How can I improve my writing? What is so unique about great writers? How can I become a great writer? Do you have any of these questions?
I can answer all of these questions with a single word “Readability”. Read any of the writing from a great writer, you will find their work extremely easy to read and understandable. That’s what makes them great.
Readability is the ease with which a reader can understand a written text. It improves the quality of the text and makes it more accessible to readers.
Not only the writing ability but also the formatting of your content matters a lot. Factors like font choice, size, spacing, and other typographic elements impact how easy it is to read a text. Clear headings, bullet points, and other structural elements also help readers navigate and comprehend the content.
Why measuring readability matters
Readability matters a lot due to various reasons such as:
- Generating leads
- Engaging readers
- Clarity for the audience
It enhances the quality and makes the content understandable for those who find difficulty in perceiving the content.
Don’t you think we should be able to understand what we are reading? Not only understand but also get the idea, the intention behind the writing effort, and the message being delivered.
The writing should be engaging enough to keep us reading till the end, understand the context, and remember the information. For this, readability is crucial.
Methods for measuring text readability
By now, you must be wondering how you can check the readability of your text. Do not worry! I am writing some methods that will help you. The best thing about these methods is that you do not need anybody.
These are available online, and you can use them for free to find the readability of your work.
Following are some methods for measuring text readability.
1. Automated Readability Index (ARI)
This method was developed in 1967 by R.W. Senter and E.A. Smith for the U.S. Air Force. The main purpose was to evaluate the readability of lexicons and ensure that the instructions were easily understandable to readers.
Key Points:
- ARI focuses on the number of characters per word and words per sentence. This makes it particularly useful for evaluating texts where syllable counting might be impractical.
- The ARI produces a U.S. grade level score, indicating the minimum education level needed to understand the text.
How to Measure:
The ARI formula is:
4.71 x (characters/words) + 0.5 x (words/sentences) – 21.43.
Where;
- Characters: Total number of letters and digits in the text
- Words: Total number of words in the text
- Sentences: Total number of sentences in the text
Grade Levels:
- An ARI score of 1 = first-grade reading level
- An ARI score of 12 = the twelfth-grade reading level
- Higher scores mean higher levels of education are required
2. Coleman-Liau Index
Our next method was developed by linguists Meri Coleman and T. L. Liau in 1975. It is a pretty straightforward method to determine the reading grade level. It analyzes the characters and sentence structures to measure the score.
Key points:
The Coleman-Liau Index measures readability based on the number of letters in words and the average sentence length, rather than syllable counts.
How to Measure:
The Coleman-Liau Index formula is:
CLI = 0.0588L − 0.296S − 15.8
Where;
- L = average number of letters per 100 words,
- S = average number of sentences per 100 words.
Index Scores:
- An index score of 1 = first-grade reading level.
- An index score of 12 = twelfth-grade reading level.
- A score higher than 12 means that higher levels of education are required to comprehend the text.
3. Flesch-Kincaid grade level
If you have ever heard about readability checker tools, you must have come across this formula from the 1970s.
- Peter Kincaid came up with this idea to make technical documents more readable to the common man.
Key point:
- This formula checks readability by calculating the average number of syllables per word and the average number of words per sentence.
How to Measure:
The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level formula is:
0.39 x (words/sentences) + 11.8 x (syllables/words) – 15.59.
Where;
- Words: Total number of words in the text.
- Sentences: Total number of sentences in the text.
- Syllables: Total number of syllables in the text.
Scores:
- An FKGL score of 1 = first-grade reading level.
- An FKGL score of 12 = twelfth-grade reading level.
- A higher than 12 will mean that the reader needs higher education to understand it.
4. Flesch Kincaid Reading Ease
The Flesch Reading Ease formula was developed by Rudolf Flesch in the 1940s. He wanted to make a scale to determine whether a text is readable to a wider audience.
Key points:
- This formula also evaluates text readability based on the average number of syllables per word and the average number of words per sentence.
- It provides a score that ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating easier readability. A higher score means the text is easier to read, while a lower score indicates more complex text.
How to Measure:
The Flesch Reading Ease formula is:
206.835 – 1.015 x (words/sentences) – 84.6 x (syllables/words).
Where;
- Words: Total number of words in the text.
