What Is the SMOG Readability Calculator?
The calculator evaluates a text's SMOG readability score. Type or paste your text into the box to get the SMOG score, associated reading level (U.S. grade), and other data.
What Is SMOG Readability?
The SMOG (Simple Measure of Gobbledygook) grade is a measure of readability recommended for use in healthcare. It was developed by G. Harry McLaughlin in 1969 as an alternative to the Gunning fog index.
What Is the SMOG Readability Formula?
Here is the SMOG readability formula for a passage of at least 30 sentences:
1.0430 × square root(total polysyllables × (30 ÷ total sentences)) + 3.1291
A SMOG readability score aligns to grade levels as follows (source):
| Score | Education Level |
|---|---|
| 4.9 or lower | Elementary school |
| 5 - 8.9 | Middle school |
| 9 - 12.9 | High school |
| 13 - 16.9 | Undergraduate |
| 17 or higher | Graduate |
How Can You Improve SMOG Readability Score?
You can lower a SMOG score (for better readability) by using fewer words of three or more syllables, similar to how you would lower the score in the Flesch-Kincaid method by using shorter words and simpler sentences.
Related Tools
- Readability Checker: See other readability scores based on word count, syllable count, and other factors.
- Syllable Counter: Count the number of syllables (vowel sounds) in a word or piece of text.