As a training manual writer, choose a simple hardware or software task and write a two- or three-paragraph description of how to perform the task. Then use your word processing software to check the readability statistics. Try to keep the Flesch Reading Ease score above 60 and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score to 8.0 or less.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Many students will not have experience in “writing down” to a certain level. It would be helpful to provide students with an example of an overly complex paragraph that fails the readability test — then show them how to edit it to meet the objectives. You can show this by using the following examples:
Example 1: “When it is essential to interact effectively with your counterparts, you should attempt to envision their understanding of the issues.”
Example 2: “When you need to work well with other people, try to see issues from their viewpoint.”
Microsoft suggests that for most standard documents, you should aim for a Flesch Reading Ease Score of at least 60-70, and a grade level of no more than 7.0 to 8.0.
The first example has a Flesch Reading Ease Score of 34.2 and a grade level of 12, which is too high for most training manuals. The second example, which says essentially the same thing, has a Flesch Reading Ease Score of 84.8 and was assessed at grade level 5.4, which should make it easy for anyone to read and understand.