Word Tip of the Week: Using the Readability Feature

Writing something for the general public?

Then you’ll want to aim for about a 5^th grade reading level.

If you’re writing for an academic journal, on the other hand, you’ll probably want to aim for college level.

How do you know if you’re close?

There’s a handy feature tucked inside Word that will let you know if you’re in the right ballpark for your audience’s reading level.

To check readability:

1. Go to File -> Options.

2. Select Proofing in the left-hand menu.

3. Check the box next to Show readability statistics.

4. Click OK.

 

 

5. Run your spell checker by going to Review -> Spelling & Grammar.

6. A dialogue box will appear. Check the Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level.

 

 

As you can see, this blog post is between 5^th and 6^th grade reading levels.

For tips to help you create the perfect Word document, check out our other “Word Tips of the Week!”