OK, maybe I can get some perspective from you all. Here's the background. I work for a particular government ministry in New Zealand, which shall remain nameless. We were just forced, uh, requested to take a Plain English writing course. Other than it being anal in the extreme, the upshot was that we were to write everything as if the audience was 12 years old. Including the minister. In my 30 year career (all except the past 2 years were in the US) I have tended – silly me – to write for people who are maybe 40-50 years old with advanced degrees, and along the way have been complimented for my writing by any number of writers, editors, and assorted other pretty smart people.
So. Can anyone talk me into feeling that this is reasonable or acceptable or something? I'm not looking for snipes at politicians or the NZ education system. I can supply those myself. I'm wondering if I'm over-reacting, or if this really is incontrovertible proof that the end times are upon us.
It is unpleasant and frustrating to write in an uncomfortable or unfamiliar style. Beyond that, I'd need to know more about the intent of the writing to comment intelligently. Is the writing for a public audience? Does the material need to be styled for rapid comprehension? Is the need for a detailed and thorough summary that readers can absorb over time for a balanced familiarity?
I have the same questions as Glenn. Who is the intended audience and what is the purpose of the writing? I too, have been complimented on my writing, but I still change my style depending on my audience. Two additional points: I hold an advanced degree, but that doesn't mean I want to wade through a wordy, convoluted document...and if I remember correctly, most newspapers are written at an 8th grade level.
I decided to put each one of your texts into Microsoft WORD. It has a spelling and grammer checker which calculates readibility statistics. For the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level you scored:
stevenz 8.1
Glenn 9.2
Word Nerd 8.5
I just thought you might like to know.
Emmett
BTW, as I was completing my Ph.D. (in my 25th year of schooling) I was finally let in on a rule for writing--It is the writer's responsibility to communicate with his audience; it is not the reader's responsibility to figure out what the writer was trying to say. This and other practical writing rules finally communicated to this left-brained physicist what right-brained english teachers did not succeed in doing in 14 years of schooling.
I feel confused trying to interpret my score. I think most AWWW participants are grade 12 or above. Am I 3 years from obtaining my theoretical AWWW discussion GED? Or am I a condescending verbal jackass? Both?