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How readable is your draft?

Use this Reading Effectiveness Tool to find out if your draft manuscript is at the right Grade Reading Level for your intended audience. This interactive tool is based on the Simple Measure Of Gobbledegook (SMOG) readability formula. The tool will do the calculations for you.

Note:
If your text is shorter than 30 sentences, go to the version of this tool for shorter documents.

What's a good Grade Reading Level for your audience?

Clear language experts agree on these general guidelines:
If you are writing: Then aim for a Grade Reading Level of:
Essential information for a diverse public, including:
  • people who are still learning the English language
  • people with less than 8 years of formal education
Grade 5 to 6
Information for the general public that introduces:
  • new terms and concepts
  • specialized subject matter
Grade 7 to 9
Specialized information intended for an informed audience Grade 10 to 15 (college)

Step 1. Choose a Grade Reading Level.
Based on the chart above, what's the right reading level for your audience?

14


Step 2. Select a sample from your document.

Count off 30 sentences in your document:

  • 10 sentences at the beginning
  • 10 in the middle
  • 10 near the end.

Note:
  • Do not count titles and headings.
  • If you have used "bullet" points to break up a sentence that has a number of long subordinate clauses, you can count each clause as a sentence.

Step 3. Count the long words.

Count all of the words with 3 or more syllables in your sample.



Step 4. Sentence length
Are any sentences in your sample longer than 20 words?
   

Step 5. Tone
Tone describes the way a written text makes us feel. Some tones
make readers open up to your message, and other tones put them off.

Answer these questions:
Does the sample use the passive voice more than once? Example: Active voice: I made a mistake.
                Passive voice: A mistake has been made.
   
Is the tone distant and formal? Example:"It has come to our attention that..."
   
Is the tone bossy and negative? Example: Under no circumstances may employees claim expenses when they fail to retain receipts.
   
Does the tone patronize or "talk down" to the reader?
Example: As you are aware, there has been an outbreak of lice at the school.
   

Step 6. Organization
Is the information presented in a logical way, so that readers will
find what they need as easily as possible?    
Are most of the paragraphs three sentences or less?
   
Are there frequent sub-headings, to help readers scan through the
text and pull out the key messages?    

Step 7. Appearance
Will the document be produced in a type size of 12 points or more?    
Will the document use graphic elements, such as charts and pictures?    
Will the final design use heavy screens, ornate fonts, and colour
overlays on the text?    
Will there be lots of "white space" around the text?
   
Will the right margin be justified or ragged?
   
Will the document use bold face for emphasis (rather than italics,
underlining, CAPITALS, or colour alone)?    

Click here to send comments or questions to CLAD.
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