Microsoft KB Archive/80036

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{| The information in this article applies to:
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 * Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD and 2.0b
 * Microsoft Word for the Macintosh versions 5.0 and 5.1

SUMMARY
Readability statistics measure how effectively a piece of writing communicates its meaning to the reader. The Microsoft Word Grammar command can generate this type of statistics.

The readability formulas for the document statistics and comparison charts are the Gunning Fog Index, Flesch-Kincaid, and Flesch Reading Ease. These three formulas are discussed below. For more information on readability formulas, refer to &quot;Grammatik User's Guide,&quot; &quot;Microsoft Word for Windows User's Guide,&quot; or a technical writing textbook.

Equation Legend
&quot;x&quot; Denotes multiplication &quot;+&quot; Denotes plus or addition &quot;-&quot; Denotes minus or subtraction

Gunning Fog Index
This index combines sentence length and the number of multisyllable words per sentence to give a readability rating. Higher scores indicate more difficult text.

Total= (Average number of words per sentence) + (Number of words of         three syllables or more)

Fog Index= Total x (0.4)

Flesch-Kincaid
This index indicates the grade level of a reader who would be most comfortable reading the document. Sixth to tenth grade level is considered the normal range at which most documents should read. Levels higher than that should be targeted to a particular audience.

Total= (0.39) x (Average number of words per sentence) + (11.8) x         (Average number of syllables per word)

Grade Level= Total-(15.59)

Flesch Reading Ease
This index provides a score ranging from 0-100 that is based on sentence length and the number of syllables per 100 words. This score corresponds to the Flesch Grade Level index below.

Total= (1.015) x (Average sentence length) + (0.846) x (Number of         syllables per 100 words)

Flesch Reading Ease Score = (206.835)-Total

Score  Reading Difficulty    Grade Level -  --    ---

100-90 Very easy             4th 90-80  Easy                  5th 80-70  Fairly easy           6th 70-60  Standard              7th-8th 60-50  Fairly difficult      Some High School 50-30  Difficult             High School Plus 30-0   Very difficult        College Plus Reference(s): &quot;Microsoft Word for Windows User's Guide,&quot; version 2.0, pages 290-291

&quot;Grammatik IV User's Guide,&quot; Chapter 7

&quot;Communications in Business and Industry,&quot; William Schutte & Erwin Steinberg
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Last reviewed: July 30, 1997

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