Post by Radrook Admin on Aug 11, 2019 2:26:03 GMT -5
Reader Incomprehension not always the Writer's Fault
Have you ever written something in clear English only to have someone ask what you are talking about? I have had this happen repeatedly. Most of the time I find nothing wrong with what I had written and can't figure out exactly what is causing the confusion. I had this happen once in one of my short sci fi stories many years ago. After polishing it to my satisfaction, I proudly handed the manuscript over to a family member. I watched as she seemed to be reading it carefully. Then, after handing it back to me, she claimed not to have understood what I was talking about.
Now, this isn't always the reader's fault, since writer's can be unclear in many different ways. For example by adding to many unnecessary details, a writer might overburden the reader's mind. After all, there is just so much that the human mind can visualize. So in most cases, less is more. Or the writer might forget to include important details about the protagonist or people involved such as age, geographical location, race, description of their immediate surroundings, gender, time of day. In short, the reader is presented with disembodied voices.
On the other hand, incomprehension can be either partially or completely the reader's fault. For example, the reader might be mentally handicapped or of below average intelligence. His vocabulary might be on a lower level than the writer is using. Or the reader might be in the early stages of Alzheimer's and doesn't realize it. Or perhaps English might not be his primary language.
Below are some things which cause a reader difficulties:
1. An impoverished vocabulary
An impoverished vocabulary is a vocabulary that has not gone far beyond the basic meanings of words. A reader with an impoverished vocabulary will continually be stumped each time he encounters a commonly-used word which is unfamiliar to him. He might get the impression that the writer is using purple prose or striving to be unnecessarily complex in order to impress.
2. Visualization difficulties.
When reading fiction the reader is required to visualize or form mental pictures or images. Not all readers have the same visualization abilities. If the reader has visualization difficulties, the images he creates in his mind might lack essential details or maybe even completely contrary to what most persons usually see. That inability can be caused by lack of exposure to the things being spoken about, or it can be based on misinformation. This deficiency will create a rift between the writer's intended meaning and what the reader is imagining the writer intended to say or describe.
3. Inability to properly decipher compound or complex sentences
Then we have sentences and fragments. If the reader is used to reading elementary books which rarely use complex or compound sentences or ever use fragments for dramatic purposes, and leaving the meaning to be inferred by the reader, then the reader will be thrown into confusion. This might lead to the assumption that the writer is being purposefully and unnecessarily vague.
The following sites provide tips on how to improve reading comprehension.
Reading Comprehension problems
www.speechlanguage-resources.com/reading-comprehension-problems.html
Why people have problems understanding
www.understandmore.com/WhyPeopleHaveProblems.htm