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How easy are these words to read?
Permalinks to this entry: individual page or in monthly context. For more material from my journal, visit my home page or the archive.
A new online tool analyzes the readability (and explains the resulting numbers) for any web page (or Word document). Here's my score, compared to articles from some popular sites:
| Index | Penmachine | NY Times | PC World | White House | ESPN | Nickelodeon | Chomsky |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kincaid: | 8.2 | 6.2 | 10.6 | 4.1 | 12.3 | 4.0 | 10.2 |
| ARI: | 9.0 | 6.2 | 12.1 | 3.7 | 6.7 | 3.5 | 11.4 |
| C-L: | 10.0 | 11.8 | 11.9 | 9.1 | 15.6 | 9.1 | 12.4 |
| Flesch: | 71.1 | 70.4 | 59.4 | 84.4 | 71.4 | 84.2 | 58.8 |
| Fog: | 11.2 | 8.9 | 13.3 | 7.6 | 15.7 | 6.2 | 13.4 |
| Lix: | 38.6/6 | 34.1/5 | 47.1/8 | 28.3/<5 | 39.3/6 | 28.3/<5 | 46.5/8 |
| SMOG: | 10.1 | 9.1 | 11.4 | 8.2 | 10.7 | 7.0 | 11.9 |
In the Flesch score, higher numbers are easier to read. In all others, higher numbers are harder. The Lix index includes a score, plus (after the slash) a "school year" number.
It seems that, on balance, this site is easier to read for the average person than something from PC World or Noam Chomsky, but harder than a New York Times article, a White House press release, or a page from the Nickelodeon cable kids' channel. It's about the same as something from the ESPN sports network, though I almost never write about sports.
Link via Buzzworthy.
