Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level

[Diannecp]

Has anyone ever used the feature in Word's spell checker which summarizes your document when it's finished checking? It reports no. of words, paragraphs, sentences, average no. of words per sentence and paragraph, and no. of passive sentences.

I find it quite helpful, but the last section notes the Flesch reading ease and Flesch-Kincaid reading level. I'm wondering if this means anything to you as writers? For instance, if I'm working on a fiction piece and the grade level comes up as 5.8, does that mean my story is too dumbed down? Just wondering how much credence I should give this!

If you don't know how to turn this feature on in MS Word, go to Tools>Options>Spelling and Grammar tab>Show readability statistics.

I'd be interested in your feedback on this.

[DrRita]

Hi Diannecp,
We were just talking about that in the chat room a couple of days ago. I'ts a great tool IMO and I use it a lot. No 5.8 doesn't mean it's "dumbed down" it simply means your words are 25 cent word instead $1 words and that the ease in which the piece is read is at that grade level. Not that it's immaturely written. I like to use it to see how many words to a sentence and how many sentences to a paragraph. I't also helpful to check the first part of a piece against the second part (if it's long enough) to see if the piece is consistent. If there's a big difference in reading level and other stats between the two, I've got a problem. I think it's a good thing.

[dublinheart]

Beautifully explained. I use it some but not as mcuh as I need to evidently.
Now that it's been elaborated upon, I will utilize it more frequently.
Thanks for the heads up

[ChristChild]

I use this feature in WordPerfect, mainly for word count to chart my progress. I do look at those stats sometimes. I think the grade level on my first two novels was in the high sevens, and my third one, at the moment, is in the mid-eights.

If you are happy with the way your text reads, I wouldn't worry about it.

Shane