Psychology · Level 1 · 121 words
A Picture Beside the Words
Original passage © Studio AM, written for Fluency.
A learner reads that a seed first sends a root downward and then grows a shoot upward. Beside the sentence is a simple drawing with arrows. Later, either the words or the picture may help the learner remember the sequence.
Clear images and language can create more than one path back to an idea. The words name root and shoot. The drawing shows their positions and directions. When the two forms support the same meaning, each can cue the other.
More pictures are not always better. A decorative cartoon that adds no useful information may pull attention away. A confusing diagram can also compete with the explanation. The helpful picture selects the relationship that matters and makes it easier to see.
Source: Written for Fluency. Original passage © Studio AM, written for Fluency.