What is conceptual density?

Conceptual density refers to the concentration of new ideas, concepts, and vocabulary within a text. When assessing a text, high conceptual density signifies that readers will encounter many new and complex ideas, which can make the content more challenging, especially for English language learners. Texts with high conceptual density often require additional cognitive effort to understand, as readers must navigate through unfamiliar vocabulary and abstract ideas.

In contrast, options that focus on overall length, sentence difficulty, or the amount of graphics do not directly address the richness of content in terms of concepts and vocabulary. While these factors can influence comprehension, they do not capture the essence of how densely packed a text is with new and potentially challenging information for readers.