Word: flesch
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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Newspapers complained that too many of the stories they got from the Associated Press were wooden and hard to read. But none of them would-or could-say why. To find out what was wrong, the A.P. hired Dr. Rudolf Flesch, Vienna-born psychologist, author (The Art of Plain Talk) and Mr. Fix-It of writing. Dr. Flesch's report shocked...
...stories hard to read? Too many long sentences and too many Latin words. Irt Flesch's "standard" writing (i.e., "what the average American will read with ease and interest"), a sentence should contain not more than 19 words; 100 words not more than 150 syllables. A readable story should also contain at least 6% "personal" words (names and personal pronouns) and 12% "personal" sentences (questions, commands, requests...
...Flesch gave his work to the public in The Art of Plain Talk (Harper, 1946). For $2.50 anybody can buy the formula, can test his own stuff. That people don't, for various reasons (i.e., it's a lot of work, people worry more about what they say than about how they say it), is the raison d'être of "readability experts...
...Gunning's advice, as reported by you, is still the best there is. It is Flesch's; it's also mine: Write as you talk...
...RUDOLF FLESCH Dobbs Ferry...