what is your Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level

[jeninflorida]

I'm curious to see, what level other authors are at (using the Readability Statistics from word)? What is a good target?

 

[Otto26]

Embarassingly enough, my stories are in the 4-6 range.

 

[Weird Harold]

I'm curious to see, what level other authors are at (using the Readability Statistics from word)? What is a good target?

I try to keep it down to Seventh Grade level, but I'm more interested in the "Reading Ease" statistic and Passive Voice percentage as aids to improving my writing.

Embarassingly enough, my stories are in the 4-6 range.

Why embarassed? The F-K Grade level has nothing to do with content or quality, it is just a measure of sentence structure and word length. It's actually harder to write to a lower grade level than it is to max out the rating at Grade Twelve. Consistently hitting the 4-6 range is an indication that your writing style is unlikely to get in the way of the story.

MS Word's readability statistics can be a useful tool but only if you understand what they are telling you about your writing and how changes to sentence structure and paragraph format affect the statistics. The readability statistics are all about the mechanics of reading and say nothing about the content or quality of the text.

 

[emap]

My highest rated story, Truck Security is 67.3 reading ease, and grade 11.

My latest story, Adventure in Longwood Day 01 is 75.5 reading ease and grade 8.3.

Both are H stories though so I would say the grading doesn't have as much to do with the scoring as the content does.

 

[Otto26]

Why embarassed? The F-K Grade level has nothing to do with content or quality, it is just a measure of sentence structure and word length. It's actually harder to write to a lower grade level than it is to max out the rating at Grade Twelve. Consistently hitting the 4-6 range is an indication that your writing style is unlikely to get in the way of the story.

Because I was misunderstanding the ratings. Running my stories through the scanner was interesting. My readability hovered in the mid 70's and I am remarkably consistent in my writing, averaging 12 words per sentence and having 3% or less of my sentences qualifying as passive.

After some research I agree that readability seems far more important.

 

[rosco rathbone]

Is this some kind of thing that you can run your writings through? Anyone got a link?

 

[oggbashan]

Is this some kind of thing that you can run your writings through? Anyone got a link?

It is a feature of Microsoft Word - go to Tools, drop the menu down for options, enable reading statistics and then do a spelling and grammar check.

As an illustration of how flawed the system is:

How NOT to do it...
The roseate Sun, Phoebus’ orb, was glinting in the puddles and dappling the fallen leaves of the ancient forest as Joan made her way along the footpath leading from her rustic rose-entwined cottage, so beloved of tourists and her infrequent visitors from the city who left as soon as they reasonably could because the cottage lacked the basic amenities than any twenty-first century city dweller expected as of right such as satellite television and even running hot and cold water, both of which were unavailable, towards the steeple crowned hill on which the Parish Church sat as it had done for more than a thousand years surveying the expanding and contracting village in the valley beneath and perhaps regretting the earlier centuries when it had been filled to capacity by local residents each in their proper place and order according to the standards of the time, but Joan diverted from the direct route to the Church at a junction and was now heading in the direction of the Evening Star, the planet Venus known as Aphrodite to the Greeks but whether Greek or Roman was the personification of sexual desire, which sexual desire Joan was expecting to assuage once she reached her destination but in the meantime she was diverted by the interplay of light and shade from the evening sun as it sank lower on the horizon turning the landscape to a darkening ruddy hue which darkened further as she walked wondering whether she would reach her destination and assignation before Phoebus’ chariot had passed beyond her view but even if she did not her path was clear because she was accustomed to walking in the direction of the Evening Star every evening that she had free from her avocation of breeder of large and hairy dogs that bore a faint resemblance to The Hound of The Baskervilles and at times she would take one of the so-called breed with her on her perambulation which would certainly deter any evil minded loiterers upon her way but unfortunately also frequently prevented the consummation of her assignation by refusing to leave her side and repulsing her intended with ferocious barking and frenzied attacks barely held in check by the strong leash essential for such savage dogs but this time she was without a canine companion and therefore she hoped that the consummation would be forthcoming without let or hindrance as she continued to walk alongside the nearly dark woodlands before emerging on a slight eminence whence she could see her goal of another rose-entwined cottage from the chimney of which a wisp of smoke was arising promising warmth in both the physical, mental and sexual encounter which Joan would shortly enjoy.

