Readability checker with scores and plain-language fixes
Your policy, web page or patient leaflet is accurate, but readers give up halfway. This prompt has your todo.is agent calculate standard readability scores, mark the longest sentences and hardest words, and rewrite only the toughest passages for your target reading level, so the meaning stays exact.
The prompt
- Check the readability of this text: [TEXT OR FILE]. Readers: [READERS]. Target: [TARGET LEVEL]. Calculate the Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid grade level (run them in Python), average sentence length, the share of sentences over 25 words, and passive voice use. List the 10 hardest sentences and the 10 hardest words with plain alternatives. Then rewrite the 5 hardest paragraphs to hit the target, keeping every fact, number and legal term that must stay. Show before and after scores. Keep these terms as they are: [TERMS TO KEEP]. Return a Word file with the rewritten version and a one-page summary.
What to change
- [TEXT OR FILE]: Paste the text, attach a Word or PDF file, or give a web page link.
- [READERS]: e.g. "patients after surgery", "new customers", "parents of primary school children".
- [TARGET LEVEL]: e.g. "grade 8 / Flesch 60 or higher", "plain English for the general public".
- [TERMS TO KEEP]: Words that must stay, e.g. "anticoagulant, deductible, our product name", or "none".
Example result
- Scores
- Patient leaflet: "Going home after knee surgery" · target: grade 8
- • Flesch Reading Ease: 31 (difficult) → 62 (plain English)
- • Flesch-Kincaid grade: 14.2 → 7.8
- • Average sentence length: 27 words → 14 words
- • Sentences over 25 words: 38% → 9%
- • Passive sentences: 41% → 15%
- Hardest sentence, before and after
- Before (46 words): "Patients are advised that, following discharge, the commencement of weight-bearing activities should be undertaken gradually and in accordance with the guidance provided by the physiotherapy team, and any increase in swelling or discomfort should be reported without delay to the ward."
- After (3 sentences, 33 words): "When you get home, start putting weight on your leg slowly. Follow the exercises your physiotherapist gave you. If the swelling or pain gets worse, call the ward straight away."
- Hard words and plain alternatives
- • commencement → start
- • following discharge → when you get home
- • in accordance with → following
- • undertaken → done
- • without delay → straight away
- • Kept: anticoagulant (with a plain explanation the first time: "a medicine that stops blood clots")
- Other fixes
- • Turned two dense paragraphs into a numbered list of daily steps
- • Changed "patients" to "you" throughout
- • Put the most important instruction (when to call) first in its section
- Notes
- • Readability scores measure sentence and word length, not whether readers understand. Test with a few real readers if you can.
- • Medical content was simplified, not changed. Have a clinician approve the final version.
How to do it with todo.is
- Add your text, who reads it, your target level and words that must stay.
- Send it to your todo.is agent, or give a link and it reads the web page itself.
- Read the summary and open the Word file with the rewritten version.
- Make it a monthly check: "on the 1st of every month, score our help pages and email me any above grade 10".
Tips for a better result
- Aim for grade 8 or below for the general public; many health and government writing guides recommend about that level.
- Long sentences hurt readability more than long words. Split sentences first, then simplify words.
- Keep technical terms readers need, but explain them once in plain words.
- Scores are a guide. A short sentence full of jargon still scores well, so read the result yourself.
readability checker: FAQ
- What is a good Flesch Reading Ease score? 60 to 70 is plain English that most adults read easily. Below 30 is very hard, typical of academic and legal writing.
- What reading level should a website be written at? For a general audience, around grade 7 to 9 works well. Specialist audiences can handle more, but clear writing helps them too.
- How is the Flesch-Kincaid grade level calculated? It uses average sentence length and average syllables per word, then maps the result to a US school grade.
- Can it check a whole website? Yes. Give a list of pages or the site's address, and your agent scores each page and sends you a spreadsheet sorted by the hardest pages.
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