Writing for the 8th Grade

While talking with a blog client, the matter of reading levels came up. I can't remember where I found this tip, but there's a way to measure the reading grade level of your writing.

You know how they say to write your articles and blog posts for readers at an 8th grade level? Well, yes, they do say that. In fact, some say that if you're writing for the general public, you should write for a 4th grade level.

Here's how to find out the grade level of your blog writing, according to the "Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level" metric.

Open up a word doc and paste your writing passage there. Go to Tools, Spelling & Grammar, Options, and check the option for readability stats. Then when you do a Spelling and Grammar check on the document, the reading grade level will appear.

This particular client is well educated, and writes in a poetic manner. His thinking tends to be abstract, and his writing is eloquent, esoteric. I suggested he might want to write for other more concrete readers, and be sure to write at an 8th grade level or below.

I recently read something about this subject and can't remember where I found it. Any suggestions?

Comments

[Denise aka The Blog Squad]

Since I really didn't know what the Flesch-Kincaid Reading metrics met, I found a link on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flesch-Kincaid_Readability_Test

Now I get it. For reading ease, you want a high number;for grade level you want a lower number.