March 25, 2008
Tags: blogging, essays, google, index, language, writing.
Categories: Daily Life, Fun For Visitors, Internet Finds.
Prelude: I’M BACK!! I’ve written 4 essays and 2 exams in the past 3 weeks or so. I don’t think I’ve ever been so drained in my life. After I came back from class, I tried to come up an entry that could tie in my crazy academic schedule to my blog…and I wrote a post on chopsticks. 
My brain cells were clearly killed by all that work. Who said school made people smarter… Anyways, I ended up archiving the post, falling asleep and missed dinner. 
But after a shower, I’m marginally more awake and I’m going to keep my promise about coming back full speed so, I came up with the perfect post!
I apologize in advance if this post is lackluster. I’m so tired I’m typing with my eyes closed. 
There’s a surprise for my regular commenters/visitors, though! 
Google Docs: Web 2.0 of Microsoft Office!
I absolutely hate editing my own essays for mistakes or major revisions once I put in the last full stop. Maybe it’s because I’m never really proud of my essays, so I get stricken by some sort of fear and embarrassment. So, I always get my boyfriend (who used to write articles for magazines) to check my arguments and grammatical errors.
And here’s where Google Docs comes in. I can upload my essay, add him as a collaborator, and while he makes corrections, I can read them in real time. It’s like an MSN chatroom with Word functions. How freaking cool is that?!
But that wasn’t what I intended to rave about. (See how the lack of brain cells is affecting my post?)
Readability Index and Reading Ease
Google Doc’s most interesting features are the readability indexes, which actually measure the ease and quality of your writing with the audience in mind. It’s a great tool for high school and college students, and even bloggers if you ever want to see how difficult it is to read your own posts.
Flesch Grade Level & Automated Reading Level
Both these indexes tell you how many years of school your reader needs to have attended to be able to fully understand your writing. For this specific essay I wrote (see screenshot), my reader needs to have gone to at least 2-4 years of university.
Flesch Reading Ease
This tells you how complex your writing is. It measures the complexity of your writing according to the amount of syllables in the words you use. The higher the score, the easier to read. So a score of 90 is easily understood by an child, while a score of 30 can only be fully understood by university students.
Clarity is very important for me, so I try to write so that everyone can understand. Usually my essay reading ease is around 40-45. This particular essay is written for a grad school course, so I’m quite happy with my score of 38. As for my blog posts, they have a reading ease of 75 on average, so I’m sure most people can understand what I’m saying. 
So what are your reading indexes for blog entries and essays (if you’re a student)?
Actually, scrap that. I’ve done it for my regular commenters. If I missed you out, no hard feelings. I am just far too sleepy. Just let me know and I’ll add you to this list! Those with the asterisk beside their names have English as their second language.
| Names | Flesch Ease | Flesch Level | Readability |
|---|---|---|---|
| ME! | 80 | 4 | 3 |
| Brenda | 68 | 7 | 7 |
| Daniel | 77 | 6 | 6 |
| Destiny | 70 | 10 | 12 |
| Id | 70 | 7 | 7 |
| Katy | 86 | 3 | 3 |
| Kaye | 73 | 7 | 6 |
| Kiera | 86 | 4 | 4 |
| Kirin* | 70 | 8 | 8 |
| Lainey | 88 | 3 | 2 |
| Lissy | 71 | 6 | 6 |
| Melle | 81 | 4 | 2 |
| Michael | 72 | 8 | 9 |
| Momo | 76 | 4 | 3 |
| Mr. Javo* | 77 | 5 | 6 |
| Olivia | 83 | 2 | 3 |
| Shao | 88 | 2 | 1 |
| Sigg3 | 73 | 6 | 6 |
| Simply Precious | 89 | 3 | 3 |
| Teddy | 60 | 10 | 12 |
| Terin Selena | 90 | 3 | 2 |
—
Prologue: Off to bed for me. And the 30 post ideas I’ve collected will be released all in due time. Come to think of it, that’s enough material for 2 months. Oh, I finally learned how to use Twitter. Add me, if you like.
hey! this was interesting… thanks for posting it up
and do take care of your health!
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ooooh thats interesting… thanks!
btw when will you be in SG? there are some korean supermarkets in SG so i think you should be able to find the ingredients! otherwise, i can always bring them from korea. hehe!
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I’ve never really been interested in Google Docs but now that you’ve written about it and explained its features so well, I might as well check it out!!! I love those readability stats you get.
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Good to have you back. You just reminded me that I have two exams to write. Thanks.
Btw, I have scientific objections to these lies, these BLOODY LIES! .. I write for drunk people exclusively.
