You’re preparing a document. You want to improve its readability. How to do this? Do what the U.S. Department of Defense does: use Flesch-Kinkaid scores to evaluate your documentation.
Rudolf Flesch and J. Peter Kinkaid created the formulas in the 1970s. Flesch was an author and readability expert. He died in 1985. Kinkaid is a scientist and educator.
One Flesch-Kinkaid formula provides a readability score. A score of 100 means easy-to-read text, written at a fifth-grade level. Scores ranging from 0 to 30 mean difficult-to-read text, written for college graduates.
Another Flesch-Kinkaid formula provides a grade-level score. Grade levels range from 5th grade students to college graduates. Schools and educational agencies use this formula to decide the suitability of written materials intended for their students.
Some might argue that writing to a lower grade level means dumbing down the text. It does not. Readers more easily understand documents with a lower-level vocabulary and simple, declarative sentences. Such documents also find a wider audience, because reading skills vary.
For example, say “good morning” and not “pleasant pre-noon time frame.”
Writers use Flesch-Kincaid scores as measurements by which they can improve their writing.
Various word processing programs, including Microsoft Word, enable usage of the Flesch Kincaid formulas. To enable the formulas in Microsoft Word:
- Click Options, then Proofing.
- Check the Show readability statistics checkbox.
Flesch-Kinkaid scores provide a means to improving document readability.
