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Whether you're writing a report, letter or making a powerpoint presentation, to be successful you'll
have to tune your message to the addressed target group.
The two most important issues to tackle are 'readability' and 'text-level'.
The Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test is a simple test to measure the readability and level of your
text.
There are two simple test formulae:
With:
ASL = average sentence length (number of words divided by the number
of sentences)
ASW = average number of syllables per word (number of syllables divided
by number of words)
Texts with a FRES-score of 90-100 are easily understandable by an average 5th grader and scores of
0-30 are best understood by college graduates.
Some examples of readability index scores of magazines:
- Reader's Digest Magazine :FRES = 65
- Time magazine: FRES = 52
- Harvard Law Review: FRES = 30
The FRES-test has become a U.S. governmental standard. Many government agencies require
documents or forms to meet specific readability levels. Most states require insurance forms to score
40-50 on the test.
So remember: Checking readability helps, and will turn you into a better writer.