As a writer, you've probably heard about readability formulas with strange names such as Flesch-Kincaid or Dale-Chall. Did you know that you can use readability analysis to improve your book or article?

In this article we'll talk about readability formulas, why they are important for writers, and how to choose cost-effective readability software.

Readability Formulas: What are They?

Readability is a measure of how easy an article or document is to read.

Readability formulas are mathematical formulas which calculate how easy or difficult a document is to read. No single readability test applies to all texts. Rather, each test is designed for a specific type of text and/or a specific type of audience.

For example, there are specific tests for:

· Assessing the suitability of a book for students at a particular grade level
· Assessing the difficulty of a technical document
· Assessing the suitability of a text for an English as a second language learner

Readability formulas differ in the features that they consider in their analysis. However, common parameters include:

· Average sentence length
· Average word length in characters
· Average word length in syllables
· Ratio of difficult words
· Ratio of difficult sentences
· Ratio of unfamiliar words
· Number of unique words

These readability tests have been proven to correlate with ease of reading for the specific audience the test targets.

Why is Readability Important for Writers?

In answering this question, let’s consider two types of writers: those that target children or young adults, and those that target adults.

* Writers Targeting Children or Young Adults

If you are targeting children or young adults, readability analysis should be a key component of your editing program. Books or articles targeting these age groups must contain language (both words and structures) that is suitable for your chosen audience.

Ignoring readability may lead to a fast trip to the rejection pile!

Luckily, there are several readability formulas specifically targeted to analyzing text for children and young adults. Three of the most popular are:

· New Dale-Chall
· Powers, Sumner, Kearl
· Spache (Revised)

* Writers Targeting Adults

Readability analysis can also be a key component for writers targeting the adult market as it provides yet another window onto your text.

Use readability analysis to consider:

· Does your book/article have a readability level suitable for your target audience?
· Does your book/article have a similar readability score to other books published by your target publisher?

Let’s consider each of these in turn.

** Readability level of your manuscript

Although most of your readers will be high school graduates, it would be a mistake to aim for a readability of Grade Twelve or higher. In fact, most popular writing targets a much lower grade level. Here are some examples.

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