Legal Writing

A number of "readability" formulas, both manual and computer-based, have been developed to measure the difficulty of written text. Perhaps the most widely used is part of the grammar checker built into Microsoft Word. It and some others claim to report the number of years of schooling required to read a document.

The U.S. Securities Exchange Commission is a leader in calling for plain, easy-to-read language in government documents. So it's worthwhile to listen to what the SEC says about readability formulas:

You should be aware of a major flaw in every readability formula. No formula takes into account the content of the document being evaluated. In other words, no formula can tell you if you have conveyed the information clearly.

This week, if you have a readability checker available, give it a try. If it gives your draft a high grade-level score, take that score somewhat seriously, and look for ways to simplify. But don't automatically take the checker's specific advice. As the SEC says about readability formulas,

Take their suggestions as just that--suggestions. The final test of whether any piece of writing meets its goal of communicating information comes when humans read it.