Fry Graph
The Fry Graph is a graphical test for English text, developed by Dr. Edward Fry in 1977.
The U.S. grade level is calculated by the average number of sentences and syllables per hundred words. These averages are plotted onto a specific graph where their intersection determines the reading level of the content. Note that this graph is very similar to the Raygor graph.
The Fry graph is
designed for most
text—including literature and technical
documents—and can
be used for both primary and secondary age reading materials.
Below is an example of a Fry graph
as it appears in :
The Fry Graph formula is:
- Extract a 100-word passage from the selection. If the material is long, take subsamples from the beginning, middle, and end.
- Count the number of sentences in each passage. Count a half sentence as .5.
- Count the number of words in each passage containing three or more syllables.
- Find the point on the Fry Graph.
This test requires a 100-word sample; however, note that always analyzes your entire document to guarantee the most accurate results and does not use subsamples for any of its test calculations. If a formula requires a subsample of a specific size, then standardization is used.
Also, note that numerals are always ignored for this test, so always ignores your numeral syllabication setting when calculating this test.