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:
For homework and in-class assignments, you have written three 100-words samples:
1) your comment about ENGFISH,
2) your comment about Word Order,
3) your comment about Sharpening.
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. 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.
2) Count the number of syllables in your 100 words sample.
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 a 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 Wednesday:
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 my own personal readability level is probably a little higher because writing a blog is much different than writing a research paper. While writing blogs, I don't put as much thought into it as I would for a research paper. In research papers, I take days to research the subject then I combined my information to construct a pretty lengthy paper. I also don't use my opinion as much in research papers as I do in my blogs. Therefore, I believe that my readability level would be higher if I used a research paper rather than a blog.
ReplyDeleteI think the Fry graph correctly displays the grade level that I write at. Even though the level is a little high for a class blog, I am proud that I can write at an above-average level. Readability level could be used to determine students' writing level during essays or to determine the readability level of staff writers at a magazine. I may attempt to change my readability level if I am ever hired to work at a newspaper or magazine to write pieces. I believe that my readability level is much higher in academic composition rather than in the class blog because I take academic writing very seriously. I am going to lower my readability level during informal writing to appeal to a broader group of people.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the Fry graph did accuratly display what my writing level is at. I wish that it were a little higher but for blog purposes it is at an average grade level that most people would be able to understand. I believe that readability level is important to know because it can be used to figure out other writing levels for people in different areas of their lives in terms of writing from a scholastic point of view to a general everyday style of writing. I believe that knowing my readability level will definatly influence my wrinting in a sense that I would like my readability level to be higher. I also think that my writing is very different in style when it comes to comparing my blog style writing and my research paper style writing.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the Fry graph was pretty accurate and I think if I used portions from my research paper, my readability level would have been higher. When I write blogs, I do not write like I would in a research paper. When I write a research paper, I use bigger words and more complex sentences whereas in the blog I used easier sentences. I think that the Fry graph would be a good thing to use in high school so that students can see what their readability level is.
ReplyDeleteI guess the Fry graph accurately displayed my writing level but I also was confused on exactly how to do it. I think I messed the whole thing up actually but I'm not too much of a math person. If the grade level was accurate I guess that's pretty good. Overall, I think that my readability level is where it should be though and that's just evaluating myself (if my graph is wrong.
ReplyDeleteI think the Fry graph did display where my writing level is at. I do not write the same on a blog as I would in a research paper, I tend to be more casual than I probably should be when I write on the blog. If I were to write like I would in a research paper it would definitely be higher. My level was eighth grade which is what a newspaper. The Fry graph would be an excellent thing to do with students so they can see where they are at and decide if they need to improve or not.
ReplyDeleteI believe the fry graph did a proper job displaying where my writing levels are at. When first viewing my result, i thought it was kind of a little low, but considering that I'm not too cut out for school as well as hardcore college level grammar, it seemed to make more sense after pondered on. All in all, i believe my readability is pretty good even if the graph shows it shouldn't be or that i wouldn't be able to comprehend something at a different level.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the Fry graph, I feel that it portrays my readability very well. It shows that I am above average which I am happy about. An aspect in which my readablity could improve would be involving more vocabulary words. By doing this, I can convey a reader more effectively by using a more broad range of words. I feel that the Fry graph can be used in schools to help classify what english course a student should enroll in, almost acting as a ranking system. I do feel that my readabilty may strengthen within my future because my reading and writing skills will improve. Either writing on blogs, or publications for class, my readability remains the same because I am focused on using strong english skills constantly.
ReplyDelete