a text editing system written in RPG II. Included in this paper is a sample program written for the VAX 11/780 in PL/I. In 1949. Dr. Rudolph. Flesch published.
The Flesch Index: An Easily Programmable Readability Analysis Algorithm JOHN TALBURT University
This and
paper
is an exposition
documentalists.
programmed as a function is
In In
this
book,
analyze based per
Dr.
text the
average This
sentence.
100.
Only
Scores
of
Index
graduages are
of
are
high-school
of
designed
level
and
implemented
word
follow
Art
ease
sample
90 -
to
writers
be easily
Included
"The
is and
so that to
value
this
in
this
test
paper
PL/I.
reading
per
syllables
to
RPG II.
titled
Each
it
be of
successfully
in in
can
allows
has
a book
supposdd
that
written
method
is
analysis
author
100 words.
number Flesch
college 50 -60
about
Rock
algorithm
11/780
published
a manual
of
VAX
at LittIe
text
this
system the
Flesch
he described samples
upon
for
for
The
editing
written
Rudolph
of
systems.
a text
program
1949
simplicity
computer
within
a sample
of an algorithm
The
on most
of Arkansas
of
the
prose
100 should
Writing."
This
analysis.
assigned
most
Readable
method
a readability
average
number
index of
scores
range
in
0 - 30 range.
the
from
be readable
by
was
words
0 to
fourth
graders.
Though the
index
through. the
crude, is This
since
useful.
it It
test
has
readability
of
policies.
Flesch's
algorithm
is
designed
gives
a
basic,
been
used
by
was
automated
simply
to
idea
objective
some
in
state
the
early
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0 1986 ACM
0-89791-186-5/86/0600/0114
$00.75
II4
reward
short of
how hard
insurance
1970s
words
and prose
commissions
by
the
Service
to
sentences, is
to
enforce
Research
wade
to
Group
of
Simple more
General
Test
is
the
was
portion
2.
Each
group
of
3.
Each
vowel
(a,
the
in
the
shop
BASIC
number
program
manuals
of
The
syllables the
marks,
(General
could
language.
uses
question
GM-STAR
to
this
a word.
following
colons
be made
key
in
Motors
rules:
and
semi-colons
marks.
continuous e,
so that
the
points,
end-of-sentence
following
used
count of
explamation as
there
to
called
program,
written
algorithm
count
to
was
originally
analysis
Periods,
The
Corporation.
Readability)
simple
text
1.
of
for
GM-STAR a very
general
Although
Motors
Approach
readable.
program In
the
i,
non-blank u,
o,
y)
characters
in
a word
counts
counts
as
as a word.
one
syllable
subject
sub-rules:
A.
Ignore
final
B.
Words
C.
Consecutive
are
many
of
-ES,
three
-ED,
letters
vowels
exceptions
to
-E
(except
or
less
count
as
these
rules,
for
-LE)
count
one
as
one
syllable
syllable. it
works
in
a remarkable
number
cases.
The
Flesch
Index
(F)
a given
text
sample
1.
The
total
number
of
sentences
2.
The
total
number
of
words
3.
The
total
number
of
syllables
the
following
according
to
F = 206.835 The
for
Grade
-
Level
is
ca lculated
from
three
statistics:
(N),
(W), CL),
formula: 1.015
x (W/N)
- 84.6 the
x (L/W).
Equivalent
(G)
of
Flesch
F
50,
then
G =
(140
- F)/6.66 F)/3.33
Index
is
given
by the
following
table: If If
50
F
60,
then
G :
(93'-
If
60
F
70,
then
G =
(110
- F)/5.0
If
70
F
G
(150
- F)/lO.O
this
algorithm
A PL/I output. text
program For
with test
for
to
translate
that
Lower
1.
Nothing
2.
Ignoring
can
can
as well
letters
that
program
letters
case
q
implements this
case
all
amenities
, then
simplicity,
lower
to
and
-50
to
which periods
all
as
upper
to
the
characters that
are are
or
There basic
are
considered
115
are
for
in
along
modifying
a multitude Among sentence
abbreviations
with
upper
by preprocessing
analysis.
used
below
by either
case,
case.
listed
letters
be accomplished
upper
be added
assumes
is
case. the
the of these
Processing
program
text
other
sample
sample
refinements
are:
terminators. rather
than
sentence
terminators. 3.
Ignoring
$4.
Noting
word which
as numerals 5.
Shallpening
connecting character
and the
dollar syllable
hyphens groups
in
compound
should
probably
words. be spelled
out,
such
amounts. counting
116
routine
to
detect
exceptional
cases.
