Test your clarity with these cool tools
WordsCount’s SMOG Calculator measures the readability of your copy based on sentence length and syllable length and delivers the grade level a reader would need to have achieved to easily read your copy.
8 more free online calculators
You can also run other readability tests on your copy online with:
- Edit Central’s readability calculators. Run the Flesch Reading Ease, Automated Readability Index, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Coleman-Liau Index, Gunning Fog index and the SMOG Index on your copy.
- Gunning Fog Index calculator. Cut and paste your copy to learn the reading grade level of your piece.
- Juicy Studios online readability tester. Plug in your URL, and run your web page through the Gunning Fog, Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level indexes.
- OKAPI! Run Spache (grades 1 through 3) or Dale-Chall (grades 4 and up) on your copy.
- Readability analyzer. This tool not only analyzes readability, but also gives you different ways to dig into your message, from paragraph-by-paragraph level readability to Difficult and Extraneous Word Finder to Passive Voice Detector to Site Thin Content Checker and more.
- Readability calculator. This free online tool calculates the Coleman Liau index, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Automated Readability Index and SMOG.
- Readability Test Tool. Run your copy through the Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Gunning Fog, Coleman-Liau Index and Automated Readability Index (ARI).
- STORYtoolz. Run seven readability tests — the Automated Readability Index, Coleman-Liau, Laesbarhedsindex (LIX), Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Flesch Reading Ease, Gunning Fog index and SMOG (Simple Measure of Gobbledygook) — on your copy.
Plus one that’s on your computer
You can also test readability through Microsoft Word’s readability statistics.
PC users: Go to Tools > Options > Spelling and Grammar > Click “Show readability statistics” box.
Mac users: Go to Word > Preferences > Spelling and Grammar > Click “Show readability statistics” box.
Once you’ve turned it on, every time you run spelling and grammar check, you’ll get a box with lots of information about your copy.
Caveat: In older versions of Office, the Flesch Reading Ease formula doesn’t report scores lower than zero, and the Flesch-Kincaid grade level doesn’t report scores higher than 12. With Office 2003, Microsoft fixed the grade level formula but not the reading ease formula.
Both remain defective in Mac versions of the software.
How long should your message be?
Would your message be twice as good if it were half as long?
Yes, the research says. The shorter your message, the more likely readers are to read it, understand it and make good decisions based on it.
So how long is too long? What’s the right length for your piece? Your paragraphs? Your sentences? Your words?Find out at Rev Up Readability — our tight-writing workshop, which starts Feb. 22.
There, you’ll use a cool (free!) tool to analyze your message for 33 readability metrics. You’ll leave with quantifiable targets, tips and techniques for measurably boosting readability.
Save up to $100 with our group discounts.
The best tool I’ve found for readability analysis has some free stuff and some paid stuff – readable.com
I like it too. I have questioned its metrics in the past, but they seem to have gotten a handle on that. I also like the extra tools, like Thin Post checker and the readability by sentence checker.
Grammarly has its own Readability tool, which is quite helpful, what say?