Viewing document and readability statistics

To show the readability statistic, follow the next steps:

   1.   On the File tab, click the Options button:

   2.   On the Proofing tab, under When correcting spelling and grammar in Word, make sure Check grammar with spelling is selected (see how to choose settings for checking Grammar):

   3.   Under When correcting spelling and grammar in Word, select the Show readability statistics checkbox.

After the grammar check is complete, Word displays a message box telling you that the checking is done:

Document statistics presented in this dialog box, include the number of characters, words, sentences, and paragraphs in the document. They also include the average number of sentences per paragraph, of words per sentence, and of characters per word.

The readability of a document is often measured in terms of a grade level, and various algorithms can be used to estimate a document's ease of reading. The Readability Statistics dialog box includes the results of three such commonly accepted estimates. The readability estimates in Word consist of the following:

• Flesch Reading Ease, or readability based on the average number of syllables per word and the average number of words per sentence. Standard writing averages 60 to 70 on a 100-point scale. The higher the score, the more people can readily understand the document.
• Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, or readability based on the average number of syllables per word and the average number of words per sentence. This score indicates a grade school level. For example, a score of 6 means that a sixth-grader can understand the document. Standard writing is approximately seventh- to eighth-grade level.

See also this tip in French: Comment afficher les statistiques de lisibilité du document.