TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: Using ragged right in technical publications From:Beth Agnew <bagnew -at- INSYSTEMS -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 16 Sep 1997 08:51:25 -0400
A study done at a company I used to work for (CAL Technologies Ltd.) found
that ragged right was easier to read over right justified text because it
provided a "relief" factor for large blocks of text with complicated
content. This was especially true for people who were not employed in very
technical roles. It was also found that people who were continually
immersed in technology, such as developers and engineers, felt more
comfortable with justified and structured text when the content was more
touchy-feely. This gave them a security factor when they had to deal with
"wild" content. Technical "types" also preferred justified text for *any*
type of documentation.
Therefore, the "justified text is easier to read" vs. "ragged right text is
easier to read" seems to be situational. I haven't seen any other studies,
although it's probably a good topic for a research project.
I know that in the earlier days of word processing, justification was an
inexact procedure: one often ended up with "rivers", or strung out w o
r d s as the word processor tried to fit the text into the
available space. Today's generation of word processors and page layout
programs are much more adept at justifying text.
I think you have to do what is right for your audience and your
publication.
--Beth
Beth Agnew
Senior Technical Writer, InSystems Technologies Inc.
65 Allstate Parkway, Suite 100
Markham, Ontario, Canada L3R 9X1 mailto:bagnew -at- insystems -dot- com Tel: (905) 513-1400 ext. 280
Fax: (905) 513-1419
Visit us at: http://www.insystems.com
TECHWR-L (Technical Communication) List Information: To send a message
to 2500+ readers, e-mail to TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot- Send commands
to LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU (e.g. HELP or SIGNOFF TECHWR-L).
Search the archives at http://www.documentation.com/ or search and
browse the archives at http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html
