F

CORE DEFINITION

The F-shaped reading pattern describes how attention moves across a screen: the reader takes in the full first line, then roughly half of the second, then runs vertically down the left margin sampling line beginnings. It is the same phenomenon documented in eye-tracking research by the Nielsen Norman Group and is sometimes listed separately as the F-scan or F-layout principle. The behavior follows from scanning: the reader samples the cheapest positions, which are the starts of lines and headings, and skips the rest unless something signals relevance. The consequence is that conclusions placed at the end of a paragraph are rarely seen, however well written.