Improve Your Writing with Readability Statistics By Denice Whitmore and Jo Wilkins

In this computer age of instant gratification, readability statistics are a great tool to keep your writing technically on track. What can this option do for you? Take a look at the graphic below:

                                               

•              The top of the chart tracks your counts

•              The middle of the chart gives the averages found in your document

•              The bottom gives the passive percentage, reading ease and grade level

The bottom is the most important. Industry standards for today are 5th to 6th grade level of writing, 5% or less passive voice (Mostly reserved for dialogue because we speak in passive voice) and a 75% to 85% readability on the Flesh reading scale. As for the grade level, keep in mind that:

o                  The Gettysburg Address was written at a 6^th grade level

o                  Hemmingway wrote at a 5^th grade level. Old Man of the Sea is at 5.3.

o                  Newspapers are written on a 3^rd grade level so everyone can understand them.

It’s not the words you use, but the complexity of the sentences that determines grade level. A few years ago a member of the Henderson Writers' Group approached Jo and asked why his book wouldn’t sell. She took it home to read and ended up throwing it across the room during the third chapter With an average sentence length of 62 words, Jo would finish a sentence and have to go back to the beginning since it had changed directions so many times she had no idea what it was about. So, she investigated why. The back blurb ─ first sentence was 56 words, has 4 commas and changes direction after each comma.

Jo typed in the first few pages to check the readability score. It was 27% passive voice, Read on a 12.6 grade level and had scored a 36 for readability. She told him he needed to dumb it down. He said he couldn’t, his three college professors had edited it for him and he didn't want to upset them. She told him that was the only audience he would attract. A couple of years later, after he heeded her advice, he wrote a killer fiction book that fell into the proper readability scores and it sold well on Amazon.

Here is how to set up the readability statistics for Microsoft Word and Corel Word Perfect. If you would like a tracking sheet that will help you keep track of your statistics email info@mysticpublishersinc.com. 

To set up your computer to give you the readability scores for any document in Microsoft Word 2003, you need to take these steps.

Drop down the Tools menu from the standard toolbar.

Click once on Options at the bottom of the list.

When the Options dialogue box comes on the screen click on the top tab that reads Spelling & Grammar.

On the Spelling & Grammar page, go to the bottom of the page in the grammar section.  Check the boxes that say Check grammar as you type – Check grammar with spelling – Show readability statistics.

Click on the OK option at the bottom and the dialogue box will close.

After this is set up, every time you hit F7 to check the spelling and grammar, a box will come up to show you the word count and the readability scores for the document on the screen.

To set up the equivalent of this feature in Corel’s Word Perfect, there are a few more steps, and it must be done manually with every document.

Drop down the Tools menu on the application toolbar.

Click on the Gramatik option (or use Alt+Shift+F7) to open the grammar checker.

On the right hand side of the grammar checker dialogues box, tag the options button.

A square menu will come on screen.  In the center of that menu you will find the selection, Analysis    ►.

Place the mouse arrow on either the word or the arrowhead, and another box will come on screen.

In this box, scroll to the bottom of the listed features to readability.

Click once on readability and a dialogue box will come on screen.

In the readability dialogue box, you will see the scores of your document compared to a Hemingway short story.

You can change the comparison to the Gettysburg Address for speeches or to the 1040EZ instructions for an instructional document.

The Flagged button at the bottom of the box takes you to a screen that outlines the grammar rules you may have broken.

The Basic Counts button takes you to a screen where you can view the word count—Sentence structure—etc.

 To set up your computer to give you the readability scores for any document in Microsoft Word 2007, you need to take these steps. 

Step 1.            Open Word and click on the Microsoft Symbol in the upper left-hand corner.

Step 2.            On the drop down menu click on the word option button in the lower right hand corner next to the exit button.

Step 3.            In the next menu box, click on PROOFING (the third option down) in the left-hand side list of options.

Step 4.            In the next menu box, go the bottom of the options displayed and place a check in the box next to SHOW READABILITY STATISTICS.

To set up your computer to give you the readability scores for any document in Microsoft Word 2010 &2013

1.         To initiate the Readability Statistics, open a word document and clicked on FILE at the extreme left side of the screen.
2.         Scroll down the menu on the left side until you see OPTIONS. A new menu comes out.

3.         At this point in 2010, you must go into the Proofing menu to find the readability option. In 2013 just scroll to the bottom of the menu.      
4.         Check the box for readability. If the box is ghosted and will not allow you to put in the check mark, put a check in the Grammar & Spelling options and it allow you to initiate the option.

5.         Hit ok & you are done.