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Math formulas can be a little confusing to those of us from the humanities (I could even say they remind me of my own Vietnam flashbacks). But have you ever considered whether your material is truly understandable or whether you are the only one who understands it?
Before posting anything, more people ought to ask themselves this question. Because if the reader doesn’t understand the concept immediately, something is clearly wrong, even if we believe we’re the next Stephen King. Fortunately, there is a formula for readability—yes, it involves arithmetic, but don’t worry—that can assist you in determining whether or not your writing makes sense. Major publishers, educators, journalists, and communication specialists have been utilizing it for decades, therefore it’s not a recent innovation. Its objective is straightforward: to assist you in writing in a style that is comprehensible to all.
You get a number from the formula. It is better if the number is higher. The lower it is, the more entangled you become. That easy. Don’t worry, though; we’ll explain. We immediately understood it because we are also humanities people!
The readability formula
A mathematical technique called the readability formula, sometimes referred to as the reading ease index, determines how easy or difficult a text is to read.
The average sentence length and the average word length serve as its foundations. It will be more difficult to understand what you’re saying if both are lengthy and complex. Doesn’t that make sense?
Spaulding s theory
Seth Spaulding first suggested the formula in 1956, primarily for Spanish texts, but it can be used to any language. The equation is:
D = 331.8R + 22 + 1.609L
What does that signify, then?
- D = difficulty
- L = average sentence length
- R = proportion of rare words
Now what?
Alright, this equation provides you with a scale that ranges from extremely challenging to early learning literature, such as the novels we read in elementary school. While texts under 40 are very acceptable for beginners, those that score over 120 should be rewritten because they are deemed particularly difficult.
Guti rrez de Polini:
It wasn’t just Spaulding who developed an equation. On the basis of comprehensibility (C), Luisa Elena Gutirrez de Polini also developed her own formula:
C equals 95.2 9.7L 0.35P.
L is the total amount of letters.
P is the total amount of words.
F is the number of sentences.
In this instance, a text is deemed more complex if the resulting value is lower.
Fern ndez Huerta: the most cited
One of the most often mentioned is the Fernandez Huerta index, which was derived from the widely used Flesch formula in English. The formula is:
L = 0.60P ≒ 1.02F 206.84
Where:
- P is the number of syllables per 100 words
- F is the number of sentences per 100 words
In this instance, a high score indicates that your work is easy to read, while academic, legal, or scientific texts have a very low score.
Szigriszt-Pazos: the empirical approach
This physician developed the Perspicuity Formula idea, which describes a text’s ability to be readable, clear, and intelligible. Its formula is a little more intricate:
P is equal to 205.835 ((62.3S)/p) (p/F).
- P = Perspicuity
- S = total syllables
- p = number of words
- F = number of sentences
As previously said, this equation is a little more intricate and makes sense in the same way: a very low score indicates that the material is really challenging.
Unbelievably, there are yet more theories about the readability of your documents, but they are considerably more difficult to comprehend. Examples of these are the INFLESZ scale and the index developed by Mu oz Baquedano and Mu oz de Urra. Then we gripe about how difficult writing is, even when we have all the necessary tools!
Why writing clearly matters
You may believe that writing in a complex style conveys intelligence or seriousness. False. The majority of readers don’t wish to make their life more difficult. They want to rapidly and effortlessly grasp what you’re saying. Writing clearly is not easy; it works.
How do I improve my texts?
You don’t have to take out a calculator each time you write, even if we’ve demonstrated all of these formulas. Here are some pointers:
- Short sentences, clear ideas
- Simple vocabulary
- Avoid unnecessary jargon
- Read it out loud, if you run out of breath reading it, your reader will too.
