing. It grades writing from the reader's viewpoint
by asking, "Is this document easy to read?"
If you've ever struggled through the 1040 Federal
Tax instruction booklet, you can appreciate that writing
can be difficult to read. The Federal Tax instructions
are confusing -- and people don't like to read confusing
writing.
Why are the 1040 instructions so confusing? The
writing is grammatically correct. The Tax instructions
treat the subject in as creative a way as possible. Yet,
P C - R E A D Version 2.5 Page 4
these instructions fail the third test. They are a
collection of long, complex sentences and words. The
writing is dreary and "unreadable". Most readers simply
cannot tolerate this. It "confuses" them.
Complex subject matter does not have to mean complex
writing. In fact, a good writer should strive for the
opposite. If the subject is complex, then keep the
writing as simple as possible. The reader will have
enough trouble just digesting the subject matter. You
don't want to swamp him by forcing him to decipher the
writing.
Researchers have been studying the characteristics
of readable writing for about 50 years. They have
devised several formulas to evaluate writing; most of
these formulas deal with sentence length and word
complexity.
P C - R E A D Version 2.5 Page 5
PC-READ
You holding an evaluation copy of a program called
"PC-READ". This program rates the complexity of writing
as an average grade level (elementary, high school,
college) at which the text could be easily read. For
instance, a Reading Level of 9 suggests a 9th grade
reading level.
To make this more meaningful, a recent story in "The
Wall Street Journal" indicated that many executives are
most comfortable reading at a 7th grade level. This does
not mean that business writing should be "baby-writing"
of the "See Bill. See Jane" variety. However, it does
suggest that simple, concise writing is much more
effective than complex writing.
Most successful popular writing grades below a 13 on
the READING LEVEL scale. As the level rises, people will
find the text more and more difficult to read.
Government and business writing often rates a very
high Reading Level. This high level suggests that people
will have trouble rea