words / flesch-kincaid Goto Github PK

I don't like or agree with the use of this readability test. It consistently scores my writing "Difficult to read," "Very difficult to read" or occasionally "Fairly difficult to read" or "Plain English." I know my writing isn't difficult to read. I've been writing most of my life. I have a BA in history that required me to write a 100-page senior thesis. I've published original content on a news website for nearly five years. I haven't received one complaint about the readability of my writing in that period of time. I would suggest that the standards used by Flesch-Kincaid are antiquated, since they do not account for modern writing styles synonymous with web-based applications, nor do they take into account the fact that people today have a dictionary at their fingertips. It's called a smartphone. So the "need" to dumb down writing to a 7th grade level--or whatever it is--is not the same as it once was. What really galls me is that Yoast employs this tool to grade people who use its plugin when the plugin itself contains sub-standard English, e.g. "Keywords have been previously used before." Keywords have been PREVIOUSLY used BEFORE. What is wrong with that sentence? A: It is redundant to use "previously" and "before" in the context of the above statement because they mean the same thing. That is an example of "Difficult to read" writing, and I have to stare that in the face at the same time I'm being told my writing is weak. I have no problem with the use of a readability measurement tool being part of the plugin, but make it a good one, give us a choice or allow us to turn it off if we don't want (or need) the help.