The SMOG readability formula is a quick and simple means of determining the readability of written materials such as patient health information booklets or consent forms.
A polysyllabic (which is polysyllabic) word has 3 or more syllables.
Some rules for the SMOG formula:
(1) A long sentence separated by a semicolon should be counted as 2 sentences.
(2) Count a hyphenated words as 1 word.
(3) Include the following as polysyllabic:
(3a) Numbers, if polysyllabic when pronounced
(3b) Proper names, if polysyllabic.
(3c) Abbreviations if the expanded term is polysyllabic.
If the document contains 30 or more sentences:
(1) Select 10 sentences from the beginning, 10 from the middle, and 10 from the end of the document, for a total of 30 sentences.
(2) Count the number of polysyllabic words per sentence.
(3) Calculate the total syllabic word count as
total polysyllabic word count in 30 sentences =
= SUM(polysyllabic word count in all 30 sentences)
If the document contains less than 30 sentences:
(1) Evaluate all of the sentences in the document.
(2) Count the number of polysyllabic words per sentence.
(3) Calculate the total syllabic word count as
adjusted polysyllabic total count =
= SUM(polysyllabic word count in number of sentences) * (30) / (number of sentences present)
Total Number of Polysyllabic Words |
Approximate Grade Level |
---|---|
1 – 6 |
5 |
7 – 12 |
6 |
13 – 20 |
7 |
21 – 30 |
8 |
31 – 42 |
9 |
43 – 56 |
10 |
57 – 72 |
11 |
73 – 90 |
12 (senior high school) |
91 – 110 |
13 |
111 – 132 |
14 |
133 – 156 |
15 |
157 – 182 |
16 (senior college) |
183 – 210 |
17 |
211 – 240 |
18 |
> 241 |
> 18 |
where:
• The actual grade level is a range from the approximate grade level + 1.5 grades.
According to Contreras et al the SMOG level for text with 30 or fewer sentences:
SMOG grade reading level =
= 3.1291 + (1.043 * SQRT((number of polysyllabic words) + (((30 - (number of sentences)) * (number of polysyllabic words) / (number of sentences)))))
Interpretation:
• If the approximate grade level exceeds that of the target population, then it is necessary to reduce the number of polysyllabic words by "dumbing down" the words.
Purpose: To evalutate written materials for the level of education required for comprehension using the SMOG formula.
Objective: prevention, public health
ICD-10: Z55.8,