Readability checkers - what grade level are your novels

[therosesword]

I know there are a lot of writing programs for grammar out there (yes, that subject again) but this week I got fascinated by the readability grade level indexes. There are several that are not attached to writing programs like Grammarly.

I found one site that allows you to put a segment up to 3000 words into it and they'll tell you what six (or is it 7) different readability programs say about your writing.

I tried it twice and I scored a heart attack inducing Grade 1 for one piece but then... the same piece got a grade 6 on a different index.

It takes a little digging but you can figure out how they're compiling their statistics.

Apparently the grade level you want to aim for is 5 or 6 (that's US) but, when you're operating with different sites that give different answers and you're not sure which one is right my thought is... just write and ignore that because you'll only cause yourself a lot of grief.

Example: I had a low grade on a chapter so I went in and edited and as I edited beefing things up (I thought) I watched the grade level decline.

Here's the main site.

https://readabilityformulas.com/free-readability-formula-tests.php

[HippieGhost]

Happy to see that mine got a consensus of "easy to read". I hit the mark you mentioned, though one of the programs rated it at grade 7... In either case, I'm glad I'm hitting the sweet spot.

Edited to add screengrab

[therosesword]

On the Flesch I hit 90 with one piece and then in the low 80's with another. It's kind of interesting taking different segments of a manuscript and putting them in and then watching the levels fluctuate all over the place.

Obviously the more "high falutin'" words you use the higher the grade level, which sounds good, but at the same time, when you start reading about these different indexes you'll find they all push for the easier it is to read.

But I have one question... does "easy to read" equate "easy to understand?"

If you have something that is simply put, but has layers, innuendo, cultural jargon where a word means one thing in the general public but something else in a cultural group... how accurate are these indexes, really?

For instance... and I apologize for this reference if it offends anyone but... "Catherine the great went to the stables to see her favorite horse." means one thing to some people and something entirely different to people who knows the urban legend.... well,

[HippieGhost]

That's true, a lot of authors manage to say a lot without saying a lot. I know I tend to use a lot of double-meanings when I can. My main focus is sentence flow, but I do like to get fancy, especially with descriptions.

[NellieVP318]

I scored around 7 ( copy and pasted below) which granted I put my later chapters to my finished novel. My eariler chapter might score lower due how shaky my writing started off the story.

Readablity Results here

TEXT READABILITY CONSENSUS CALCULATOR
www.ReadabilityFormulas.com

Timestamp: 02/06/2021 — 07:01:49am

Purpose: Our Text Readability Consensus Calculator uses 7 popular readability formulas to calculate the average grade level, reading age, and text difficulty of your sample text.

Your Results:

Your text: It was all over the news: �Local Indie-Band harbor ... (2532 words total)

1.
Flesch Reading Ease score: 74 (text scale)
Flesch Reading Ease scored your text: fairly easy to read.

2.
Gunning Fog: 8 (text scale)
Gunning Fog scored your text: fairly easy to read.

3.
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 6
Grade level: Sixth Grade.

4.
The Coleman-Liau Index: 7
Grade level: Seventh Grade

5.
The SMOG Index: 7
Grade level: Seventh Grade

6.
Automated Readability Index: 6
Grade level: 10-11 yrs. olds (Fifth and Sixth graders)

7.
Linsear Write Formula: 7
Grade level: Seventh Grade.

---

READABILITY CONSENSUS

---

Based on (7) readability formulas, we have scored your text:

Grade Level: 7
Reading Level: fairly easy to read.
Age of Reader: 11-13 yrs. old (Sixth and Seventh graders)

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[surenlicious]

I uh...have no idea but apparently, I am okay? At least my novel Jade Kingdoms is okay. XD Not bad for someone who ain't a native speaker?

[DasIstWunderblyat]

I think I am grade four or five for my overall series.
I am not English speaker and gives zero shit on making my writing fancy or eloquent. What I want is it is to be what it is, to convey shit as it is.

I do think higher score does not indicate sophistication or anything, nor lower is inferior. It is back to the purpose of writing and audience.

I put a passage from my latest chapter and I got this.

I thought it would be way lower.

[cherrystark]

My results still put me at a 3rd grade level. Oh dear

TEXT READABILITY CONSENSUS CALCULATOR
www.ReadabilityFormulas.com

Timestamp: 02/06/2021 — 11:09:14am

Purpose: Our Text Readability Consensus Calculator uses 7 popular readability formulas to calculate the average grade level, reading age, and text difficulty of your sample text.

Your Results:

Your text: She couldn�t feel her hands. Jamie struggled to op ... (167 words total)

1.
Flesch Reading Ease score: 89 (text scale)
Flesch Reading Ease scored your text: easy to read.

2.
Gunning Fog: 4 (text scale)
Gunning Fog scored your text: easy to read.

3.
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 2
Grade level: Second Grade.

