Editing Readability (section)

== Applications ==
Readability is essential to the clarity and accessibility of texts used in classrooms, work environments, and everyday life. The government prioritizes readability as well through Plain Language Laws which enforces important documents to be written at an 8th grade level.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fusaro |first=Joseph A. |date=September 1988 |title=Applying statistical rigor to a validation study of the fry readability graph |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19388078809557957 |journal=Reading Research and Instruction |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=44–48 |doi=10.1080/19388078809557957 |issn=0886-0246|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Much research has focused on matching prose to reading skill, resulting in formulas for use in research, government, teaching, publishing, the military, medicine, and business.<ref name="Fryuse">Fry, E. B. 1986. ''Varied uses of readability measurement.'' Paper presented at the 31st Annual Meeting of the International Reading Association, Philadelphia, PA.</ref><ref name="Rabin">Rabin, A. T. 1988 "Determining difficulty levels of text written in languages other than English." In ''Readability: Its past, present, and future,'' eds. B. L. Zakaluk and S. J. Samuels. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.</ref>

The two publications with the largest circulations, ''TV Guide'' (13 million) and ''Reader's Digest'' (12 million), are written at the 9th-grade level.<ref name="DuBay">DuBay, W. H. 2006. ''Smart language: Readers, Readability, and the Grading of Text''. Costa Mesa:Impact Information.</ref> The most popular novels are written at the 7th-grade level. This supports the fact that the average adult reads at the 9th-grade level. It also shows that, for recreation, people read texts that are two grades below their actual reading level.<ref name="KlareBuck3" />