The Effect of Inductively Versus Deductively Organized Text on American and Japanese Readers      

When document designers localize documents for readers in other cultures, they should consider what text organization will best suit those readers. The study presented here examines American and Japanese readers’ comprehension of and preference for expository text that contains a thesis and is organized either inductively or deductively. The results revealed that while Americans performed equally well with either organizational structure Japanese readers recalled more information from inductively organized text. The implications for document designers in English and Japanese speaking countries are discussed.

Spyridakis, Jan H. and Waka Fukuoka. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication (2002). Articles>Language>Rhetoric

The Effect of Text Structure on Text Comprehension of Japanese and American Readers  

This paper presents the preliminary findings from a study that sought to determine whether Japanese and American readers’ comprehension of expository text is similarly affected by text organization. Results are presented and discussed with regard to their implications for technical communicators.

Spyridakis, Jan H. and Waka Fukuoka. STC Proceedings (2001). Presentations>Language>International>Writing