How can you make sure your articles are easy to read? Vpn for mac for free. Getting feedback from experts is the best way, especially when you’re just getting started. But before you turn your story over to someone for review there are other ways to make your writing more readable including using “readability statistics”. The good news is these statistics may be readily available in software you already use. Microsoft Word has readability tools built in, so if you use this software you already have what you need. If you don’t use MS-Word, don’t despair!

There are many other apps you can use. I’ll give you some recommendations at the end of this article. No matter what tools you use, it’s important to understand which statistics can help you. That’s what this article is all about. Here’s how readability statistics will help you improve your travel writing: (Note: The examples in this article reference setting up readability statistics for Microsoft Word for Mac 2011 (version 14.3.9).

In Mac OS X, go to the Word drop down menu. In Mac OS 9 or a PC, go to the Tools drop down menu. On a Mac select Preferences. On a PC, select Options. Select Spelling and Grammar. Check Show readability statistics and click OK. Now when you use the spell check tool, it will automatically tell you the Flesch-Kincaid grade level equivalency.

If you use the PC version, Microsoft Word Online, or Office 365 your menus will be different. You’ll need to use your “help” file to help you set it up for your version.) Spelling and Grammar Chances are you already use your spell checker. Did you know you can set up your MS-Word software to check for grammar errors, too? To make sure MS-Word is checking for grammar errors, select the Grammar box. I pay little attention to “spelling and grammar” while I’m writing my first draft. My focus is on writing my travel story and getting the content and facts into the article. Docker for mac alpine linux version. Initially I ignore most of the squiggly lines displayed by my software under incorrect words and phrases.

I've found it’s too distracting to write creatively and fix problems simultaneously. During my final edit I make sure all errors are cleaned up. That’s when I check everything – spelling, grammar and the readability statistics for the article. The ' Readability Statistics' Box. You won’t be able to do anything else until you click OK but, unfortunately, clicking OK makes the statistics box disappear. If the statistics indicate I have some things to improve, I go back and make further changes to my article.

I repeat this process until the statistics are within acceptable ranges. If you're wondering what are acceptable ranges, that varies for the type of article you're writing. The next section gives you some guidelines for travel writing. Taking the Mystery Out of the Statistics In case the word “statistics” stops you in your tracks, here’s an easy explanation of each statistic and how you can use it: The first section deals with Counts.

The most important statistic here is Words which refers to your total word count. I’m sure you’ve been watching your word count all along since your editor gave you a target word count when she purchased your story. Use the “Count” statistic to make sure you’re within the boundaries set by your editor. This is the only useful statistic for travel writers in this section. You can safely ignore the other categories under “Counts”.

The middle section shows Averages for your writing: sentences per paragraph, words per sentence, and characters per word. I look at all of these. Aim for two to three sentences per paragraph for a travel article if your article is for a website. Because we tend to scan when using our devices, white space is critical.