CHERYL STEPHENS, PLAIN LANGUAGE WIZARDRY
  • PlainLanguagePress
    • FoundationsandProcesses
    • Plain Language in Plain English Library
  • Cheryl Stephens Creative
    • Cheryl's Info Page
    • writing-coach.html
    • MediaKit
  • Information about plain language
  • Contact Cheryl
  • PlainLanguagePress
    • FoundationsandProcesses
    • Plain Language in Plain English Library
  • Cheryl Stephens Creative
    • Cheryl's Info Page
    • writing-coach.html
    • MediaKit
  • Information about plain language
  • Contact Cheryl
Search by typing & pressing enter

YOUR CART

Dear Readers, 
I have been struggling with the layout of this page to make it more accessible and concise. I am going to try this:
3 columns. One each for:
  • consolidated list of links in book
  • list of links to sources discussed in the book but not provided in the book
  • list of new research since the publication of the books
For deeper discussion of topics in the book or commentary on the new research, please subscribe to my Substack resources on cherylstephens.substack.com: Writing for Rapport:
​Resources to supplement  
The Foundations and Processes of Clear Communication
1st ed. Vancouver 2023
Picture
Picture
Resources to supplement  
The Foundations and Processes of Clear Communication
1st ed. Vancouver 2023

Annals of Technology
A List of Reasons Why Our Brains Love Lists
Maria Konnikova, December 2, 2013 The New Yorker
https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/a-list-of-reasons-why-our-brains-love-lists

Simplifying Cognitive Load
https://achemicalorthodoxy.co.uk/2018/10/25/simplifying-cognitive-load-theory/
 
Empirical Editors: Fluency https://blog.editors.ca/?p=6662  Includes Empirical Research list
 
Brain Circuit That Encodes Timing of Events Identified
https://neurosciencenews.com/pyramidal-cells-timing-17565/
 
“Reality” is constructed by your brain. Here’s what that means, and why it matters: What the science of visual illusions can teach us about our polarized world.
Brian Resnick, June 2020
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/20978285/optical-illusion-science-humility-reality-polarization
 
READER, COME HOME: The Reading Brain in a Digital World 
Maryanne Wolf, Watch her full talk here: https://youtu.be/XmiFDLUQV8U

How your brain predictions interfere with what you see
Georg Keller | TEDxBasel 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgWgfdLZciM
 
The interaction between language and working memory:
a systematic review of fMRI studies in the past two decades
Zoha Deldar, Carlos Gevers-Montoro, Ali Khatibi, and Ladan Ghazi-Saidi
http://www.aimspress.com/article/doi/10.3934/Neuroscience.2021001
 
What happens in our brains when we make educated guesses
https://neurosciencenews.com/educated-guesses-17046/
“Neuronal Computation Underlying Inferential Reasoning in Humans and Mice” by Helen Barron et al. Cell.
 
Where Does Working Memory Reside
https://neurosciencenews.com/brain-map-working-memory-17102/


Recent research or perspectives
https://tinyurl.com/ClearComm1772871052
Readings and videos  
Simplifying Cognitive Load
https://achemicalorthodoxy.co.uk/2018/10/25/simplifying-cognitive-load-theory/
Empirical Editors: Fluency https://blog.editors.ca/?p=6662  Includes Empirical Research list
 
Brain Circuit That Encodes Timing of Events Identified
https://neurosciencenews.com/pyramidal-cells-timing-17565/
 
“Reality” is constructed by your brain. Here’s what that means, and why it matters: What the science of visual illusions can teach us about our polarized world. Brian Resnick June 2020
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/20978285/optical-illusion-science-humility-reality-polarization

 
READER, COME HOME: The Reading Brain in a Digital World 
by Maryanne Wolf.
Psychologist Maryanne Wolf explains that brain circuitry changes according to how we read, how we read changes according to how our brains are (re)wired, & these changes are happening now and always. Watch her full talk here: https://youtu.be/XmiFDLUQV8U
How your brain predictions interfere with what you see | Georg Keller | TEDxBasel
2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgWgfdLZciM
The interaction between language and working memory: a systematic review of fMRI studies in the past two decades
Zoha Deldar, Carlos Gevers-Montoro, Ali Khatibi, and Ladan Ghazi-Saidi
http://www.aimspress.com/article/doi/10.3934/Neuroscience.2021001
What happens in our brains when we make educated guesses
https://neurosciencenews.com/educated-guesses-17046/
Original Research: “Neuronal Computation Underlying Inferential Reasoning in Humans and Mice” by Helen Barron et al. Cell.
 
Where Does Working Memory Reside
https://neurosciencenews.com/brain-map-working-memory-17102/
​

Resources not linked in book

​A study analyzed optimal branding.

"Customers preferred rational products with a visual structure (e.g., symmetry, balance, organization).
​

Marketing by Design: The Influence of Perceptual Structure on Brand Performance
"These designs felt purposeful, as if each element was deliberately placed. So these brands seemed more capable of fulfilling a specific purpose (Affonso & Janiszewski, 2023)."

"AbstractVisual marketing communications consist of two components: (1) semantic content (e.g., headings, images, copy) that communicates a brand's positioning, benefits, and personality and (2) visual design (e.g., font selection, image size, the organization of the content) that encourages inferences about brand claims. The authors investigate how visual design can be used to encourage inferences that support brand claims and improve brand performance. They find that brands with a utilitarian positioning perform better when the visual design of their marketing communications encourages structured perceptions, whereas brands with a hedonic positioning perform better when the visual design of their marketing communications encourages unstructured perceptions. In both cases, (un)structured perceptions encourage inferences that reinforce brand claims and, consequently, improve brand performance. This research offers actionable insights into how marketing communication specialists can coordinate logo design, product design, package design, visual merchandising, and retail environments to reinforce brand claims."



