a) The Fry readability graph

The Fry readability graph is one of the easiest standardized tests to use. You can apply it to a text that has as little as 100 words. It can be applied to longer texts by taking three or more samples and averaging the results.

The graph will give you an estimate of the level of education needed to read the text with ease. This readability score can often be useful in persuading a person or organization that their material probably isn’t reaching their target audience. However, the graph (like all standardized tests) has limitations. Use it, but know what it can, and cannot, do.

The Fry readability graph cannot tell you any of the following information:
	how the material is written
	how complex the ideas are
	whether or not the content is in a logical order
	whether or not the material makes sense
	whether the vocabulary is appropriate for the audience whether the vocabulary is appropriate for the audience
	whether the grammar is correct
	whether there is gender, class or cultural bias
	whether the design is attractive and helps or hinders the reader
	whether the material appears in a form and type style that is easy or hard to read

How to use the readability graph

1. Start at the beginning of a sentence and count out 100 words. A word is any group of symbols with a space on either side. The following would all be counted as words — Joe, UIC, 1945, &, etc.

2. Count the number of sentences in the 100 word passage. If the passage ends in the middle of a sentence, estimate the length of the last sentence to the nearest tenth (e.g. 2.3, 4.5)