An Open Educational Resource for Teaching Revision: Flesch-Kincaid Readability Statistics

Abstract

This article presents the findings of a one-semester-long qualitative study conducted pre-pandemic at a diverse urban public community college with ENGL101: Freshman Composition students and suggests the need for further study. Students were assigned to revise New York Times article summaries they had written, using revision techniques learned in the classroom and an open educational resource (OER), Flesch- Kincaid Readability Statistics. Data collection included collecting summaries before and after revising with Readability Statistics and student reflections on the experience. Most students saw the grade level of their writing increase by two levels after revising with Flesch-Kincaid Readability Statistics. Moreover, students’ understanding of revision increased, particularly in the skills of word choice, sentence complexity and elaboration. In addition, the limitations of the Flesch-Kincaid Readability Statistics program helped students gain insight into stylistic concerns. Overall, eighty-five percent of the participating students found using Readability Statistics to be useful and a motivator. While more rigorous research needs to be done, the findings of this study can be applied to any college writing classroom in any modality and have beneficial implications for the uncertainty of this near-post-pandemic historical moment, as the Flesch- Kincaid Readability Statistics program is an OER, freely available to all students and faculty.