"He's lit my fire" she said to herself.
PS. Ignoring the last short sentence which I couldn't resist:

Words 450
Sentences 1
Reading Ease 0
Grade Level 12.0

 

[Penelope Street]

Thanks to Harold and Og for explaining a bit about what the numbers mean plus providing instructions on how to generate them. I'm still not sure what a good score is, but I think we've an excellent example now of a bad one.

After checking a dozen or so of my stories, I was surprised how consistent the numbers were. With the exception of a single story, the reading ease was in the mid 80s, the grade level near four with about ten words per sentence and passive sentences of 1 or 2%.

The odd story is "Poly Polly"(https://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=415815) in which I adopted a different voice because the narrator is, well, not too bright. The reading ease for this tale is 95 with a grade level just over 2- though I have my doubts it's really so easy to read.

ETA:
I don't know if it's just my version of Word, but when I first selected "Tools", "Options..." and then the "Spelling & Grammar" tab, the "Show readability statistics" line was grey. I had to select "Check grammar with spelling" before I could select "Show readability statistics".

 

[fieryjen]

My grade level ranges from 4.8 to 7.9, readability from 75.5 to 84.6. My sentences are too long, but I knew that already.

 

[FurryFury]

4th-5th grade. Ugh. How sad.

 

[emap]

Oh actually the lower the grade the better off you are in the number of people who enjoy your writing. Most of america reads at about an 8th grade level, so the lower the grade the easier it is for most of the readers to follow what you are saying.

Of course I guess I should explain, the 8th grade level I mention above, that doesn't say anything about someone's intelligence, just how quickly they understand the sentence. The average reading level of the country and the reading level you get out of word are two completely different things, and yes I know confusing as all get out.

 

[Verdad]

A very interesting exercise. Thanks to everyone who explained how this option is used.

As for results, it seems that there's a marked difference between my (admittedly as rare as a bird's milk) fiction and my non-fiction. In fiction, I averaged 11 words per sentence, with the grade level of 4, but the samples of non-fiction, including personal correspondence, are more in the range of 22 words per sentence and the 10 grade level.

Weird Harold has it exactly right; maxing out is the easy thing to do. (Certainly it comes all too easily to me. )

Verdad

P. S. I'm a bit late and very much new, but I'd like to add my congrats to Penelope on her moderator status. Best wishes!

 

[Weird Harold]

I had to select "Check grammar with spelling" before I could select "Show readability statistics".

Nope, it's not just your version of word -- the readability statistics are a sub-function of the grammar checker that tabulates/summarizes what the grammar check analyzes.

Of course I guess I should explain, the 8th grade level I mention above, that doesn't say anything about someone's intelligence, just how quickly they understand the sentence.

That's another misconception about Readability Statistics -- the numbers don't have any direct relationship to "understanding" aka reading comprehension. The readability statistics Word reports are strictly based on sentence complexity and proper punctuation -- the mechanics of parsing a sentence. It will give a complete incomprehensible nonsense phrase the same rating as it does the most profound eloquence, as long as the grammar check can distinguish a verb and a subject.

One other minor point is that the grade level tops out at 12 in Word's implementation, but the Fleish-Kincaid scale can be extended to higher grade levels. At a rough guess, Og's masterpiece would max out the rating on an implemention that extended to Grade 16 or Grade 21 -- the other two common top ends for Fliesch-Kincaid based reading tests.

IMHO, the best use of the readability statistics for an author is on a paragraph by paragraph basis. Fixing one or two paragraphs that max-out the scale can make a big difference in the overall average rating of a story, but more importantly, finding those "difficult to read" paragraphs pinpoints the places where your story (probably) bogs down and needs more work.

The overall rating is "nice to know" information, but the overall rating is an average does nothing to identify where your readability can be improved.

 

[Pure]

comments and note to rosco

my readability, for a couple stories tested, was about 90. grade level around 3.

i consciously chose to avoid long sentences, and i consciously avoided any semicolons.

critics are right, however, that the prose could still be unreadable or incomprehensible, but it's a useful number to know if you've been dealing with academic contexts a lot.

open any best seller and note the sentence length. many books are for the post literate.

---
note to roscoe,
'sucking of a jew' rated 65 for readability and 8.4 for level. probably due to long sentences.

 

[Penelope Street]

I'm curious to see, what level other authors are at (using the Readability Statistics from word)?

I'm sure some of the other authors are curious to see what level you're at You started it, c'mon- fess up!

