This article is about readability. Ironically, that first sentence got a terrible readability score (grade 14.4), but this longer sentence is a bit better (grade 13.0).

Why?

To be fully transparent, I just made up this example, and I am a tad surprised by that result. I expected the first sentence to be bad but not that bad. I expected the second sentence to be worse. So, I am dissecting these scores to better explain them.

For perspective, most writing experts consider an eighth-grade reading level a good score for general audiences. At Cultivate Learning, we follow federal plain language guidelines and aim for scores between 8 and 10. The reading level does not reflect the readers’ intelligence. It reflects how fast people can process what they read.

Readability scores are based on two key factors: words per sentence and syllables per word. The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level uses those factors in a formula to generate the score. I’ll spare you the messy math, but this Microsoft page shows you  how to see the score on your Word documents.

The bottom line: Use short sentences and small words.

Short sentences, like my first sentence above, tell readers what they need to know quickly. Readers can find the noun and verb easily. Then they can move on. The second sentence is compound. It has two subjects and two verbs. It forces the reader to digest two basic facts and to understand how those two facts relate to each other. Whether you noticed it or not, that took you longer than the first. I barely notice the difference, but I would love to hear s brain scientist describe it.

Good writers vary their sentence length. Some sentences are five words; others are 30 words. The more adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases, dependent clauses, the more complex the sentence, and the more it will drag your score down. An average of 15 to 20 words per sentence will probably give you the best chance to reach the score you want.

But remember the first sentence tested worse than the second. How can a five-word sentence grade so badly, and how can a sentence more than three times as long score better?

“Readability” has five syllables. That hurts the score. When we use one-, two-, or sometimes three-syllable words, instead, people digest it faster. Look for those words. Can you find a shorter synonym?

But the second sentence uses “readability,” too, and it still scored better than the first. Look closely at the second factor—syllables per word. The first sentence has 12 syllables in five words, or 2.4 syllables per word. If I counted right, the second sentence has 30 syllables in 17 words, or 1.8 syllables per word. In the equation, that’s a big difference. I suggest a goal of 1.5 syllables per word, at least under 2.0.

That will not be easy. Many early learning terms and concepts are long words or multiple long words together. So, writers must think hard before they use them. Can they replace the long terms with simpler words, at least sometimes? When they must use complex terms, can they explain them with as many simple words?

For example, a writer could use “training” instead of “professional development.” Two syllables are fewer than eight, but maybe that’s not quite right either. The writer who knows their audience well might decide that “professional development” sounds more, well, professional. If they do, they may well need to look for other ways to make the grade. Maybe they can think of another way  to describe an event where those who attend can learn how to better teach children.

Readability requires a delicate balance of both factors: short sentences and simple words.

So, here are two ways I could have started this. They are slightly longer, but much more readable.

• This piece shows you how to write more clearly. (Grade 1.0)
• Writers can make their work readable if they know how to measure it. (Grade 4.9)

Thankfully, we care most about the score for an entire document. Not every sentence has to hit such a stringent mark. After my rocky start with the first two sentences, my overall score for this piece is grade 6.2. Hey, I could probably say “readability” a few more times.