Readability

[Tommie Lyn]

Does anyone use the "readability" function of Google Docs? You can paste text you've created in another word processor into Docs, then select 'Tools'/'Word Count' and it will give you a readability score based on the Flesch-Kincaid Readability Tests. Every piece of my writing I've checked thus far has been rated at, um.....ah, (shuffling my feet, can't raise my eyes to meet yours) third grade level.... :(

Here's a link to a wiki article about the tests:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flesch-Kincaid_Readability_Test

[Tiata]

Yikes! If yours are rating 3rd grade I don't even want to try mine!! LOL

[lynnmosher]

I didn't know you could do that with Google. But I do it all the time with my writing. It will also tell you if the sentence is passive and will give you the readibility of the grade level. In other words, if your sentence is grade 12, the readibility might 34% or it may be 75%. It really helps you to rethink how you write a sentence.

If you have Word, you have it on your computer.

[Tiata]

I didn't know you could do that with Google. But I do it all the time with my writing. It will also tell you if the sentence is passive and will give you the readibility of the grade level. In other words, if your sentence is grade 12, the readibility might 34% or it may be 75%. It really helps you to rethink how you write a sentence.

If you have Word, you have it on your computer.

Oh My!! I had no idea!! I use the word count all the time, maybe I need to learn more about Word :)

[lynnmosher]

Here's how you do it...

* Click on Tools. Then on Options.
* Click on Spelling and Grammar.
* At the bottom, click to check the last box, Show readibility statistics.
* Click on Okay.
* When you want to use it, highlight a sentence.
* Click on Tools.
* Click on Spelling and Grammar.
* A box will appear. I always click on No. Unless you want to do more than one sentence. The readibility is at the bottom of the box.

Hope this helps.

[Timber Wolf]

I'm sure glad I read through all the posts, so I didn't repeat Lynn. The lady who leads our local library writer's group says normally we should aim for 6th grade reading level. Seems a little like writing "fluff" to me, guess it depends on who is your audience.

[Tommie Lyn]

Go read my story for Writing Prompt 10..."Chevy's Acapulco Vacation".....Flesch-Kincaid Readability: 3

Or, "The Orange" in the Writing Prompt forum....Flesch-Kincaid Readability: 3

Or, Writing Prompt 8, "The Stranger".....Flesch-Kincaid Readability: (blush) 2!

Or, the worst of all, Prompt 9, "Moonshine and Motor Oil".....Flesch-Kincaid Readability: 1!

Where do I go to remove my name from the list of those who'd like to consider themselves writers?.....

[Tommie Lyn]

I didn't know you could do that with Google. But I do it all the time with my writing. It will also tell you if the sentence is passive and will give you the readibility of the grade level. In other words, if your sentence is grade 12, the readibility might 34% or it may be 75%. It really helps you to rethink how you write a sentence.


Google Docs gives you a number of criteria besides the Flesh-Kincaid test, like, Flesch Reading Ease, Automated Readability Index. My stuff scores high on Reading Ease -- 85% to 95%. Don't know if that's good or bad.

[Lookin^Up]

When people want to read to relax, even the most intelligent of us don't want to wade through college language drawn from the upper tier of 20-letter words. Having a readibility of 3rd to 6th grade is actually a plus, especially if you're trying to appeal to the average joe on the street. If it's 1st grade level, then ... See author run. Run, author, run.

[lynnmosher]

Tommie Lyn, I think I remember reading somewhere what TW said about writing on a 6th grade level. To make yourself feel better, check individual sentences. You'll get a higher reading.

[Tommie Lyn]

Interesting, Lynn. Sentences.

That's where my difficulty is with the rating process. I tend to write a lot of dialogue, and in most cases, with the give and take between the characters, the sentences are short.

Plus, I don't like to read long, convoluted sentences in fiction works, so if I find I've written such myself, I usually try to restructure them into a more pleasing form during editing (actually, I don't have to do that much anymore, it's becoming more instinctual as I write, nowadays). If that's what's giving me the rating, I'll shoot for the lower grade level in my fiction, LOL.

[lynnmosher]

Oh, you're right. I didn't think about the short dialogue sentences. Therefore, I wouldn't worry abut the grade level. The readibility is another matter. If the readibility is 35%, that's not very good. But as you said, if your readibility is 85-95%, then that's great. The only other thing I would rely on, if I wrote fiction, would be the passive voice. That is a great help. And I think you're right about the long, convoluted sentences in fiction.

[Laina]

Lynn what should the passive voice % be?

Tommie thanks for bringing this up. I tried some of my short stories and they came in at mostly 2-3. Only one of them was at 6th grade level. I'll go and compare to see if I can see why. Maybe I had less dialog.

Thanks Lynn. I checked that block in options. It's a great tool to have handy.

[lynnmosher]

One thing about checking the box I forgot...when you turn your computer off, it unchecks the box, at least, mine does. So you may have to check to see if the box is checked each time you turn your computer on.

Laina, ideally, the passive voice should be 0% but, in some cases, there is no way around it and it is not always necessary. Let me show you. Here's a sentence I wrote...

However, he had to wait for a son to be born and his kingdom to be established, for God allowed only Solomon to build the great temple for His Name.

In this sentence, the grade level is 11.8, the reading ease is 63.5%, and the passive voice is 100%. I could probably change the sentence; however, I'm not sure that's what I want to do. Hope this helps a little.

[Thebigguy]

Frankly I would rather have you guys write at a third grade to sixth grade level, if your work comes out like a collegic textbook I wont read it. I want something fun and imaginative, if I want scholarly I'm Pick up the great divorce or Alfred Eidersheim's book on the life of Christ. The truth is we are more primitive in our linguistic skills then we were in the 19th century and it seems were getting dumber. Public education especially in California and definitely in America as a whole is a joke as compared to Britain and well I'm not sure about Europe. But here it seems our country is embracing ignorance and at least here in the Bay Area kids seem to be entitled that life needs to be served to them on a plate.
Oops! Sorry I guess I went off on a tie raid the point is I guess we don't use language like we use to. But then I think at how far we've strayed from God.