e-Learning and the Science of Instruction: Proven Guidelines for Consumers and Designers of Multimedia Learning

7.8. Psychological Reasons to Avoid Extraneous Words in e-Learning

For the same reasons that extraneous sounds and graphics can be distracting, adding extra words can interfere with the learning process. We address three types of extraneous wording. First, additional words may be added for interest. The extra words are related to the topic but are not relevant to the primary instructional goal. Second, extra words may be added to expand on the key ideas of the lesson. A third purpose for extra words is to add technical details that go beyond the key ideas of the lesson. Subject-matter experts like to incorporate considerable amounts of technical information that expands on the basics. We recommend against extraneous words added for interest, ...