Readability Formulas
Free readability assessment tools to help you write for your readers
Reading Levels | Grade Levels | Word Usage | Reader Profiles
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THE RAYGOR GRAPH CALCULATOR
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The Raygor Graph

The Raygor Graph  assesses the readability of texts based on two factors: sentence length and the number of "hard words" per sentence. It is commonly used in educational settings to find the reading level of books, handouts, and other materials. The grade levels on the graph range from 1 to 12, with 1 being the easiest and 12 being the most difficult. The formula assumes that longer sentences and a higher number of hard words make the text more challenging.

AspectDescription
NameRaygor Readability Graph
PurposeAssesses the readability of texts primarily for students from 4th grade to college level.
Developed Bylinguist Alton L. Raygor
Main Components
  • Average Sentence Length:Counts the number of words in each sentence to assess complexity.
  • Number of Unfamiliar Words:Counts words with six or more letters in a 100-word sample, as these are considered "difficult" for readers.
Method
  1. Select a 100-word sample from the text.
  2. Calculate the average sentence length in the sample.
  3. Count the number of unfamiliar words (six or more letters) in the sample.
  4. Plot the two values on the Raygor Readability Graph to determine the grade level.
Grade LevelThe graph provides a readability score corresponding to U.S. grade levels, typically from 4th grade to college.
Uses
  • Used in educational settings to evaluate textbooks, instructional materials, and reading content for older students.
  • Helpful for teachers, writers, and publishers to ensure text complexity matches the reading skills of the target audience.
Benefits
  • Simple to use with a graph-based approach, providing a visual representation of readability.
  • Focuses on unfamiliar words and sentence length, key factors for determining readability for older students.
  • Effective for identifying suitable reading materials for students in middle school, high school, and college.
ExampleIn a 100-word sample with an average sentence length of 10 words and 12 unfamiliar words (six or more letters), these values are plotted on the Raygor Graph, resulting in a readability level of 7th grade.


Is my text too difficult to read?

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Our Readability Scoring System will analyze English-language text and score the "reading ease" or "reading difficulty" of your text based on popular readability formulas. You'll find out the type of readers who are most likely to understand your text, including their grade level and age.

1.  GET STARTED 
Paste your text into the text area or upload a .txt, .pdf, MS-Word, or html file from your computer. For other documents, copy the text to your device's clipboard, then paste into the text area.

2.  FOR BEST RESULTS 
Make sure your text is spell-checked beforehand. Misspellings can alter results. Each sentence should end with a punctuation mark, otherwise run-on sentences can alter results. Abbreviated words should be correctly abbreviated (Mr. or Mrs. not Mr or Mrs). A clean, properly-formatted and grammatically-correct text will yield the best results.

3.  SELECT A FORMULA 
If you don't know which readability formula is best suited for your text, then use our Average Reading Level Consensus Calc. It will automatically select (9) popular formulas suited for all types of text. For a word-based formula, most writers prefer the Dale-Chall Formula because it can score any type of text. For a graph-based formula, the Fry Graph is widely-used. Otherwise, experiment with different formulas.

4.  FINE-TUNE OUR SYSTEM 
Open the "System Settings" (below the formulas) and change default settings to fine-tune how the scoring system processes your text. Click on any [ ? ] to get more information about the option.

5.  READY, SET, GO! 
When you're ready, hit the "Calculate Text Readability" button. Our system will analyze and score your text and output the information on a new page.

6.  WORD STATS ONLY 
If you need a fast way to see "Word Statistics" for your text, import your text and click on the "Text Statistics" tab. The app will process your text and output important stats, such as syllable count, average sentence length, number of abbreviations, proper nouns, passive voice, etc.

To learn more about readability formulas and how they influence the way we write and edit, visit our website's Articles Section.





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