Readability
Why writing for a reading age of 9-11 years old is important
The average reading age for adults in Scotland is 9-11 years old. A lot of what the Scottish and UK governments publish, either online or in print, is classed as too complex for someone with a reading age of 9-11 years old to understand. That means what we publish is too complex for at least half of our readers.
And it’s not just central government. The same complexity is true across public sector agencies. We know this complexity confuses the public and creates a barrier to accessing services.
How to write for a reading age of 9-11 years old
The basic rules to follow are:
- use short sentences
- try to avoid the use of words that are 3 syllables or more – do not worry about 3 syllable words that include a standard prefix or suffix, e.g. government, allowance, reapply etc.
An example
Here's an example that shows how improving readability can make content easier to understand.
Sample A, original text: Universal Credit information for the public
"Universal Credit is a payment reserved to the UK Government that combines six in- and out-of-work benefits into a single monthly payment. It replaces:
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA)
- Housing Benefit
- Working Tax Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- Income Support
The UK Government will continue to roll out Universal Credit for new claims until September 2018. Following that people in receipt of the legacy benefits above, e.g. JSA, will be transferred over to Universal Credit over a period of time. The roll out will not be finished until 2022."
About the reading age of this sample
This sample has a high reading age. In terms of qualifications, it would sit at the level of a top-grade Advanced Higher. Based on adult literacy data, it's expected that around half of the Scottish public would struggle to fully understand the text.
Sample B, suggested text for improved readability - reducing the number of 3 syllable words and sentence length
"Universal Credit is a UK-wide payment that's taking the place of older payments, such as:
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA)
- Housing Benefit
- Working Tax Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- Income Support
The roll-out of Universal Credit for new claims will carry on until autumn 2018. If you still get one of the older payments after autumn 2018, you'll be switched to Universal Credit. This may take some time and you might not be switched over until 2022."
About the reading age of this sample
This version isn't perfect, but it fares better in reading age tests. In terms of qualifications, it can be graded at about National 5 level or a low-grade Higher. It would be expected that 75-80% of the Scottish public would be able to fully understand and use this text.
It's usually fairly intuitive to work out what language is key for users. For example, the term 'legacy benefits' is not a key phrase for users. Something like 'older payments' can be used to remove the 3 syllable word 'legacy'.
'Income-related Jobseeker's Allowance' is needed because it's the name the UK government has given this particular benefit. It cannot be changed.
Tools to help you work out the reading age of a text
You can check the reading age of a text using online tools. There are advantages and disadvantages to each tool, and some use different formulas to others. This means you can get different results depending on which tool you use.
Following the general pattern of short sentences and attempting to avoid the use of 3 or more syllable words is the best guidance to follow.
If you do use a tool, generally speaking those that use a SMOG-type formula will give a higher reading age for a text than those that use the Flesch-Kincaid method.
This is because SMOG-type tools use formulas based on counting the number of syllables in a text to judge complexity, whereas tools that use the Flesch-Kincaid formula count the number of characters.
It’s generally agreed by academics that the SMOG-type formula, based on syllables, gives a more accurate gauge on the complexity of a text than the Flesch-Kincaid formula.
This means we'd recommend using something like the SMOG Index Readability Calculator rather than Hemingway.
Remember, all literacy tools are only indicators. They usually require a level of interpretation to be useful.
Help you can get
If you're looking for advice on planning content you can email contentupdates@gov.scot.
Plain English and readability tools
Digital Scotland Service Standard
This article offers guidance relevant to the following criterion from the Digital Scotland Service Standard:
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