IMHO, the best use of the readability statistics for an author is on a paragraph by paragraph basis. Fixing one or two paragraphs that max-out the scale can make a big difference in the overall average rating of a story, but more importantly, finding those "difficult to read" paragraphs pinpoints the places where your story (probably) bogs down and needs more work.

What a great idea! Thank you.

 

[Pure]

the better the writer, the longer sentences he or she can handle. so most people will come to grief after 15-20 words.

HOWEVER, since the propective readers were raised on TV and video games, they may not be able to process even a *good* 20 word sentence, not to say, a bad one.

--
the simplest way a foreign person or other with limited skills can help insure clarity is to use short sentences.

 

[SweetErika]

I didn't know this feature existed, so this is very interesting.

I'm finishing up my first story, and the stats are:
2% Passive sentences

66.5 F-K Readability (Word says 60-70 is a good goal for most writing)

8.2 Grade Level

Based on content and style, I'd estimate the grade level to be a little higher, but that fits my characters and target audience. Plus, my beta readers haven't had a problem with most of it, and I've noticed I tend to offset higher-level vocabulary and concepts with enough context clues for lower-level readers to understand.

IMHO, the best use of the readability statistics for an author is on a paragraph by paragraph basis. Fixing one or two paragraphs that max-out the scale can make a big difference in the overall average rating of a story, but more importantly, finding those "difficult to read" paragraphs pinpoints the places where your story (probably) bogs down and needs more work.

Would I have to highlight and check the stats on each paragraph to find potentially problematic ones, or is there a feature for that? My paragraphs are exceptionally readable from a length standpoint, so checking individual ones would be a daunting task.

 

[Weird Harold]

Would I have to highlight and check the stats on each paragraph to find potentially problematic ones, or is there a feature for that? My paragraphs are exceptionally readable from a length standpoint, so checking individual ones would be a daunting task.

It is a daunting task, but then so is a good self-edit and spell check.

I use the readability statistics primarily to track down passive voice, because I have a problem with passive voice. (Note: 4% passive voice on the readability statistics is a HIGH passive voice percentage, in my experience.)

There is not an automated way to locate problem areas, but it's not quite necessary to do each paragraph individually.

I generally run the spelling and grammar check on sections -- a screen or two of text at a time -- of a story rather than trying to check the entire document at once and check for potential problem in the readability statistics in that section; if the statistics suggest there might be a problem, I go back and check smaller, and smaller sections until I find the paragraph or sentence that is anomalous.

Sometimes, a change from a comma to a semi-colon or period is all that's needed. Sometimes a complete reevaluation/rewrite in necessary. Sometimes, nothing can be done and still preserve what I wanted to say.

Most importantly, sometimes the grammar check is just confused and giving an erroneous evaluation and nothing needs to be done.

Word's grammar check -- and the readability statistics -- can be frustrating. Something as simple as naming a character "Frank" can cause strange results because "Frank" is a word the Grammar Check can mistake for a verb or adjective instead of a proper name. That doesn't make it useless, though; if you can confuse something as simple and stupid as the grammar check, there's a fair chance you will confuse the average reader, too.

 

[angelicminx]

Very useful tool, y'all. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I've come a long way in my fight against passive sentences, but this tool will help me pinpoint those last few stragglers. (5 passive sentences out of 985 ain't bad )

My grade level fluctuates between 3.2 and 8.6. (Stories are 3.2 - 4.8 Essays are 7.2 - 8.6) Very nice to know.

 

[CorsetLvr]

Here's the stats from my latest story that just posted yesterday.

F-K: 7
Ease of reading: 70%
Passive sentences: 7%

I have fought to bring my F-K down for years. I can recall some stories that were on a college grade level. I actually remember a former boss (many moons ago) that made me calculate the K-F by hand. Obviously way before MS Word did it for you. I think I was still saving files on 5" floppies back then. His goal for me was to write on an 8th grade level.

What was even more difficult about this was that I was doing technical writing at the time. My ex boss's point, and which I know agree, is that people may be able to read above a certain level, but may not be able to do so comfortably. In other words, the story doesn't flow. As I recall, most magazines require their writers to write on a certain grade level. 8th grade seemed to be a common benchmark as I recall.

