comprehension
One might expect that complex sentences take longer to process. However: “… experiments … which use reading rates as the dependent measure suggest that it is the interaction of … types of deep structure representations with their surface structure forms that accounts for fluctuations in readers’ on-line processing of … sentence types.” More. Many style-guides advise against using passives. However: “Comprehension difficulty related less closely to the use of the passive verb form than to the word arrangement in particular passive constructions.” More.
On the comprehension of active and passive sentences, DR Olson, N Filby - Cognitive Psychology, 1972
The comprehension of active and passive sentences as a function of pragmatic expectations, P Herriot - Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1969
Focus of attention
One problem for the generation of natural language text is determining when to use a sequence of simple sentences and when a single complex one is more appropriate. In this paper, we show how focus of attention is one factor that influences this decision and describe its implementation in a system that generates explanations for a student advisor expert system. The implementation uses tests on functional information such as focus of attention within the Prolog definite clause grammar formalism to determine when to use complex sentences, resulting in an efficient generator that has the same benefits as a functional grammar system. here
