Area V

Length, Reading Speed & Audience Comprehension

Calibrating to the reader's clock

A word count means nothing until you know who is reading and how hard the ideas push back. Match a reading-speed band to the material, decide how many minutes you may ask for, and the right length falls out as arithmetic.

1. Reading Time & Word-Count Calibration WPM · Cognitive load · Duration

   Set length by target reading time and audience speed, not an arbitrary word count.