However, I will say that when you are writing dialog, and using a lot of short sentences with 1-2 syallables, this will bring down the overall average significantly. I never had the benefit of dialog in my technical writing. However, I was prone to use complex, compound sentence structures. Over time I have learned to break them down into more then one sentence. Now, if I can just get past making my readers break out the dictionary to get through an erotic story I will have it beat.

I found this: "Reader's Digest magazine has a readability index of about 65, Time magazine scores about 52, and the Harvard Law Review has a general readability score in the low 30s."

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

 

[EHawkins]

F-K Readability

I love the Flesch-Kincaid scale--it's my best friend It's one of the most useful editing tools that I've ever come across, and it's had a huge impact on my writing style.

The F-K Stats for my most recent completed projects are:

"Demon Flesh" (Submitted for the Halloween 2006 contest)

Passive Sentences: 0%
F-K Reading Ease: 83.6
Reading Level: 4.0
Words: 1,534

"The Violinist"

Passive Sentences: 2%
F-K Reading Ease: 85.2
Reading Level: 3.8
Words: 1,907

Usually, I average around 80-85. Pieces that are high action, or emotionally intense usually top out at 85 or higher. Slower pieces for me, tend to dip into to the high 70's up to 80. My reading level seems to jump around a lot, but lately it's been between 3.0 and 4.

Things I like to keep in mind when I'm trying to raise my F-K are :

*Am I using short words when possible and making good word choices? (I like to keep a good thesaurus around for this.)

*Am I keeping my sentence short--about 12-20 words? (I watch for long sentences and try to either break them up or get to the point )

*Am I watching the length of my paragraphs, especially descriptive ones? (If I notice they're out of control, F-K helps me get them under control if I get too verbose.)

James V. Smith, Jr.'s book "The Writer's Little Helper", has a wonderful, in depth explanation on how to use the F-K scale, especially for pacing larger works. Aside from the F-K stuff, it's a useful little book

I've become a much better self-editor since I've started using F-K as apart of my editing routine

 

[Athena_e19]

I just checked most of my recent submissions- I had never used this tool before.

My post popular all fell around the 8th Grade level with 80% plus for readability.

I was surprised to find that my sentence length were almost exclusively over 15 words and still managed to be readable (and apparently understandable).

Cool tool!

 

[ROM]

Well, hmmm. Not sure what to make of this.
I too was a technical writer in the distant past, as well as a draftsman. I had to draw blueprints for objects, and then write the instruction manual for assembling them.

Purple prose doesn't fly in an instruction manual.

I was surprised by the numbers word spat out about my stories here on lit.

passive sentences: 1%
Flesch reading ease: 87.0
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 4.0

I can remember really having to _TRY_ to get the grade level down. My shop required a grade level <4.5, and I can remember really struggling to get that under control. I guess some of it must have sunk in...

But it is true, dialog will help. Dialog tends to be short sentences.

And this will change depending on the voice of the narrating character - if you use such a thing as an author. If your narrating character is a snooty college English professor, you're going to write differently than if your narrating character is a drunken nymphomanic sorority sister that's majoring in blowjobs and getting through class by using her skills on said snooty English professor.

 

[Unsung Muse]

"CAKE"
passive sentences... 0%
reading ease........... 71.2
grade level.............. 7.1

"Obstinate Stain"
passive sentences... 0%
reading ease........... 74.5
grade level.............. 6.5

"Naked, I"
passive sentences... 2%
reading ease........... 83.1
grade level.............. 4.9


[now feel the urge to find and fix the two stray
passive sentences in "Naked, I"] <lol>

 

[Mark2]

Just say No

I'm curious to see, what level other authors are at (using the Readability Statistics from word)? What is a good target?

is the title of my most recent offering. The reading ease suggests 86% of the population can read it easily, grade level required is 3.6.

My feedback is that the stories are excellent, and hot.

Hemingway wrote to a grade level of 4 which was the newspaper standard at the time.

I feel aiming for a Hemingway standard is good.

It has to do mostly with average word length (mine is 4 characters) average sentence length (mine is 10 words) and avoiding passive sentences (mine had none).

Just what I learned in Eng Lit in high school. Keep the words short. Say it direct. Use short sentences.

Of course writing in England is a whole 'nother thing. There, very long sentences are quite acceptable, once you have mastered the use of the semicolon; which my personal vote for the best writer in the English language - Patrick O'Brian - is prone to use creating paragraph length sentences of unusual power.