Analysis Historical Doc. Modern Doc. Revised Doc.

Analysis

This section compares a US IRS 1040 from 1930 with a 1040 from 2006.

Supertextually, there some key differences between the two forms. The older form is printed on one sheet of legal size paper while the 2006 form is printed on two sheets of standard paper. Also, the printing quality is much better on the 2006 form, showing how printers improved over the 76 intervening years.

Extratextually, the form from 1930 is relatively simple. It simply uses tables and lines as its visual elements where lines separate certain sections. Most sections are formatted around some kind of table. The form from 2006 is much more advanced. The year has been turned into a graphic that highlights the last two digits, and throughout the form arrows indicate important lines such as subtotals and places signatures are required. The newer document also has curved boarders used to set off the name section and certain instructions. Finally, the 2006 document has graphical elements used for input fields. Where the 1930 form only had table cells and blank space the 2006 document adds check boxes and fields for numbers where each digit gets its own box.

Both documents have some fairly strong intertextual conventions. Both forms have a set font for questions, and number each line sequentially—though in the 2006 form the numbers are in bold. The 2006 form starts every line at the same place while putting additional directions to the left while the 1930 form starts the questions as far to the left as possible but allows more than one question on the same line. Blank space between the end of a line and the entry field are filled with periods in both documents, and major sections are separated by lines in both documents. The 1930 form generally uses two lines to separate sections while the 2006 form uses one.

The main intratextual element in the 1930 form is tables. Every section is composed of one or more tables which provide the layout for the entire section. With the exception of headings all text inside of a section has the same font. The 1930 form also centers section headings. In the 2006 form section headings are to the left and very large. The questions all share the same font but key words may be in bold. Most of the sections in the 2006 document take the loose form of a three column table. The first column contains the section heading and special instructions, the middle column contains the text, and the third column contains an input field. That said, a few questions have multiple input fields or extremely long input fields that start in what would be the middle column. The 2006 form never has two numbered questions on the same physical line, though it does put parts on the same line.

Aside from a preference for standard size paper and better printing quality the most noticeable difference between the two documents is that the 1930 form is very rigid while the 2006 form seems much more open. By not sticking entirely to the set table in the older document the 2006 version is able to break up some of the monotony of the original form while maintaining its usability. Another important distinction is that the newer version uses specialized input fields to reduce mistakes. Although the second document seems to be better designed, it does have some help. In the 1930 form there are several questions that require an entire line to answer because they require lengthy explanations or street addresses. By removing most of those questions the designers of the 2006 form were able to have much more freedom with the layout.

Historical Document

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Modern Document

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Revised Document

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Analysis Historical Doc. Modern Doc. Revised Doc.

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