Have you ever come across a piece of writing that felt like it was just too hard to understand? This is where the Flesch–Kincaid readability test comes in. It’s a tool that helps writers, especially marketing copywriters, ensure their content is easy to read. In this article, we’ll explain what the Flesch–Kincaid readability test is, why it’s useful, and provide some real-world examples to illustrate its importance. At the end, we’ll also dive into some more technical details for those interested.
What is the Flesch–Kincaid Readability Test?
The Flesch–Kincaid readability test is a way to measure how easy or difficult a piece of text is to read. There are two main formulas used:
Flesch Reading Ease Score
This gives a number from 0 to 100. The higher the score, the easier it is to read. For example, a score of 70-80 is considered easy for most people to read.
Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level
This gives a number that corresponds to a U.S. school grade level. For instance, if your text scores a 6, it means that a sixth-grader should be able to understand it.
A Brief History of the Flesch-Kincaid Tests
The Flesch Reading Ease test was developed by Rudolf Flesch in 1948. Flesch was an Austrian-born consultant who emigrated to the United States and became a pioneer in the field of readability research. He designed his test to help improve the accessibility of written materials by quantifying their readability.
The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level test was later developed by J. Peter Kincaid and his team in the 1970s. This test was specifically designed for use by the U.S. Navy to evaluate the readability of technical manuals and training documents. By converting the readability score into a U.S. grade level, it made it easier to determine the education level required to understand a given text.
Why is it Useful for Marketing Copywriters?
Marketing copywriters want their messages to reach as many people as possible. Here’s why the Flesch–Kincaid readability test is so useful:
Wider Audience Reach
Easier texts can be understood by a larger audience, including those with different reading levels and backgrounds.
Improved Engagement
When people find your content easy to read, they are more likely to engage with it, whether that means reading to the end, clicking on links, or making a purchase.
Enhanced Clarity
Clear and simple writing helps ensure that your message is understood as you intended, reducing the chances of misunderstandings.
Ideal Scores by Context
General Public Communication (e.g., blogs, news articles): Aim for a Flesch Reading Ease score of 60-70 (grade level 8-10).
Business Communication (e.g., emails, reports): Aim for a Flesch Reading Ease score of 50-60 (grade level 10-12).
Technical Documents (e.g., manuals, academic papers): May have lower scores (30-50) due to complexity.
The ideal score depends on the target audience and the purpose of the text. For most consumer-facing content, aiming for a higher Flesch Reading Ease score ensures accessibility and comprehension.
Examples
To see how the Flesch–Kincaid readability test works in practice, let’s look at some examples:
Example 1 — Simple Text: “Our new product is easy to use and very affordable. Try it today!” This might score around 90 on the Flesch Reading Ease scale, making it very easy to read.
Example 2 — Complex Text: “Our innovative solution offers unparalleled functionality and cost-efficiency, ensuring optimal performance.” This might score around 50, making it harder to read.
By using the Flesch–Kincaid readability test, a copywriter can adjust the complexity of their writing to better suit their audience.
Getting Technical
For those interested in the technical aspects, here’s how the formulas work:
Flesch Reading Ease Formula
Where ASL is the average sentence length (number of words divided by number of sentences) and ASW is the average number of syllables per word (number of syllables divided by number of words).
Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level Formula
These formulas help to quantify the readability of a text based on its sentence length and word complexity.
Conclusion
The Flesch–Kincaid readability test is an invaluable tool for marketing copywriters. It helps ensure that your writing is accessible, engaging, and clear, reaching a broader audience and enhancing your message’s impact. By understanding and using this test, you can make sure your marketing copy is as effective as possible.
Whether you’re writing a product description, an email campaign, or a blog post, keeping an eye on readability can significantly improve your communication. Happy writing!
Free Readability Test Tool
No more guessing about the readability of your writing. Use Flowpoint's free Readability Test tool to check the Flesch-Kincaid grade level and reading ease score of your text. If your writing needs improvement, you'll get recommendations for how you can tweak your work.
Updated August 19, 2024
