There are several readability tests that can give you an idea of how easy your work is to read. The tests mentioned in this section are: The Flesch Reading Ease Score and The Dale-Chall Grade.
The Flesch Reading Ease Score
This is is the most well known readability test in the US. It calculates the amount of words in each sentence, then the amount of syllables in each word, and gives you two scores.
The first number score shows readability, the higher the number the easier it is to read. The second is a grade score which states which American school year would understand it.
For fiction or business writing the target score is between 60 and 70, meaning that someone in grade 7 would be able to understand it.
0 to 30: College graduate level (Very difficult to read) 30 to 50: College level (Difficult to read) 50 to 60: 10th to 12th grade (Fairly difficult to read) 60 to 70: 8th and 9th grade (Plain English, easily understood by 13 to 15 year old students) 70 to 80: 7th grade (Fairly easy to read) 80 to 90: 6th grade (Easy to read, conversation English) 90 to 100: 5th grade (Easily understood by an average 11 year old student)
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The Automated Readability Index
This test is calculated based on characters per word and words per sentence. Sometimes the result is a decimal, in which case the score should be rounded up to the next whole number.
The formula for this test is: 4.71 x (characters/words) + 0.5 x (words/sentences) - 21.43
The target score is between 6 and 7.
1: age 5-6 2: age 6-7
3: age 7-8 4: age 8-9 5: age 9-10 6: age 10-11 7: age 11-12 8: age 12-13 9: age 13-14 10: age 14-15 11: age 15-16 12: age 16-17 13: age 17-18 14: age 18-22
