The importance of communicating ideas with readable words has become more critical than ever in a TikTok world. Have you ever wondered what grade your writing’s reading level is?
Dan Balow told me of a fun website, www.readabilityformulas.com, where you can post up to 3,000 words and find out its reading-level grade.
I first tried the Bible using Daniel 7:1-7 in different translations.
King James Version (KJV) – grade 11
New International Version (NIV) – grade 6
The Message Bible (paraphrase) – grade 4
I put in a number of my own blog posts and found a range from 7th to 9th grade.
Ran a proposal’s sample chapter from a brilliant mind pitching a book through the process. The grade level was 16. Ouch!
The lesson is somewhat self-evident. Your style of writing may not communicate well with your audience if your verbiage isn’t a match for your reader.
No, I’m not advocating “dumbing down” your writing. What I am suggesting is that if you are writing a dissertation, you can use one style; but if you are writing a group Bible study, use another.
For fun, I graded the following book contract clause:
Author warrants and represents that (a) Author is the owner of the rights granted hereunder and has full power and authority to make the grants herein contained; (b) to Author’s knowledge, there are no claims or litigations pending or threatened adversely affecting Author’s rights in the Work for the purposes of this Agreement; (c) there are no rights, licenses or commitments outstanding in favor of anyone which would or might impair, interfere with or infringe upon the exclusive rights herein granted; and (d) the Work in no way violates any existing copyright, either in whole or in part, and contains no matter which is libelous or otherwise unlawful. This paragraph shall survive termination of this Agreement.
Reading level?
Grade 26
And such is the job of an agent. To unravel such language.
A Maundy Thursday Writer’s Prayer
Had to add a quatrain to get this thing above the hundred-word minimum…
The obfuscation of intention
should never be the author’s goal,
for it’s analogue to the detention
of an over-playful foal.
Nor should vile harness be applied,
as to a draft horse hitched to wagon;
such scenario will have belied
the writer’s energy’s dun-grey flagging.
Indeed, the equine metaphor,
though it may sound rather daft,
opens up a wide intriguing door
to the comprehension of the craft,
for some may write like racing steeds,
and some like stolid Percherons,
all to meet the readers’ heartfelt needs,
and not leave them palely woebegone,
scratching quickly-balding heads
at what they have so lately read.
Consensus score was 15. Don’t know whether to be thrilled or aghast.
Just out of curiosity, I entered the entire comment above, rather than just the long-form sonnet, and that brought the consensus reading level down to 11.
Thought that was kinda weird.
Andrew… love your “out of the horse’s mouth” poem. Puts me in mind of the time to Lord used a donkey to rebuke to the wayward prophet Balaam! A friend of mine has a phrase that might speak nicely to your poem: “horses before zebras”— or as my ninth grade English teacher used to say, don’t use a five dollar word when a $.25 one will do.🤓📚😊✝️
Karen, the story of Balaam and the donkey is one of my favourites!
Which is why we can’t really trust those websites. hahaha!
Pam, I was intrigued that such a small change in the writing sample, including a more conversational tone, made a significant impact on readability.
Dear Steve,
Thanks for this. It reminds me of how our Lord Jesus always used the simplest, most elementary words to get across His truth. Unlike Paul…🤓
This is a fascinating tool; thanks Steve and Dan. I put in text from two different books. I write about science so I expected a fairly high score, which was borne out – around 11. But I also found some degree of variability within a book, which I have a feeling might not be a good sign. One chapter scored a 7, and one a 12. On the other hand, the scores for the 2 books were quite similar as a whole, which surprised me, because the second book is much less technical, (I thought). But I clearly have different writing styles (which might be typical of everyone). A recent Facebook post scored a 4. Is consistency in reading difficulty something we should consider as valuable for targeting a particular audience for a particular book?
I wrote a Fred Rogers quote on a sticky note and attached it to my monitor stand as a self-reminder:
“Deep and simple are far, far more important than shallow and complicated and fancy.”
I laughed when I read this. Authors and author wannabes definitely appreciate the work you put in!
Thanks for this article. The contract part made me laugh. Both sad and hilarious. 🙂
Thanks for sharing – fascinating, always consider the source, fun to read. God is the master decision maker. 💙
Steve, thanks for this article and helpful tool. Any thoughts on what we should be shooting for in terms of grade level and readability? What is the goal? 6th grade? Higher?