Using Readability Formulas

Using Readability Formulas Any readability formula is one of many methods of measuring or predicting the difficulty level of text by analyzing sample passages. A conventional readability formula measures average word length and sentence length to provide a grades and Observations, below. Five popular readability formulas are the Dale-Chall readability formula (Dale Chall 1948), the Flesch readability formula (Flesch 1948), the FOG index readability formula (Gunning 1964), the Fry readability graph (Fry, 1965), and the Spache readability formula (Spache, 1952). Examples and Observations: Because researchers have been examining readability formulas for almost 100 years, the research is comprehensive and reflects both the positive and negative aspects of formulas. Essentially, research firmly supports that sentence length, and word difficulty provide viable mechanisms for estimating difficulty, but they are imperfect. . . .As with many tools that work with normally developing readers, readability formulas may require some tweaking when the target population includes struggling readers, learning-disabled readers, or English language learners. When readers have little or no background knowledge, readability formula results may underestimate the difficulty of the material for them, particularly for English language learners. (Heidi Anne E. Mesmer, Tools for Matching Readers to Texts: Research-Based Practices. The Guilford Press, 2008) Readability Formulas and Word Processors Today many widely used word processors offer readability formulas along with spell checkers and grammar checkers. Microsoft Word provides a Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level. Many teachers use the Lexile Framework, a scale from 0 to 2000 that is based on average sentence length and average word frequency of texts found in an extensive database, the American Heritage Intermediate Corpus (Carroll, Davies, Richman, 1971). The Lexile Framework circumvents the need to perform ones own calculations. (Melissa Lee Farrall, Reading Assessment: Linking Language, Literacy, and Cognition. John Wiley Sons, 2012) Readability Formulas and Textbook Selection There are probably more than 100 readability formulas currently in use today. They are widely used by teachers and administrators as a way of predicting if a text is written at a level appropriate for the students who will use it. While we can say with relative ease that readability formulas are fairly reliable, we need to be cautious in using them. As Richardson and Morgan (2003) point out, readability formulas are useful when textbook selection committees need to make a decision but have no students available to try out the materials on, or when teachers want to assess materials that students may be asked to read independently. Basically, a readability formula is a quick and easy way to determine the grade level of written material. However, we must remember that it is only one measure, and the grade level obtained is only a predictor and thus may not be exact (Richardson and Morgan, 2003). (Roberta L. Sejnost and Sharon Thiese, Reading and Writing Across Content Areas, 2nd ed. Cor win Press, 2007) The Misuse of Readability Formulas as Writing Guides One source of opposition to readability formulas is that they are sometimes misused as writing guides. Because formulas tend to have just two major inputs- word length or difficulty, and sentence length- some authors or editors have taken just these two factors and modified writing. They sometimes end up with a bunch of short choppy sentences and moronic vocabulary and say that they did it because of a readability formula. Formula writing, they sometimes call it. This is a misuse of any readability formula. A readability formula is intended to be used after the passage is written to find out for whom it is suitable. It is not intended as a writers guide.(Edward Fry, Understanding the Readability of Content Area Texts. Content Area Reading and Learning: Instructional Strategies, 2nd ed., edited by Diane Lapp, James Flood, and Nancy Farnan. Lawrence Erlbaum, 2004)Dont bother with the readability statistics. . . . The averages of sentences per paragraph, words per sentence, and characte rs per word have little relevance. The Passive Sentences, Flesch Reading Ease, and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level are computed statistics that dont accurately assess how easy or hard the document is to read. If you want to know whether a document is hard to understand, ask a colleague to read it. (Ty Anderson and Guy Hart-Davis, Beginning Microsoft Word 2010. Springer, 2010) Also Known As: readability metrics, readability test

