Several conventions and standards aim to improve maintain-ability of software code. However, low levels of code readabil- ity perceived by developers still represent a barrier to their daily work. In this paper, we describe a survey that assessed the impact of a set of Java coding practices on the readability perceived by software developers. While some practices pro- moted an enhancement of readability, others did not show statistically signicant effects. Interestingly, one of the prac- tices worsened the readability. Our results may help to iden- tify coding conventions with a positive impact on readability and, thus, guide the creation of coding standards.