- Sentences: Total number of sentences in the text.
- Syllables: Total number of syllables in the text.
How to read scores:
- 90-100: Very easy to read, easily understood by an average 5th grader.
- 80-90: Easy to read, conversational English for consumers.
- 70-80: Fairly easy to read.
- 60-70: Plain English, easily understood by 13- to 15-year-old students.
- 50-60: Fairly difficult to read.
- 30-50: Difficult to read, best understood by college graduates.
- 0-30: Very difficult to read, best understood by university graduates.
5. Gunning Fog
Back in 1952, Robert Gunning, a businessman, found that many newcomers could not read his business documents. So he created this formula for his business documents so everybody can understand it easily.
Key Points:
- The Gunning Fog Index evaluates text readability based on sentence length and the complexity of words.
How to Measure:
The Gunning Fog Index formula is:
0.4 [(words/sentences) + 100 (complex words/words)]
Where;
- Words: Total number of words in the text.
- Sentences: Total number of sentences in the text.
- Complex Words: Total number of complex words in the text (words with three or more syllables, excluding proper nouns, familiar jargon, and compound words).
Grade Levels:
- The score of the Fog index of 6 corresponds to a sixth-grade reading level.
- The score of the Fog index of 12 corresponds to the twelfth-grade reading level.
- Higher scores indicate that higher levels of education are required to comprehend the text.
6. LIX
You may think that only English men have done something for their readability but that’s not the case. A Swedish Scholar, Carl-Hugo Bjornsson, created LIX in the 1960s for the Swedish language.
Later on, because of its efficacy, many other languages adopted it, like English.
Key points:
- The LIX index evaluates text readability based on sentence length and word length.
- It provides a score that indicates the readability level of the text, with higher scores representing more difficult texts.
How to Measure:
The LIX formula is:
words /sentence +(long words /word x 100)
Where;
- Words: Total number of words in the text.
- Sentences: Total number of sentences in the text.
- Long Words: Total number of long words in the text (words with more than six characters).
LIX Scores:
- Below 25: Very easy to read, best for children.
- 25-30: Easy to read, suitable for teenagers.
- 30-40: Difficult to read, suitable for adult readers.
- 40-50: Difficult to read, best for academic papers.
- Above 50: Very difficult to read, suitable for technical or complex texts.
7. SMOG
The SMOG formula was created by G. Harry McLaughlin in 1969. It was developed to provide an accurate and easy-to-use method for determining the readability of texts.
This formula focuses on the number of complex words and aims to estimate the years of education required to understand a piece of writing.
Key point:
- The SMOG formula assesses readability based on the number of polysyllabic words (words with three or more syllables) in a text.
How to Measure:
The SMOG formula is:
SMOG Grade=1.0430 × (30× sentences polysyllabic words) ½ +3.1291
Where;
- Polysyllabic Words: Total number of words with three or more syllables.
- Sentences: Total number of sentences in the text.
Grade Levels:
- A SMOG grade of 6 corresponds to a sixth-grade reading level.
- A SMOG grade of 12 corresponds to a twelfth-grade reading level.
- Higher scores indicate that higher levels of education are required to comprehend the text.
A practical approach to readability
I know! It seems a lot of work to write the content first, then count its words, sentences, difficult words, etc. And every time you change something, repeat the whole process.
But you don’t have to do that, it is completely impractical. You just have to find an app online that will do that all for you.
Just copy and paste your content into one of these apps like Grammarly, Readability Checker, and the Hemingway App. They provide instant feedback, helping you to adjust your text for better readability.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I must say that readability is of utmost importance when it comes to written content. Low readability is like a blurred picture. If you can’t see it, you don’t know what it is.
So, try to make your content as readable as possible. Select the right readability measurement method depending on your specific needs and the nature of your content.
Each method has its strengths and limitations, so combining them can provide a more comprehensive view of your text’s readability.
As for professional documents, ARI or Flesch-Kincaid might be suitable, while general content might benefit from the Flesch Reading Ease score
Each method has strengths and limitations, so combining them can provide a more comprehensive view of your text’s readability.
The key is to analyze your audience and create according to their reading skills. Apply these readability methods to ensure your content is clear, engaging, and accessible to your target audience.