The following is the example of the Fry Readability Graph:
Figure 2.1
c. Flesch Reading Ease
Flesch Reading Ease Formula is considered as one of the oldest and the most accurate readability formulas. It is devised by Rudolf Flesch. It is
a simple approach to assess the grade-level of the reader. This formula is best used on school text. Flesch counts average sentence length in words
and average word length in syllables to arrive at a “reading ease” score. Moreover, there are several steps in using the Flesch Reading Ease
Formula that is:
Step 1: Count the words
Count the words in your piece of writing. Count as single words contractions, hyphenated words, abbreviations, figures, symbols and
their combination, e.g., wouldn’t, full-length, TV, 17, , 15, 7.
Step 2: Count the syllables
Count the syllables in your piece of writing. Count the syllables in words as they are pronounced. Count abbreviations, figures, symbol
and their combinations as one-syllable words. If a word has two
accepted, pronunciations, use one with fewer syllables. If in doubt check a dictionary.
Step 3: Count the sentences
Count the sentences in your piece of writing. Count as a sentence each full unit of speech marked off by a period, colon, semicolon,
dash, question mark or exclamation point. Disregard paragraph breaks, colons, semicolons, dashes or initial capitals within a sentence. For
instance, count the following as a single sentence: You qualify if-
• You at least 58 years old; and • Your total household income is under 5,000.
Step 4: Figure the average number of syllables per word
Divide the number of syllables by the number of words.
Step 5: Figure the average number of words per sentence
Divide the number of words by the number of sentences.
Step 6: Find your readability score
Find the average sentence length and word length of your piece of writing on the chart below. Take a straightedge or ruler and connect
the two figures. The intersection of the straightedge or ruler with the center column shows your readability score.
Figure 2.2 The Flesch Readability Chart
Multiply the average sentence length by 1.015. Multiply the average word length by 84.6. Add the two numbers. Subtract this sum from
206.835. The balance is the readability score.
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As describe in the specific mathematical formula below:
RE = 206.835 – 1.015 x ASL – 84.6 x ASW RE
: Reading Ease score
ASL : Average Sentence Length the number of words divided
by the number of sentences
ASW
: Average number of syllables per word the number of syllables divided by the number of words.
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30
Rudolf Flesch, “How to Write Plain English”, http:www.mang.canterbury.ac.nzwriting_guidewritingflesch.shtml
, retrieved on Thursday, March 18, 2010.
31
http:www.readabilityformulas.comflesch-reading-ease-readability-formula.php ,
retrieved on Tuesday, March 9, 2010.
The scale shows scores from 0 to 100. Zero means practically unreadable and 100 means extremely easy. The minimum score for Plain
English is 60, or about 20 words per sentence and 112 syllables per word. Furthermore, Flesch describe how to translate the scores into school
grades as follows:
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Table 2.3 The Description of the Flesch Readability Score into School Grades
and Its Difficulty Level Score
Difficulty Level School Level
90 – 100 Very easy
5
th
grade 80 – 90
Easy 6
th
grade 70 – 80
Fairly easy 7
th
grade 60 – 70
Plain English 8
th
and 9
th
grade 50 – 60
Fairly Difficult 10
th
– 12
th
grade 30 – 50
Difficult College
0 – 30 Very Difficult
College Graduate
Among all of the statistical readability formula, the writer will use the Flesch Reading Ease Formula, since it is easy to use and it is consider as one of the most
accurate readability formula that used by most of people especially in educational field.
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Flesch, “How to Write Plain English…, retrieved on Thursday, March 18, 2010.
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A. The Objective of the Research
The objective of this research is to find out the readability level of an English
textbook for tenth grade students of senior high school entitle Linked to the World
that is published by Yudhistira in 2007. Since this book is used by the
tenth grade students of Madrasah Aliyah Pembangunan UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta, therefore, this research is also aimed to find out whether or not the
reading texts in the textbook is readable for the tenth grade students of Madrasah Aliyah Pembangunan UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta.
B. Method of the Research
In this research, the writer uses descriptive analysis method in which she tries to describe, elaborate and analyze the readability level of an English textbook
entitle Linked to the World 1 English for Senior High School grade X. This research also supported by library research method to find out the theory which is
related to the topic of this research such as, the theory of readability, cloze procedure test, etc. Besides that, she also finds out the theories from another
source such as, web-sites, articles, and journals.
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