Today, we are going to assess our READABILITY, which means the personal grade level we are writing at. We are going to do this by means of a formula developed by Edward Fry: the so-called "Fry graph."
What we need:
3 text samples written by you with EXACTLY 100 words each.
STEP 1: Go to your class blog, and find three of your comments (or your own reading summary, if you have written one already). Copy and paste the three texts into a blank Word document.
TASK 1:
Now, cut down each of these three 100-words samples down to EXACTLY 100 words. You can use the word count of Microsoft Word by pasting your blog comment into a Word document, or you can copy and paste it into the word count tool. Simply delete all the words over 100, even if you have to stop in the middle of a sentence.
1) Count the number of sentences in your 100 words sample. (If you had less than 100 words, add more by either inventing them, or pasting another one of your blog comments right behind it. The content does not matter, only the number of words (100). If you had more, just stop after having counted up to 100, and delete the rest.) Estimate the length of your last sentence, even if incomplete, to the nearest 1/10. Example: 5.4 sentences for your first sample of 100 words, 3.7 for your second, and 6 for your third.
2) Count the number of syllables in your 100 words sample. You can use the syllable count tool again to count your syllables.
3) Make a table as seen in these INSTRUCTIONS. Draw this table on the handout I give you, because you will receive points for it, and I will collect it at the end of today's lesson!
4) Do the same for your second and third 100-words sample.
5) Total your numbers, and average them. (A little bit of math ;-)). You can use the Microsoft calculator ;-)
7) Make ONE SINGLE dot on the FRY GRAPH I distributed in class where your personal readability lies. Write your name on the handout with your graph and your table, and submit it to your teacher for grading (I'm not grading the height of your readability, only the fact that you participated and understood the procedure!) There are no make-ups for this assignment.
HOMEWORK for Friday, April 9th (although we won't have class, since I'm at an NCATE meeting!!!):
Post a comment to this blog (100-250 words) about what you think about your personal readability level. Do you believe the Fry graph correctly displays the grade level you're writing at? Why, or why not? What could be missing? What could the readability level be used for? Will knowing your personal readability level change anything about your future writing? Do you think you have a different readability level when you blog than when you write a research article like you did for this class?
I believe that the Fry graph is interesting in concept. I think that it has some level of accuracy, however it neglects the issue of being used in more depth. If the graph went deeper into reading and writing, I believe the graph would be more accurate. I do think that this exercise was interesting. It helped me see where I would be if my readability was actually measured by this graph. The readability level could be used to test individual students level of writing within school. I do believe however, that my readability score would be a bit higher, had I been tested on a research paper for class. I think that this test would be able to go better into depth with readability had it used more than just syllables and word sentence count.
ReplyDeleteI think that this graph was off. I do not think that the amount of syllables and sentence counts should assess how one is as a writer. I am sure that if you took an example from Hemingway, you might find that during some of his paragraphs, according to the Fry graph that he writes at a fifth grade level when he is a renowned author. If you just take little examples like we did in class you will find that it is not nearly accurate, plus my pride tells me that I write at a higher level than eighth grade. From Michael McGeady commented this!
ReplyDeleteI did not think the graph was accurate. When I found the information it said the writing was that of a seventh grade student. First of all, I definitely feel like my reading level is above a seventh grader. The way this evaluation was done seemed to be a little off. It is hard to take a random 100 words, count how many sentences, and count how many syllables, then say what reading level the person is on. I disagree with how it was evaluated.
ReplyDeleteThe Fry Graph is an interesting concept but I do not think it graphed my writing skill as accurately as it should have. I believe that it is more approximate than accurate. I am aware that as a college student I do have poor writing skills, but not as low as the Fry graph showed. Another problem is writers who use the "Engfish" rule and chose shorter words rather than big, bulky words.
ReplyDeleteThe fry graph was very interesting to me. however, i do not think it is accurate enough to grade on my level of writing. i think that it could be a little more in depth on what they are looking for and what is required for writing before they take into account what level someone is at. I think the readability level could be used for a number of thing such as, helping students to better there writing and show them how to improve there writing from where they are now.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe the Fry graph accurately dispalys my writing level. I think trying to determine someone's writing level based on the amount of syllables they use within a 100 words. It doesn't take into account the depth of the words or their meaning. I, personally don't believe that I write at an 8th grade level but if I grade myself according to the Fry graph I would have a lot to improve on.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that the Fry graph does display accurate calculations. My result said I write at an eight grade level, according to my blogs writing and I agree. When I do blog I do not always put my 110% in my writings. So i do agree according to my blogs writing I do write at a eight grade level. Now if I were to use an essay and calculate from my writings from there I would definitely write at a higher level. I would write at a higher level because I actually put effort into my work as far as papers. Overall, I did like Fry graph, it was an interesting exercise and I do plan on using it again in the future.
ReplyDeleteI don't really believe that the fry graph can be accurate in that in this class we learned about engfish. If this graph is based off of syllable and word count then it can be a bunch of words put together with no actual meaning. It's more important to have clear meaningful writing than to have something that sounds smart but means nothing, so in this case I'll have to disagree with the graph.
ReplyDeleteThrough my personal experience of using the fry graph I feel that it's inaccurate and does not adequately represent what I have learned in or about English. I also feel that sampling a paragraph of 100 words is not sufficient to analyze the grade level at, which someone is writing at. In all I feel that if certain factors of this test would change then it could possible become more accurate.
ReplyDeleteI believe that there may be partial truth to the fry graph but you can't completely rely on the results to depict your writing level. I also feel that the wrong things were being examined in order to determine your writing, such as; Syllable count, and how many sentences one paragraph consisted of. In my opinion that has close to nothing to do with the skill you write with. Who's to say that the sentences it did choose made any sense or were free of grammatical error. I believe it takes more of a analytical review of someones paper to determine where they stand. The fry graph was more of quick scan of elements in your writing.
ReplyDeleteThis was a fun exercise, but I don't think it was a very accurate indicator of our academic writing. If we had used a sample from a paper we have written (for example the research paper for this class), I am sure the overall grade level of our writing would have been higher. The blog posts that we write are usually written quickly without the usual attention to diction and sentence structure of a normal paper. The writing in our posts is much more conversational; therefore, this exercise tested the level of our conversational writing instead of the level of our academic writing.
ReplyDeleteI never really knew that there was such a thing called a fry graph. I just figured one would write at the level of education they have received in grammar and English. I think that it was a fun exercise and its interesting that I only write at the level that I do. I also agree with many of my classmates that it can be inaccurate because even though there are so many syllables and sentences, the content may be at a higher level. One could write three sentences using vocabulary that 6th graders may not be used to yet. Overall though I think that this exercise was very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI believe the fry graph is interesting, however, I do not believe it is correct. I do not think the amount of words or syllables should determine who you are as a writer. I do believe that if this exercise was used with a research paper, the results would of been different. This graph will not change my writing style because I do not believe it was 100% accurate.
ReplyDeleteI do not think that the Fry graph was accurate. I do not believe that the amount of words of syllables determine how fast and efficient someone is capable of reading. I agree with most of the comments above that if the fry graph was done using other forms of writing like formal papers, the accuracy of the fry graph might be better. My result of the fry graph said that my readability level was 8th grade. I would hope that as a honor college student it would be much better.
ReplyDeleteI think the fry graph is interesting but I do not think it was accurate. I agree with Allie that the amount of words of syllables does not determine who you are as a writer. I agree with Sarah that the if it were used on something, such as a research paper, maybe it would have been a little different.
ReplyDelete