Due to the lack of word shape cues and a resulting difficulty reading all upper case
text, we hypothesized participants would yield significantly slower reading times and more
incorrect answers when reading all-upper-case text than when reading the emails presented in
mixed case. We anticipated that participants who knew they would be questioned about the
email content would have significantly slower reading times than partic ipants who would not
be questioned, because they would spend more time reading and trying to remember details
about the text. Additionally, we hypothesized that participants would have faster reading
speeds and better retention (more correct answers) when answering questions about
emphasized text, than when answering questions about text with no distinguishing features.
Finally, we hypothesized that text written in exclusively upper case letters would be the least
preferred style as a result of this format being the most difficult to read.