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Article published In: Australian Review of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 12:2 (1989) ► pp.107–120

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Re-reading readability

A critique of Fry’s formula

 | Victoria College
Published online: 1 January 1989
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https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.12.2.07goo
Abstract
This brief article critically examines the assumptions and shortcomings of lexico-syntactically based measures of readability, using the popular Fry’s readability scale as its prime example. Thereafter, it explores an alternative semantic approach to the issue by re-focusing upon three crucial cohesive factors in the development of textual meaning that Fry’s formula ignores, to its cost.
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