Remember the readability factors identified in Unit 1.  A text is more readable when it:

     -is more redundant or longer, with more than one point at which a reader can access it (including illustrations, titles, restatements, and the like);

     -is organized around concrete situations or references rather than around abstract principles;

     -identifies the unfamiliar -- obscure, alien, or taboo activities, situations, and responses -- with reference to the familiar;

     -deals with topics of interest or familar to the intended readers;

     -fits the reader demographics (e.g. is "age appropriate").
 

     You will find a pair of texts below.  Read them, then brainstorm in the Brainstorming Forum about what would make each text more readable.  That is, try to figure out which aspects of a readable text are missing from the examples;  specify what kind of information or knowledge would make the text easier to read if known by the reader before approaching the text.  If you don't want to brainstorm, go to the Follow-up Discussion for comments on these texts.

TEXT P:  Heiner Müller, Der Vater (1958)

TEXT Q:  "Computer ohne 'Zeitgefühl'"
 Source:  Süddeutsche Zeitung, 72 (27-28 March 1997): II

 BRAINSTORMING ON TEXTS P & Q