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This is fun. Here is a test in which you can paste a block of your text, and get an evaluation of the grade level if your writing, and the ease of comprehension by a reader.
I just ran a test of a paragraph from Orwell's "1984", and got this result:
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Indication of the number of years of formal education that a person requires in order to easily understand the text on the first reading
Gunning Fog index : 15.45
Approximate representation of the U.S. grade level needed to comprehend the text :
Coleman Liau index : 10.66
Flesh Kincaid Grade level : 12.89
ARI (Automated Readability Index) : 13.99
SMOG : 14.20 (Simple Measure of Gobbledygook)
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So the Coleman Liau index runs from two to four grades below the other indices on readibility by grade level. By the way, the program also recommended that Orwell change three sentences to make them more readable.
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I also entered one of my own postings at CD, from an argumentative forum, and got results very similar to Orwell's:
Gunning Fog index : 15.71
Approximate representation of the U.S. grade level needed to comprehend the text :
Coleman Liau index : 10.79
Flesh Kincaid Grade level : 12.78
ARI (Automated Readability Index) : 11.92
SMOG : 14.49
Just for comparison, I entered the opening couple of paragraphs from one of my favorite author's latest book for analysis. Apparently, sixth graders could easily comprehend her writing, and yes, this link indeed suggested several sentences for a possible re-write! This is an author, who in her particular genre, is WILDLY successful. And lest some of you think this, the novel in question, is not some "trashy" romance novel. Just sayin'....
I put in a quote from "Dick and Jane" and got a negative grade on some of the scales, and a grade two on others. Finding the "Dick and Jane" quote was an eye-opener. I never realized how sexually charged the "Dick and Jane" books were. "See Jane come. Come, come, come." That is one of the tamer phrases.
A few years back I had a freeware grammar and obfuscation checking program that actually seemed better than this one. I quickly determined that it was useless.
There is a really good use for this, though. In the POC forum, you can make an ad hominem reply to an adversarial opinion by saying "You write like a 3rd grader", and back it up with a reference.
This is fun. Here is a test in which you can paste a block of your text, and get an evaluation of the grade level if your writing, and the ease of comprehension by a reader.
I just ran a test of a paragraph from Orwell's "1984", and got this result:
---------------------------
Indication of the number of years of formal education that a person requires in order to easily understand the text on the first reading
Gunning Fog index : 15.45
Approximate representation of the U.S. grade level needed to comprehend the text :
Coleman Liau index : 10.66
Flesh Kincaid Grade level : 12.89
ARI (Automated Readability Index) : 13.99
SMOG : 14.20 (Simple Measure of Gobbledygook)
-------------------------------
So the Coleman Liau index runs from two to four grades below the other indices on readibility by grade level. By the way, the program also recommended that Orwell change three sentences to make them more readable.
-----------
I also entered one of my own postings at CD, from an argumentative forum, and got results very similar to Orwell's:
Gunning Fog index : 15.71
Approximate representation of the U.S. grade level needed to comprehend the text :
Coleman Liau index : 10.79
Flesh Kincaid Grade level : 12.78
ARI (Automated Readability Index) : 11.92
SMOG : 14.49
What is the Flesch Reading score mean? I put in a few paragraphs from a recent novel in two separate entries. I am about finished and came up with two diffrent scores. One was 52 and the other 65 and another at 73. What do they mean?
As far as rewriting sentences. I don't put much stock in the dialogue critique because I use regional accents like the downeast accent spelling tomatoes in the dialogue as tamaytahs.
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That still doesn't seem right to me.
