Effects of Document Simplification on the Reading Comprehension of the Elderly

Abstract

Good and poor readers (aged 60+) were tested on three versions of documents describing social services—the original document, a version simplified by a readability formula, and a version simplified ‘subjectively’ by skilled writers. Results indicate that in only one of the four documents (the longest one) was comprehension improved by subjective rewriting; simplification by readability formula had no effect on comprehension. Reading ability, however, was a significant covariate for comprehension. The study concludes that the ‘readability’ of a document is a poor indicator of its comprehensibility for aged subjects, and that simplifying the language of documents may not be sufficient in easing their comprehension difficulties. © 1981, SAGE Publications. All rights reserved.