[thelist] Text Line Length

michael ensor edc at wnc.quik.co.nz
Tue Nov 26 19:09:01 CST 2002


"It is commonly recommended that shorter line lengths (about 11 words)
should be used in place of longer, full-screen lengths. This is because
longer line lengths require greater lateral eye movements,.."

"longer line lengths are more tiring to read. "

"shorter line lengths or approximately 4" (10 cm) are more accurate on the
return sweep than longer line lengths. "

"people with poor reading ability performed better when the line length was
approximately seven words. "

"with 0.5 inch margins, the fastest reaction times were for the shorter,
4-inch (10 cm) lengths over the 6- and 8-inch lengths (15 and 20 cm,
respectively).
The 4-inch lengths were also preferred over the other lengths. However with
no margin widths, the 8-inch line lengths had the fastest overall reaction
times. A study ...found that full screen lengths resulted in 28% faster
reading times over lengths of 1/3 of a screen. It was also found that full
and 2/3 screen lengths were read significantly faster than the 1/3 screen
lengths."

Website:
http://psychology.wichita.edu/optimalweb/

"How text should be presented within a website"



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