How to Check Readability: Improve Your Writing with Flesch-Kincaid Scores

Have you ever wondered if your writing is too complex for your audience? Or maybe you’ve been told your content needs to be “more accessible” but weren’t sure how to measure that?

Readability checking is the answer — and it’s easier than you think.

Using proven formulas like Flesch-Kincaid, you can instantly see how easy or difficult your text is to read. This helps you:

• Match your writing to your audience’s reading level
• Improve accessibility and comprehension
• Meet organizational requirements
• Create more engaging content

The Tooladex Readability Checker makes this simple: paste your text and instantly get readability scores, grade levels, and actionable insights.

---

📊 What Is Readability?

Readability measures how easy or difficult a piece of text is to read and understand.

It’s not about the quality of your ideas — it’s about how accessible your writing is to your target audience.

Readability considers:

• Sentence length (shorter = easier)
• Word complexity (simpler words = easier)
• Syllable count (fewer syllables = easier)

These factors combine to create readability scores that tell you exactly what reading level your text requires.

---

🎯 Why Readability Matters

Readability isn’t just academic — it has real-world impact:

✔ Improves Accessibility

Text that’s too complex excludes readers. Ensuring appropriate readability makes your content accessible to more people.

✔ Matches Your Audience

Different audiences have different reading levels:

• General web content: 7th-9th grade
• Academic papers: 10th-12th grade
• Children’s content: 3rd-6th grade
• Healthcare materials: 6th-8th grade (often required)

✔ Boosts Engagement

Readers are more likely to finish content they can easily understand. Better readability = better engagement.

✔ Meets Requirements

Many organizations (healthcare, government, education) have readability requirements. Readability checkers help you meet these standards.

✔ Improves SEO

Search engines favor content that’s accessible and engaging. Readable content often performs better.

---

🔬 How Readability Is Calculated

Readability checkers use mathematical formulas, primarily the Flesch-Kincaid formulas, which are industry standards.

Flesch Reading Ease Score

Formula: 206.835 - (1.015 × ASL) - (84.6 × ASW)

Where:

• ASL = Average Sentence Length (words per sentence)
• ASW = Average Syllables per Word

Score Range: 0-100

• 90-100: Very Easy (children’s books)
• 80-89: Easy (popular magazines)
• 70-79: Fairly Easy (most web content)
• 60-69: Standard (newspapers)
• 50-59: Fairly Difficult (academic papers)
• 30-49: Difficult (college-level)
• 0-29: Very Difficult (graduate-level)

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level

Formula: (0.39 × ASL) + (11.8 × ASW) - 15.59

This tells you what U.S. grade level can understand your text.

For example:

• Grade 8.5 = 8th grade, 5th month
• Grade 12+ = College level

---

🧰 Tooladex Readability Checker Features

The Tooladex Readability Checker makes readability analysis instant and actionable:

📈 Flesch Reading Ease Score
Get your score (0-100) with a clear description of what it means.

🎓 Grade Level
See exactly what grade level can understand your text.

📏 Average Sentence Length
Know your words-per-sentence average (recommended: 15-20 words).

📊 Detailed Breakdown
See sentence count, word count, and average syllables per word.

🎨 Color-Coded Results
Visual indicators show if your text is easy (green), moderate (yellow), or difficult (red).

⚡ Real-Time Analysis
Results update instantly as you type — no waiting, no clicking.

🔒 Private & Secure
Everything runs in your browser. Your text is never sent to servers.

---

📝 Understanding Your Scores

What’s a Good Flesch Score?

For General Web Content: 70-80 (Fairly Easy to Easy)
This ensures your content is accessible to most readers.

For Marketing & Blogs: 70-80
Engaging and easy to read keeps readers on your page.

For Technical Content: 50-60 (Fairly Difficult to Standard)
Some complexity is necessary for technical accuracy.

For Academic Papers: 50-60
Appropriate for college-level readers.

For Healthcare Materials: 60-70 (Standard to Fairly Easy)
Many healthcare organizations require 6th-8th grade reading level.

What’s a Good Grade Level?

For General Audiences: Grade 7-9
This is the reading level of most adults.

For Web Content: Grade 6-8
Ensures broad accessibility.

For Academic Content: Grade 10-12
Appropriate for college-level readers.

For Children’s Content: Grade 3-6
Matches elementary and middle school reading levels.

---

🎯 Common Use Cases

Readability checking is valuable across many writing contexts:

✍️ Content Writers & Bloggers

Ensure your articles are accessible and engaging. Aim for 70-80 Flesch score for maximum reach.

🏥 Healthcare Providers

Create patient-facing materials that meet readability requirements (often 6th-8th grade level).

🏛️ Government Agencies

Meet readability standards for public-facing documents and communications.

🎓 Educators

Check that educational materials match students’ reading levels.

📱 Marketing Professionals

Ensure marketing copy is accessible and easy to understand for broader appeal.

📚 Technical Writers

Balance technical accuracy with readability in documentation.

✏️ Authors

Check manuscript readability to ensure it matches your target audience.

🎓 Academic Writers

Understand the readability level of papers and adjust for different audiences.

---

💡 How to Improve Readability

If your readability scores are too low (too difficult), here’s how to improve:

1. Shorten Sentences

Aim for 15-20 words per sentence on average.

Break long sentences into shorter ones. Instead of:

“The comprehensive analysis of the data, which was collected over a period of several months and involved multiple research teams from various institutions, revealed significant patterns that warrant further investigation.”

Try:

“The data analysis took several months. Multiple research teams worked on it. The results show important patterns. We need more research.”

2. Use Simpler Words

Prefer common words over complex ones.

Instead of “utilize,” use “use.”
Instead of “facilitate,” use “help.”
Instead of “approximately,” use “about.”

3. Reduce Syllables

Shorter words generally have fewer syllables.

Instead of “approximately,” use “about” (3 syllables → 2).
Instead of “utilize,” use “use” (3 syllables → 1).

4. Vary Sentence Length

Mix short and medium sentences for better flow.

While keeping the average short, vary length to maintain reader interest.

5. Test Regularly

Check readability as you write, not just at the end.

This helps you catch issues early and adjust your writing style throughout.

---

📊 Example: Before and After

Here’s how readability improvements work in practice:

Before (Difficult)

“The implementation of comprehensive accessibility measures necessitates the utilization of sophisticated analytical methodologies to facilitate the optimization of user experience parameters.”

Flesch Score: ~25 (Very Difficult)
Grade Level: ~18 (Graduate level)

After (Easier)

“We need to make our site accessible. We’ll use clear methods to improve how users experience it.”

Flesch Score: ~75 (Fairly Easy)
Grade Level: ~7 (7th grade)

The second version conveys the same idea but is much more accessible.

---

🚀 Try the Tooladex Readability Checker

The Tooladex Readability Checker is:

• ✔ Fast — Instant results as you type
• ✔ Accurate — Uses industry-standard Flesch-Kincaid formulas
• ✔ Free — No cost, no sign-up required
• ✔ Private — Everything runs in your browser
• ✔ Comprehensive — Shows all key readability metrics

Whether you’re writing a blog post, creating healthcare materials, drafting marketing copy, or preparing academic content, the Tooladex Readability Checker helps you ensure your writing is accessible and appropriate for your audience.

Just paste your text — and instantly see how readable it is.