Contents 4
Sufficient consensus
Cognitive load theory distinguishes the difficulty inherent in the material from the load added by presentation. Working memory is limited, and unnecessary load reduces comprehension and retention.
Short sentences, clear structure and worked examples lower it.
If presentation cost the reader nothing, five versions of the same content would have scored alike. Shorter, scannable and plain text scored far higher.
| Version of the same site | Measured usability compared with promotional text |
|---|---|
| Concise, about half the words | +58 % |
| Scannable | +47 % |
| Objective, without marketing language | +27 % |
| All three combined | +124 % |
Morkes, J. and Nielsen, J., Concise, scannable, and objective: How to write for the Web, Nielsen Norman Group, 1997. 51 web users, 5 versions of one site with the same information.
What the result pages leave out
These belong to the subject. People ask about them. They are missing from the agreed coverage.
- Load as the real cost of a long page. Comprehensive coverage is expensive for the reader, and the cost is charged to the decision they came to make.
- Jargon as a tax. Every unexplained term forces a lookup or a guess, and both cost attention that was meant for the argument.
- Decisions the reader should not have to make. Navigation choices, unsorted option lists and unranked recommendations move work from the author to the reader.
- The load of distrust. A reader who suspects a sales motive spends capacity on evaluating you instead of the subject.
- Silence. Removing a section is a design decision that raises the effect of everything left.
What people actually want to know
- What can I remove without losing the answer?
- Which terms am I using that the reader has to look up?
- What decisions am I passing to the reader that I should have made?
- How long does this take to read, honestly?
If a small amount of words is enough, a small amount of words is the correct answer.