Ahm, and English is my second language. German is my fifth. Spanish and French battle for the third place.
But in reality most of these would have to move one placeholder to the right, given that I only speak the language of love.
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lol, neat! Though I don’t know if anyone really tries to write well in their comments…
I haven’t used google docs since I graduated. Those are pretty nifty features. MS word used to have something like that when I was in elementary school. It never worked too well though. I think it was just based on how long your sentences and paragraphs were or something.
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First of all, a big warm welcome hug - welcome back to the blogosphere Ivy! Everyone is missing you dearly
I miss your interesting updates, I’m so overjoyed (is there such a word anyway?) that you’re finally back! Congratulations for successfully surviving the academic massacre (that’s what my college friends tell me about research papers and projects, they’re the infamous braincell zappers! *zap zap*).
I usually fall sick immediately after exams since my studying pattern is a little bit weird especially towards the last few days - I would usually rush back to the hostel immediately after the paper, get sleep, wake up for dinner and then study throughout the night till next morning and get myself ready for another round of slaughter. I’ve done almost the same for me high school research paper (I’m quite a last minute person, if you’re wondering why am I doing that if I’m given 3 months of preparation time)… so in short, take care, get lots and lots of rest and water (aka life elixir, heheh).
Google Doc sounds very useful to me, especially for a group of students collaborating together for a report! I wished I had known about this nifty programme, so I can convince my project group members to opt to wake up later in the day and go online for editing job, instead of waking up early in the morning and rush to a pre-agreed place (like McDonalds or a friend’s house) to do some major time-consuming editing. Usually only two people will be doing work while the others will be busy dozing off because not everyone can hog one small little lapton screen.
I can’t believe that my Flesch reading ease score is so low (at 60)… English isn’t really my first language… I call it my semi-first because it’s fighting with Chinese for the throne. Malay is vying for second of Chinese and English end up in a tie, that is. If not, it’ll just have to settle with being third. Awww.
Maybe I wrote some really complicated post or quoted a whole block of text from Wikipedia that made me reading score so low. Believe me, my english isn’t that good afterall! (Well, I failed english for my first two years in middle school, and the teacher said I was almost a gone case, heheh).
Sorry for the uber-long comment, but I’m so happy that you’re back! I can’t wait for more updates… and a new theme, if you’re preparing one to surprise us, that is
And again, take care and hugs!
P.S. Twitter rocks so much
I just realised the magic of twittering. It is fun, isn’t it?
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Sorry for adding another comment (and more misery, for those who hate loooong windy comments, hahah), but I’ve found this amazing Wordpress plugin that does include a readability index in your wordpress admin as you are happilying typing off your keyboard. I thought of sharing it, and here it is - WordStats.
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I’m glad you finally finished all that work!
Aw! I don’t know my readability. I’m too lazy to find out by myself, lol.
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Damn! That’s A LOT of essays to write! Along with exams also?! Wow, I bet you’re burnt now! Hehe! Congrats on getting through it, though!! =)
Anyways, wow, that Google Docs thing sounds cool! I’ve never used Google Docs before… Hahah… But wow, so I guess my blogs are easy to understand. =P Hahaha…
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I didn’t use your comments to check. I used your latest posts to check
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Oopsie! Sorry! I just added you!
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I thought that language of love was French…
Well at least you know that those drunk people can read English at the 6th grade level. 
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French is the language of French people. Everybody knows that.
Love is universal.
My 1st language is Norwegian however, being that I am, all things considered, born and bred Norwegian:)
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great to see ya back Ivy!!
interesting stuff but don’tcha know that google is the *devil!*
I’m always a bit reluctant in using any more of google’s online tools since they seem to know SO MUCH about me already!
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YAY! You’re back! 4 Essays is just way too much writing for me. Wait, I had to write my laboratory report last night–In total it was 7 pages exclusive of figures and tables. So, I feel your pain! Even when you said you hate editing your essays.
I know I hate editing my essays. I always doubt their ability to receive a high score and I usually do so well, but I hate reading them again or having someone ask me to read them my essay. But wait, I need Google Docs *bookmarks it* THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!
Whaaa…I want a Flash Reading Ease of 1 or something, so I can be this uber intelligent blogger who discusses the most random and scientific subjects. Even though talking about my day, boys, cool things on the internet, or Mac computers is so much more fun!