Jesus-ChristI am statement Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Jesus-ChristI am statement - Research Paper Example Although the Old Testament manifestly described the characteristics accredited to Christ’s sacred personality, yet a large number of the Jews of Nazareth turned against him out of sheer feelings of jealousy, and thus refused to recognize him as the promised Messiah . Instead of acknowledging the qualities and character of this great holy personality, the people raised unconditional opposition against Jesus for worldly gains, pecuniary benefits and temporary socioeconomic statuses. They not only refuted to comply with the bright teachings Jesus had brought along with him, but also proved themselves as his arch enemies in such a manner that they were determined to assassinate the holy personality in order to sabotage the spread of holy light in the world. Although, they claimed to be the people of God and having command as well as right to interpret and explain the Mosaic laws described in the Ten Commandments revealed on Moses from the Lord, yet they were actually the transgres sors and had gone astray from the right path of glory and righteousness. They used to cite Scriptures for their own purposes, and put aside all the noble teachings in their conduct and mannerism. It is therefore Christ had declared them as the hypocrites, who had separated mercy and justice while making judgments and announcing decisions in the light of Mosaic laws. (Matt, 23, II: 23-24) He was pelted with stones and was tormented and tortured, but his foot never wavered in the face of hardships. â€Å"The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.† (Matthew 20:28) Somehow, the sacred message was to get popularized in every corner of the universe. It is therefore the Lord saved Jesus from becoming prey to the nefarious designs articulated by the king and masses of the era for the elimination of the teachings presented by Jesus and his noble message from the very face of the world. Book of John throws light on the same, and t he verses under analysis point out to the Jesus’ last days of his First Arrival on the earth. In the Book of John 7-8, Jesus Christ not only appears to be aware of the hatred and malice the Jews maintained in their minds and hearts for him, but also looks well-acquainted with the very conspiracy well-knitted against his life by the people of Nazareth. He expressively reveals the ill intentions of his enemies, and warns them that they could not reach his destination even devising conspiracies and intrigues against him due to the very reality that they were unaware of Jesus’ journey and destination (in the high heavens). He clearly reveals that his arrival and departure is completely dependent of the will of God (John 7:29), and hence he has been appointed by Him to convey to the people the noble message of God. It is therefore he is not afraid of any threat or challenge arose by the people of Nazareth against Christ. In the verse under-analysis, Jesus rightly declares h imself as the light of the world, which would illuminate all parts and corners of the world by grace of his noble teachings, extreme tolerance, mercy, love, compassion and kindness he always displayed while entering into encounters and interactions with others. His mercy was not confined to one stratum only; on the contrary, he showed great love and meekness

Safety Culture and how this overlap between Culture and Safety Affect Essay

Safety Culture and how this overlap between Culture and Safety Affect the Project In KSA CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY - Essay Example However, it is important to know that solution to this existing problem does not end with just having policies on health and safety in place. This is because Stank, Daugherty and Gustin (2004) made mention of a number of safety policies that exists in the construction industry, which have not been adhered to adequately by field supervisors and site managers. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and The Health Standards 1926 and 1910 are mentioned as examples of existing health and safety policies that have easily been overlooked by the construction industry. In an independent study, Symons (2005) noted that there are several site managers and supervisors who refuse to adhere to health and safety policies because they hold the opinion that the solution to increasing cases of accidents and injuries at the sites is not in documented policies. To most of these supervisors and managers, the need for field based practical interventions that address specific problems at the site should be the way forward. But as rates of injuries and accidents have been said to go up by up to 23% in the last decay, there is evidence that the field based interventions are not working well (Stank, Daugherty and Gustin, 2004). This calls for the need to revisit the use of documented policies that can be factored into the overall safety cultures of the companies. According to Williamsen (2013), safety culture provides the project leader with the courage to follow through all the decisions that he has made because without it, his decisions will most likely not be taken seriously by his subordinates, and will,  in fact, become meaningless. This means that the call to have documented safety policies will be a way to establishing and implementing safety culture because it will ensure that safety practices are followed in more specific means than in arbitrary ways. This means that in the Saudi