A popular TV show asks adults if they are smarter than 5th graders. The assumption is they should be.
When it comes to writing for the general public, maybe that's wrong—by a couple of grades, or three.
Studies in the U.S. show that the average American reads at the grade 7-9 level. I have no reason to believe it is any different in Canada.
Newspapers know this; they are typically written to the grade nine level.
Popular novels by people like John Grisham, Tom Clancy and Stephen King are written at the grade seven level.
Romance novels are written at the grade five level.
Thoughts about reading levels came to mind last week when a well-respected Canadian NGO sent me a press release.
It wasn’t easy to read. It had long sentences and paragraphs, and lots
of big and complex words.
Curious, I put it through a readability test. Sure
enough, it wasn’t just me: It got a grade level of 18, or “very difficult to
read.”
In order to understand it, you’d need to be a college
graduate, or above.
Which is fine, if this organization is targeting college
graduates. But since it aims to serve and reach the general public, it has a problem.
It’s tempting to get all in a huff and decry the state of
literacy today. But that won’t get us anywhere.
It’s much better to write so that people can read and
understand what we are trying to say—especially if we want to enlist their
support for our important causes.
Better to remember the advice of George Orwell: Never use
a long word if a short one will do. Or Mark Twain, who said the following to a
young boy seeking advice about writing:
"I notice that you use plain, simple language, short
words, and brief sentences. That is the way to write English—it is the modern
way and the best way. Stick to it; and don't let the fluff and flowers and
verbosity creep in.”
Twain’s books, by the way, are written at a fifth-grade
level. He didn’t do so bad.
This post, by-the-way, comes in at between grades 5-7, or very easy to read.
Here are some websites where you can check the
readability your organization’s press releases and other materials:
For further reading:
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