Hmm…and on the subject of sleep–I need to get some sleep before my Pre-Med Society meeting. I am just so tired, and I want to make a cool new layout tonight–and work on so many other things! ={
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Haha! I’m glad she didn’t use comments. I’m such an idiot in my comments, I love to say, Hmmmmmm! and OMG! and Weeeeeee! Hehe! It’s the easiest way to respond to things people type just how I would if I was speaking to you. Except, not so much Weeeee! But a lot more squealing like a little girl and smiling like this:
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gosh ivy, it´s been a pretty long wait and it´s so worthwhile and you are just full of ideas.
i still really dont get the scores..
so i will have a lower reading ease but higher grade level if i start writing about … er… expansionary monetary policy … which is what im reading now lol
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Glad to have you back as well…
So my English is on the 8th grade level. Hmmm, I’m not sure if I’d be happy with that or not; but then, English is my second language as well. Also, I don’t write my blog posts as I did my essays in school. I don’t think anyone does that. The readability score is pretty high, so that’s good.
Thanks for this, and thanks for letting me know of the bug on my site.
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I was wondering… which post of mine did you use to get those scores?
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The dog massacre one.
I used most people’s latest post. If it’s too short or has too many quotes/acronyms/names, I took the second latest post.
For blogs, you really shouldn’t be writing too formally. So your scores are pretty good.
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Nice post Ivy! is good for me to know this kind of information, thanks for the tip! I will use this tool to check my next posts.
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That sounds far too interesting. Why didn’t they have anything like that while I was in school?
Oh well. There’s always the option to use it on my entries.
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Hmm, I used just the first paragraph of that post, and it gave a little different scores.
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I used the whole thing before the cut - including the second paragraph, which you didn’t include. When I said I added the posts, I meant the whole thing (for you, without the cut because your WP Super Cache wouldn’t let me read pass it).
One paragraph is usually too little to get accurate results from. Depending on the topic of your post, the grade level indexes will change. I mean one post about a medical problem and another on a YouTube find will use very different vocabulary.
BTW, the reading ease is rounded up or down depending on whether it passes the 0.5 more or not. Decimals don’t really make a difference on a scale of 0 - 120 anyways.
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Okay, so I feel like an ass.
I haven’t even thought of using Google Docs for my dissertation yet. I should definitely think about using it. Like. Now. Haha!
Wow, I have a better Flesch Grade Level score than I thought. =P I have always had the impression it was lower and that my Readability Index was higher.
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Personally I don’t like Google docs because I simply can’t fail to notice the amount of information I’m giving away for free. Sensitive too, at that.
Google reads your mail.
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Omg that is so cool, thanks for doing mine! Did you just use one post or a number of them to get these results?
I guess 86 is good for a person who doesn’t go to school or have to write essays. I’ve always meant to change my writing style so it sounds a little more intellectual but I find that when blogging, you should use the simplest writing possible because it makes it easier for visitors to read.
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Hm, sounds interesting. I’ve seen a link to it before when I was checking my GMail, but I never actually bothered to click the link.
I think I will go check it out now, it sounds cool.
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I never knew Google Docs was that functional! I never used it before, but knew that there is the ability to share documents with other. A friend of mine prepared an info document for a party and passed it around. I like the idea of accessing documents from everywhere. Additionally, this is the first time I ever hear about the Flesch Reading Ease and I am very eager to now the grade level of my posts and other documents
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I bet tattooists are better flesh readers than Google. Nuff said.
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PUHAHAAHAHAHAHA!!! I’m sure they are.
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Welcome back!! Glad you survived your exams and everything!! Where can I access this Google Docs? NVM… I guess I can just google it. Lol
Wow, that Flesh Reader Ease seems intense but I would have to look into how it’s being done… I mean, what if everyone had different difficulty reading levels? ^_^
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That looks like a really good tool I have never heard of it before.
Whoever said education makes you smarter was sadly mistaken, I am getting an a-level in cutting and sticking as my Mam likes to put it (A Level Graphic Design).
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Oh wow I didn’t know Google Docs had this functionality! Thanks for sharing.
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oh. I don’t try to write well in my posts either, lol
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For your basic needs, let me recommend the open source apps I use every day:
Abiword (native linux, available for OS X and Windows)
Gnumeric Spreadsheet (*nix only) part of the GNUOffice suite.
Open Office (OS independent, but rather sluggish)
In my experience, most open source software can provide matching and better applications for your regular computing needs at the affordable price of offering your participation in making your software better (if you choose to participate that is).
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That’s true but I already have Microsoft Word for basic use. Google Docs is the best in terms of being able to share files with other Google users for real-time editing. That is irreplaceable.
Besides, leaking personal information is a price I’m willing to pay for having my essay edited real time. There’s nothing for me to hide. It’s just an essay. And if they send it to turnitin.com for me - all the better so I will never be plaigarized from.
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*rubs chin*
Interesting. I didn’t even know such a thing existed! Thanks for sharing, and including me as an example.
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