8 ty outfile.dat PROGRAM SOURCE
PAGE
2/27/85
GMSTAR: PROCEDURE OPTIONS(MAIN); /* THIS PROGRAM READS A USER CREATED TEXT FILE /* COMPUTES THE FLESCH READABILITY INDEX. DCL TEXT-IN FILE INPUT STREAM; DCL REPORT FILE OUTPUT PRINT; /*** TEXT WORK VARIABLES ***/ DCL LINE CHAR( 80 1; DCL WORD CHAR(30) ; DCL TCHAR CHAR(l); CHARI 2) ; DCL SUFFIX DCL NORD-START BINARY; DCL WORD-END BINARY; BINARY; DCL WORD-LEN BINARY; DCL V-COUNT BINARY; DCL (J,K,L) /*** FLAGS *Jr*/ BIT(l) INIT(‘l’B); DCL MORE-LINES DCL MORE-WORDS BIT(l) ; DCL SEARCH-FLAG BIT(l) ; DCL VOWEL-FLAG BIT(l) ; /*** STAT I ST I CS ***/ DCL FLESCH-INDEX FLOAT ; FLOAT INIT( 0) I DCL GRADE-LEVEL FLOAT ; DCL AVG-SENT DCL AVG-SYLL FLOAT ; BINARY; DCL SENT-COUNT BINARY; DCL WORD-COUNT BINARY; DCL SYLL-COUNT /*** CHARACTER CONSTANTS ***/ CHAR( 6) INIT(‘AEIOUY’1; DCL VOWELS CHAR( 5) INIT; K = INDEX(TERMINATORS,TCHAR); IF K > 0 THEN DO; SENT-COUNT = SENT-COUNT + 1; WORD-END = WORD-END - 1; END; IF TCHAR = COMMA THEN bJORD_END = WORD-END - 1; END TEST-TERM; /k**Q*******Jt~k***~********~*~~~~*~k****~~***********~******/ /‘*+A TEST-SUFFIX FINDS SUFFIXES -ED, /*3r*************~**********~~************~*****************~~ TEST-SUFFIX: PROCEDURE; SUFFIX = SUBSTR(LINE,WORD-END-1,2); TCHAR = SUBSTR(LINE,WORD-END,lj; IF SUFFIX = ‘ED’ THEN WORD-END = WORD-END - 2; IF SUFFIX = ‘ES’ THEN WORD-END = WORD-END - 2; IF TCHAR = ‘E’ & SUFFIX *= ‘LE’ THEN WORD-END = WORD-END - 1; END TEST-SUFFIX; /**-k*********************************************/ /Jr** VOWEL COUNT EQUATES VOWELS AND ,‘***k*****~************~~~*********************~*/
VOWEL-COUNT : PROCEDURE ; K = WORD-START; UOWEL-FLAG = ‘O’B; V-COUNT = 0 j DO WHILE (K = -50 6, FLESCH-INDEX < SO THEN GRADE-LEUEL = (140 - FLESCH-INDEXjs’6.66; ELSE IF FLESCH-INDEX < 60 THEN GRADE-LEVEL = (93 - FLESCH-INDEX)/3.33; ELSE IF FLESCH-INDEX < 70 THEN GRADE-LEVEL = (110 - FLESCH-INDEX)/J. 0; ELSE GRADE-LEVEL = (150 - FLESCH-INDEX)/lO.G; PUT SKIP EDIT(‘GRADE LEVEL EQUIUALENT’,GRADE-LEVEL) IR(FORM-2)); END SUMMARY; END GMSTAR;
120
4
* ty report.dat ***-k-k*******+*****
SAMPLE
TEXT
ANALYSIS
****-kJr**Jt*t*t**~****k
MOST PEOPLE WHO BANK WITH US ARE COURTEOUS AND FRIENDLY BUT OCCASIGNALLY A CUSTOMER MAY BE RUDE, OVERBEARING, EVEN UNKIND AND DISCOURTEOUS . WHEN THIS SITUATION ARISES, WE CAN BEST HANDLE IT BY FIRST, KEEPING CALM. A CUSTOMER MAY APPEAR TO BE ANGRY AT THE BANK BUT ODDS ARE HE IS ANGRY AT SOMEONE ELSE, A MEMBER OF HIS FAMILY OR SOMEONE AT WORK OR THE CUSTOMER MAY FEEL ILL OR SLIGHTLY UPTIGHT, SO KEEP CALM AND COLLECTED. TRY TO FIND OUT WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. USUALLY THE PROBLEM IS VERY SMALL BUT HAS BEEN MAGNIFIED OUT DF PROPORTION BY THE CUSTOMER. DO NOT ARGUE OR ENGAGE IN A VERBAL BATTLE. REMEMBER, THE WORST THING WE CAN SAY TO AN IRATE CUSTOMER IS YOU’RE WRONG. SINCERELY APOLOGIZE FOR ANY INCQN’JIENIENCE CAUSED. THAT’S RIGHT! APOLOGIZE EVEN IF THE CUSTOMER IS CLEARLY AT FAULT. REMEMBER OUR JOB IS TO HELP PEOPLE EVEN THOSE WHO FEEL NEGATIUE TOWARD US. NUMBER OF SENTENCES NUMBER OF WORDS NUMBER OF SYLLABLES AUERAGE SENTENCE LENGTH AVERAGE SYLLABLES PER WORD FLESCH INDEX GRADE LEUEL EGUI’JALENT
11 155 234 14.1 1.5 64.8 9.U
121
REFERENCES 1.
Flesch,
Rudolph,
2.
General
Motors
3.
Consumer
Reports,
"The Service
Art
of
Research
"A Bold
Step
Readable Group,
Writing",
Macmillan
"GM-STAR"
Computer
Against
too
122
Much
Fine
Print",
Publishing, Program,
1949
June
November,
6, 1973
1973
