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Fry Testing
When crafting patient education materials, using easy-to-follow layouts and simple
pictures motivate the reader and lead to increased clarity. Writing health information
at the appropriate reading level also makes materials accessible to a broad consumer
audience. But how do you know the material you are writing is at the right grade
level?
Using Readability Formulas
Reading skills in terms of U.S. school grade levels can be determined by formula.
Formulas, for the most part, are applicable to narrative language [running text]
but not to lists, charts, and tables. The majority of formulas establish readability
based on 2 factors:
- The number of difficult words (usually words with 3 or more syllables) in a sample
— difficult words mean more syllables in the sample and a higher grade level.
- The average length of sentences — longer sentences with more words than in
the average sentence translate to a higher grade level.
While many formulas, both manual and computerized, exist, Pfizer has chosen to use
the Fry formula as part of its Principles for Clear Health Communication.
Fry was selected because it:
- Is easy to use and takes only about 15 to 20 minutes to obtain results.
- Uses reasonably small sample sizes (100 words), so it is suitable for both short
and long documents.
- Reveals which types of words and sentences are difficult.
- Is well recognized within the reading community.
- Is not copyrighted.
Fry specifies sample sizes of 100 words each. Except for very short pieces, 3 or
more samples are selected and then averaged. The reason for selecting 3 samples
is that the readability levels are often not uniform throughout the text. One could
be misled if only 1 sample was used.
To learn how to apply the Fry formula and view the
Fry Testing Exercises
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