Computational Text Analysis - A More Comprehensive Approach to Determine Readability of Reading Materials

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Cipher

Reading materials are evaluated for readability based on whether learners stay interested, comprehend content, and read fluently. The work reviews readability research beginning in the 1920s and argues that readability can be effectively predicted through quantifiable sentence and word measures, especially sentence length and word difficulty. It surveys theoretical links between sentence difficulty, complexity, modifiers, and comprehension load, while also detailing how word frequency, familiarity, and length support estimations of overall text difficulty. It then proposes a more comprehensive composite computational approach spanning text, sentence, and word levels.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time50 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Factors Affecting Readability

Sentence Difficulty

Word Difficulty

Aim of the Study

Procedure: Assembling the Composite Computational Tools for Text Analysis

Text Level

Sentence Level

Word Level

Computational Text Analysis: A More Comprehensive Approach to Determine Readability of Reading Materials Anealka Aziz, Chan Yuen Fook and Zubaida Alsree doi:10.7575/aiac.alls.v.1n.2p.200 Introduction Reading materials are considered having high readability if readers are interested to read the materials, understand the content of the materials and able to read the materials fluently. In contrast, reading materials with low readability discourage readers from reading the materials, create difficulties for readers to understand the content of the materials and prevent readers to read the materials fluently. Studies on readability have started since the early 1920s. These studies seek for measures that can best predict the readability level of reading materials, so that readers are able to comprehend and learn new information from these materials (Harris-Sharples, 1983) . If the measures could be identified, the difficulty level of reading materials could be determined. Once the readability level of reading materials is determined, at least half of the matching problem can be solved. Hence, it is important to ensure a match between readers and reading materials as this match determines how much readers can benefit from the materials they read (Gilliland, 1972) . Readers with limited language ability can easily be discouraged to continue their reading if they are given reading materials beyond their language ability. Similarly, competent readers may soon be discouraged from reading, if their choices of reading materials are restricted to simple repetitive ones. Readers in both cases may not benefit as much from the reading materials they read because the materials are poorly matched to their language ability. Many of the factors that affect readability of reading materials have yet to be quantified. Nevertheless, Bailey (2002) reports that many studies have shown that readability of reading materials is highly correlated with two factors that can be easily measured: sentences and words. Chavkin ( 1997) identifies that the most strongly associated factors to readability are word difficulty and sentence length. These two factors or variations of these two factors can be found in all readability formulas currently in use (Chavkin, 1997) . Studies have confirmed that inclusion of other factors in the formula contributes more work than it improves the results (Stephens, 2000) . It shows that readability of reading materials can sufficiently be measured using word difficulty, sentence length and variations of the two. Thereis no need to include factors other than word difficulty, sentence length or the variations of the two. As mentioned earlier, readability of reading materials is related to sentence and word factors of the materials. One of the measures of sentence difficulty is length of sentences (Gunning, 1971 ; MacGinitie & Tretiak, 1971 ; Klare, 1985 ; Grabe, 1993 ; Shehadeh & Strother, 1994 ; Chavkin, 1997; Johnson, 1998 ; Bailey, 2002 ; Thornbury, 2005 ; Mesmer, 2008) . Long sentences contain many relationships which require learners to infer more information than shorter sentences (Mesmer, 2008) . Although not all long sentences are difficult to understand, reviewing is useful as length and difficulty tend to be related (Klare, 1985) . This is because longer sentences require the mind to hold more information in suspense before the mind can make sense of the meaning of these words together (Flesch, 1979) . Sentence construction is another measure of sentence difficulty (Gunning, 1971 ; Klare, 1985) . Complex sentence structures may contain more embedded sentences and more word depth, which have the tendency to be misinterpreted (Klare, 1985) . It is uncommon in English language for sentence constructions to have more than two embedded clauses (Klare, 1985) . The use of modifiers may reduce the difficulty of the sentences caused by these embedded clauses. However, sentences with too many modifiers increase

FAQs

What makes a reading material highly readable?

Highly readable materials keep readers interested, help them understand the content, and enable them to read fluently.

Which measurable factors are most strongly associated with readability?

Readability is strongly associated with word difficulty and sentence length; these are incorporated across common readability formulas.

Why can long and complex sentences reduce readability?

Long and complex sentences require learners to hold more information and infer relationships, increasing comprehension difficulty despite possible benefits from context.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Cipher