4.
The Coleman-Liau Index: 7
Grade level: Seventh Grade

5.
The SMOG Index: 4
Grade level: Fourth Grade

6.
Automated Readability Index: 1
Grade level: 6-8 yrs. old (First and Second graders)

7.
Linsear Write Formula: 2
Grade level: Second Grade.

---

READABILITY CONSENSUS

---

Based on (7) readability formulas, we have scored your text:

Grade Level: 3
Reading Level: easy to read.
Age of Reader: 8-9 yrs. old (Third and Fourth graders)

---

[Pony_wearing_a_hat]

Well uh... This:

[therosesword]

Mine did, too, but the funny thing is I'm seeing a lot of things that say lower is better. And, considering that Heminway (my writing hero) scores in the 4-6 range, I'm more or less happy. But it is an odd shock isn't it.

It seems the easier it is to read the better these score keepers like it. Weird.

[cherrystark]

It is weird. I think it's important to remember that these programs are just tools. They won't replace the writer's own abilities.

[therosesword]

Oh lordy yes. And I have to admit, I took some time yesterday and rewrote some pieces just to see what would happen. I much preferred the "easier to read" results as they had more of my voice.

A friend of mine is an ESL teacher and has been one for decades. She stopped short of getting her PhD in French. She's also the editor of her husband's academia books, he's a professor of English/Irish studies at the University. So, when she reads my stuff and never says anything about it I know I'm okay. She would definitely tell me if it was too simplistic. She would tell me kindly and gently, but she would tell me.

[therosesword]

I found something rather interesting.... dialogue heavy passages scored lower grades (2 to 4) text heavy descriptions scored higher grades 7-8.

[therosesword]

try it two different times, one that is text/description heavy and one that is mostly dialogue.

[Black_Conscious]

Ehh well uh this site makes me feels things ngl

So my first try was using all of what I have wrote for my first chapter and it gave me this

---

And this is my second try but without using the whole thing and I taken one paragraph from the beginning..
Idk how I should feel about this
Because the grade level had went extremely up and where the first try was like a one digit number.

lol Should I be flattered by this

[therosesword]

OMG.... that's... that's... PhD level understanding. Good lord, gurrrl, what did you explain, the theory of relativity?

All kidding aside, that was pretty mind blowing. I think you might want to lower that a little to reach a broader audience. But... that was only one paragraph.

wow. heart palpitations.

The one digit number is what you want for overall understandability. I've been going down this rabbit hole since yesterday and opinions fluctuate but it seems that 5 to 8 are preferable. Remember this isn't a "highest score wins" thing. This is all about how readable your work it. We're indoctrinated to believe high score means high achievement but in this case, not so much.

1. wow.

[therosesword]

Have to laugh. The same piece put into 4 different "reability" sites came up with 7, 8, 9 and 4th grade.

I'm rapidly working to close the theory that this is all BS.

[vothnthorvaldson]

I also get really 'bad' results for two texts that have been edited for English mistakes (so bad English is not a potential explanation), but got 'fairly easy' on other texts with pretty much the same style overall.

I think it has a lot to do with indexes taking in account jargon and long words (I have a lot of these in one of the texts that is a science-heavy fiction), plus the indexes can't take in account hard-to-read text that is on purpose hard to read (in my case sections with broken sentence structure due to mental illness, would be the same with bad English I suppose).

These indexes are useful to make sure a text that one wants the clearer to read is actually clear to read. After, context matters.

But your case is interesting @Black_Conscious, can you see what make this difficult paragraph different from the rest?

[Black_Conscious]

But... that was only one paragraph.

Lol I know right
So like the thing is, the paragraph I have used it doesn't really feel all that high and "mighty" like they have done so it is a bit strange not gonna lie

Though it may seem like I am downing myself, I've been reading it over and it doesn't seem like that High of a grade level.

Summary

The mumbling was all I can hear, nothing but noises from far away, yet the energy felt off, it was soon after a few minutes I was able to hear it, the screams from people constantly shouting in an unfamiliar language but shortly I awaken from my deep sleep into a pool of water, all I could see was my sisters giggling across my bed, one was my younger sister who was 7 holding a small bucket and the other whose older than me by 4 years was holding a phone in her left hand, but soon they both realize that I was awake, running out of my room in laughter, I slowly sit up, all soak I was, still thinking of the dream, questions one after another, but I know what I must do and that is taking a Shower.

Remember this isn't a "highest score wins" thing.

Yeah we shouldn't be caught up on all these numbers, sometimes I use them (in Grammarly) to see what more I could do on what I am writing, so it helps

[therosesword]

I think I know what happened. Your paragraph is one long sentence. Break it up into smaller sentences and see what happens.