Table 1

Visual Organization of Written Texts

VISUALLY INFORMATIVE		NON-VISUALLY INFORMATIVE
Rhetorical Control
varied surface offers aesthetic possibilities; can attract or repel reader through the shape of the text; laws of equilibrium, good continuation, good figure, closure, similarity.		Visual Gestalt		homogenous surface offers little possibility of conveying information; dense, indistinguished block of print; every text presents the same face; formidable appearance assumes willing reader.
localized: each section is its own locale with its own pattern of development; arrests reader’s attention.		Development		progressive: each section leads smoothly to the next; projects reader forward through discourse-level previewing and backwards through reviewing.
iconic: spacing, headings reveal explicit, highly visible divisions; reader can jump around, process the text in a non-linear fashion, access information easily, read selectively.		Partitioning		integrated: indentations give some indication of boundaries, but sections frequently contain several paragraphs and sometimes divisions occur within paragraphs; reader must read or scan linearly to find divisions.
emphasis controlled by visual stress of layout, type size, spacing, headings.		Emphasis		emphasis controlled semantically through intensifiers, conjunctive ties; some emphasis achieved by placement of information in initial or final slots in sentences and paragraphs.
subordinate relations signaled through type size, headings, in denting.		Subordinate  Relations		controlled semantically within linear sequence of paragraphs and sentences.
signalled through listing structures, expanded sentences, parallel structures, enumerated or iconically singalled by spacing, bullets, or other graphic devices.		Coordinate  Relations		controlled semantically through juxtaposition parallel structures, and cohesive ties, especially additive ties.
linkage controlled visually; little or no use of semantic ties between sentences and sections; reliance on enumerative sequences or topicalization of a series.		Linking/ Transitional/ Intersentential Relations		liberal use of cohesive ties, especially conjunctives and deictics; frequent interparagraph ties or transitional phrases.
variety in mood and syntactic patterning; much use of Q/A sequences, imperatives; fragments and minor forms; phrases used in isolation.		Sentence Patterns		complete sentences with little variation in mood; sentences typically declarative with full syntax.