On Writing : What grade level do you write at? It Matters... by Jeff Lyons

Jeff Lyons

What grade level do you write at? It Matters...

What grade level do you write at? Is higher better? Think again... :) (Hemingway wrote for 4th graders) http://bit.ly/1L9M5P5

Richard Buzzell

The lead review on Amazon for "50 Shades Of Grey" asks, "Was This Written By A Teenager?" Maybe that is the optimal level at which to write.

Cilla Lowen

Another factor to consider is when writing for an audience/reader who has, for example, English as a second language, they go through a mental process of translation from mother-tongue into English until they are reasonably fluent in English. This too slows down the comprehension process. It's best, if you can, to try and identify the major 'interferences' between the two languages and be sensitive to that when writing in English. For instance, I studied African languages, so when I write in English for that type of audience, depending on their level of proficiency, I'm conscious of where the comprehension hiccup may occur, e.g. 'yena' means 'he' or 'she'.

Jeff Guenther

Flesch-Kincaid grade level 3.7 for my prologue and opening chapter. I'm surprised it wasn't a lot higher, since I come from a tech writing background. Thanks for the link, Martina.

Anne Pariseau

I've always heard to aim for 6th grade reading level to reach the general population. From the charts in this article, it makes sense. If you want to reach more people, make it an easy read. Nice share!

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