Bostian, L. R. (1983). How active, passive and nominal styles affect readability of science writing. Journalism Quarterly, 60(4), 635-640.

Bostian,L.

1983

Bostian, L. R. (1983). How active, passive and nominal styles affect readability of science writing. Journalism Quarterly, 60(4), 635-640.

Concludes that nominal writing style, substituting nouns for verbs, adversely affects reader interest and reading speed.

The results make clear that reader prefer an active style - they judge it to be more interesting and they can read it significantly faster. Nominal style is clearly the poorest choice of the three styles - it ranks below active and passive in every measure, although often not significant.

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