What is readability?
Readability is ease with which a reader can comprehend a body of written text. Factors that affect this measure include content presentation, vocabulary, and sentence structure. Writing at a high level of readability for your audience helps to ensure your communication is easily understood.
The average American reads at a 7th or 8th grade level. If you don't have a specific audience, targeting this level of readability is recommended.
What is a readability score?
A readability score is a calculated value based on a written passage's content. The resulting score indicates level of readability of that passage. Often, a score indicates the level of education a person requires to understand the passage. Readability scores do not take into account the presentation of the passage.
How is a readability score calculated?
There are many popular readability scoring methods in use. Most methods use a combination of the number of characters, syllables, words, and sentences as a basis of a score. Some methods, such as those targeting younger readers, take into account the vocabulary used in a passage.