Surprisingly, my Blog is not as dumb as I look:
Equally surprising is the number of Blogs that I regularly read which only scored at a high school level or lower. Presidential Politics and NB Politicus both rated as "Genius," but I hope they won't let that go to their heads. 1percentmoreconcious scored at the same level that my Blog did, while Think Progress and Glen Greenwald scored at the "undergrad" level, and Talking Points Memo, My Left Nutmeg and Connecticut Local Politics were among many of the Blogs I regularly read with high school level reading scores. Michelle Malkin and Red State had high school ratings, but Instapundit and Free Republic rated "Junior High"...
In a way, I think that scoring lower on this test is a good thing. If your score is lower it means that it is easier for more your readers to clearly understand exactly what you are trying to explain to them. IOW, 10 cent words only add more confusion to your position.
The two things I walk away from this post with are:
- Now I know why most Republicans don't like my Blog. They can't understand it.
- I definitely will finish college (eventually) because I am not wasting a freakin' penny of the Montgomery GI Bill money that the Army owes me.
7 comments:
Wow! Thanks. That made my day, which I think is more of a critique on my daily life than my talent as a writer.
I don't know what this does to anybody's opinion, but please be aware that it's a lot harder to write at a junior high school level than at an undergrad level. I'm not talking about the density of the concepts. I'm talking about the quality of the writing. Whoever's rating these blogs is probably using the Flesch-Kincaid scale that use a formula involving lengths of sentences and syllables per word. Easy to measure but meaningless if you want to assess the intelligence of the writing.
I've just checked this paragraph. It's written at a grade level of 9.5.
this does not mean, however, hat the likes of George W. Bush could write at a postgraduate level, much though I'd love to see him try.
Frankenstein
nllibrarium.com
Your comment re: the reading level of a blog is directly connected to its amount of readers is dead on. The first thing journalists are taught is, unless you are writing for a specialized publication with a specific readership (i.e. The Wall St. Journal, a reporter must keep his/her stories to no higher than a 6th grade reading level. This directive is such because the average reading level in the US is 6th grade.
And I agree with the the anon. post above, the more educated you become, the more difficult it is to write at an easy to understand level.
Peace
Frankenstein, I agree with pretty much everything you have written 100%. However, I would never want to see any Blog written by bush. It is painful enough watching him in real life.
Sadly, the next commenter is right. Why sadly?
nytimes.com "Junior High School"
Danbury Newstimes "High School"
philly.com "College (Undergrad)"
thetimes.co.uk "High School"
independent.co.uk "College(Undergrad)"
news.bbc.co.uk "Genius"
I think that it is long past time that we expect readers of papers to be able to read at a higher level than 6th grade, junior high or high school. They manage to do it in other countries. I think it is an achievable goal here.
With the complex problems we face around the world, it is near impossible to expect people to understand them properly if new papers have to "write down" to them.
I would also note that scores on many Blogs like mine, ones that rely on material from alternate sources (Cut'N'Paste Blogs), will also be a reflection of the material they are reading and sourcing.
As I said, "I don't really trust tests like this anymore than a stupid and biased IQ test" because the results are a reflection of many things other than intelligence.
Hey, I was just hoping somebody could rain on my parade. Get back to me. Thanks.
Nope, IC... As wet and rainy as it is outside today, your parade should continue to have sunny skies!
Heres wishing you the bluest sky,
And hoping something better comes tomorrow.
Hoping all the verses rhyme,
And the very best of choruses to
Follow all the doubt and sadness.
I know that better things are on the way.
Heres hoping all the days ahead
Wont be as bitter as the ones behind you.
Be an optimist instead,
And somehow happiness will find you.
Forget what happened yesterday,
I know that better things are on the way.
Its really good to see you rocking out
And having fun,
Living like you just begun.
Accept your life and what it brings.
I hope tomorrow youll find better things.
I know tomorrow youll find better things.
Heres wishing you the bluest sky,
And hoping something better comes tomorrow.
Hoping all the verses rhyme,
And the very best of choruses to
Follow all the drudge and sadness.
I know that better things are on the way.
I know youve got a lot of good things happening up ahead.
The past is gone its all been said.
So heres to what the future brings,
I know tomorrow youll find better things.
I know tomorrow youll find better things.
(Better Things, The Kinks)
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