The Interaction Design Foundation introduces the Service Safari. (defined here). 
"Service safaris are an early qualitative research method where researchers walk in the customers' shoes to experience a service from the customers’ perspective. By experiencing the service directly, they can find strengths, weaknesses and more as they build empathy with customers early in the design process."
Frank Spillers, CEO



Recent research confirms the value of structure to understanding text that has been known for years.

The names for this tactic are
1. Linguistically driven text formatting
2. Cascade formatting.


1. 
"To start utilizing this revolutionary reading enhancement, visit https://cascadereading.com/ and register for an account. As Cascade Reading is currently in beta, the program is available for free, with the added convenience of a Chrome Plugin that enables one to cascade almost any text content on the internet within your Chrome browser.
About Cascade Reading:
Cascade Reading provides a text format which improves comprehension by providing visual cues which reveal sentence structure. Guided by reading experts and rigorous research, Cascade utilizes advanced technologies to improve comprehension and unlock the potential of readers everywhere. Reading changes lives.  Cascade changes reading.  Learn more at cascadereading.com."



​2.
"Typical print formatting provides no information regarding the linguistic features of a text, although texts vary considerably with respect to grammatical complexity and readability. Complex texts may be particularly challenging for individuals with weak language knowledge, such as English language learners...."
Syntactic knowledge plays a fundamental role in reading comprehension, and LDTF appears to support comprehension by providing visual cues to this knowledge that can be used at the very moment of meaning construction."
from the abstract: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11145-024-10548-1
​https://tinyurl.com/ClearComm1772871052
Readings and videos 
Simplifying Cognitive Load
https://achemicalorthodoxy.co.uk/2018/10/25/simplifying-cognitive-load-theory/
 
Empirical Editors: Fluency https://blog.editors.ca/?p=6662  Includes Empirical Research list
 
Brain Circuit That Encodes Timing of Events Identified
https://neurosciencenews.com/pyramidal-cells-timing-17565/
 
“Reality” is constructed by your brain. Here’s what that means, and why it matters: What the science of visual illusions can teach us about our polarized world. Brian Resnick June 2020
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/20978285/optical-illusion-science-humility-reality-polarization
 
READER, COME HOME: The Reading Brain in a Digital World 
by Maryanne Wolf.
Psychologist Maryanne Wolf explains that brain circuitry changes according to how we read, how we read changes according to how our brains are (re)wired, & these changes are happening now and always. Watch her full talk here: https://youtu.be/XmiFDLUQV8U
How your brain predictions interfere with what you see | Georg Keller | TEDxBasel
2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgWgfdLZciM
 
The interaction between language and working memory: a systematic review of fMRI studies in the past two decades
Zoha Deldar, Carlos Gevers-Montoro, Ali Khatibi, and Ladan Ghazi-Saidi
http://www.aimspress.com/article/doi/10.3934/Neuroscience.2021001
 
What happens in our brains when we make educated guesses
https://neurosciencenews.com/educated-guesses-17046/
Original Research: “Neuronal Computation Underlying Inferential Reasoning in Humans and Mice” by Helen Barron et al. Cell.
 
Where Does Working Memory Reside
https://neurosciencenews.com/brain-map-working-memory-17102/
​
Memory:
Neuroscience Says You Can Improve Your Memory With Emotion (but There's 1 Important Catch)
​
The key is the types of emotions you're feeling.
​

 "A recent study discusses how things like negative emotions, such as fear or anger, can sometimes hinder associative memory--the ability to connect different pieces of information. This is known as emotional interference. In high-stress scenarios, such as crisis management training, the challenge is to balance the emotional content so it enhances learning without overwhelming the learners."

https://www.inc.com/nick-hobson/neuroscience-says-you-can-improve-your-memory-with-emotion-but-theres-1-important-catch.html​



Are users just a component of the systems or human people?

Lets use human!

https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/04/19/1090872/ai-users-people-terms/



Research finds that 4-yr-olds can outperform AIs in an important way.
 

AI tools like  image generation engines and chatbots are information -retrieval machines. They retrieve and reorganize existing information. They cannot produce  innovative ideas. 
​

AI cannot use retrieved  information develop new idea or appreciate how to use that information in ways never written of before. A report from the University of Oxford and comments from Harvard experts both suggested it's ability dream up new connections (plus empathy and EQ) make humans necessary. 

https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/scientists-pitted-4-year-olds-against-ai-kids-crushed-machines-1-skill.html
A brief comparison chart of guidelines
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/49em4dy5jr5qrplajqwbz/BriefComparisonGuidelines-based-in-reader-brain.docx?rlkey=r5cdll1ri70mjt4tn44lta202&dl=0

​
Writing for the reader brain
http://www.dropbox.com/home/Public/BookSections?preview=NeuroscienceGuidelines.pdf


We don't use readability formulas...
http://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/o2qylionhr9yl2bcxo5pj/Part-E-v4-pages-deleted-Smallpdf.pdf?rlkey=g7qvlwuo0ec86ig7cz47zymij&dl=0rlkey=g7qvlwuo0ec86ig7cz47zymij&dl=0


​

PlainLanguageWizardry.com
CherylStephens.com

Copyright © 2024