What do Word's Readability Statistics mean?

Have you ever looked at Microsoft Word's Readability Statistics? That's the final screen that pops up after you do a Spelling and Grammar check.

That screen gives a Flesch Reading Ease score and a Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level. This website explains those terms and how they're calculated. Basically, the longer your words and your sentences, the harder they are to understand.

The higher the Flesch Reading Ease score, the easier the text is to understand.

That's the opposite of the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, which is exactly what it sounds like. The number 12 refers to twelfth grade.

The site also offers a Writing Sample Analyzer into which you can copy a block of text. Try it and see how you score!