Noncontinuous texts

Noncontinuous texts are organized differently than continuous texts and so allow the reader to employ different strategies for entering and extracting information from them. On the surface, these texts appear to have many different organizational patterns or formats, ranging from tables and schedules to charts and graphs, and from maps to forms. However, the organizational pattern for these types of texts, which Mosenthal and Kirsch (1998) refer to as documents, is said to have one of four basic structures: a simple list, a combined list, an intersected list, or a nested list. Together, these four types of documents make up what they have called matrix documents, or noncontinuous texts with clearly defined rows and columns. They are also closely related to other noncontinuous texts that these authors refer to as graphic, locative, and entry documents.²

1. Matrix Documents. This set of noncontinuous text consists of four types of increasingly complex documents that have simple lists as their basic unit. A simple list consists of a label and two or more items, where the label serves as the organizing category and the items all share at least one feature with the other items in the list. Next are combined lists, which consist of two or more simple lists. One list in a combined list is always primary and, as such, is ordered to facilitate looking up information within the list and locating parallel information within the other lists. Intersected lists are the third type of matrix document and comprise exactly three lists. Two of the lists form a row and column defining the cells of the third or intersected list. The fourth and most complex type of matrix document is the nested list. In order to economize on space, as well as to display comparative information, designers sometimes combine two or more intersecting lists to form a nested list. In a nested list, one type of information will be repeated in each of the intersecting lists. The intersecting list of unemployment rates, for example, may have separate entries under each month for males and females; in this case, gender would be nested under month.
2. Graphic Documents. A major function of graphic documents is to provide a succinct visual summary of quantitative information. Included in this group of documents or noncontinuous texts are pie charts, bar charts, and line graphs. While these appear to be very different types of documents on the surface, they all derive or can be transformed into either a combined, intersecting, or nested list.
3. Locative Documents. Like graphic documents, locative documents or maps portray information visually. Unlike graphic documents that display quantitative information, maps either portray the location of persons, places, or things in space, or depict characteristics of different geographic regions (e.g., types of vegetation or characteristics of a population).
4. Entry Documents. In matrix and graphic documents, the author provides the information that must be read and used. In contrast, entry documents or forms require the reader to provide information that can range from very simple to complex. For example, the reader may be asked to simply check a box; write a single word, number, or phrase; or construct a series of phrases or sentences. Generally speaking, forms provide the reader with a label or category for which the reader is asked to provide specifics.
5. Combination Documents. It is important to keep in mind that some displays, especially graphic documents, rely on the use of other documents for their interpretation. Maps and graphs, for instance, often include legends that display important information that must be read and understood. In addition, designers sometimes include more than one document for display or comparative purposes.