1. What is the Gunning Fog Index?

The Gunning Fog Index is a readability test that estimates the years of formal education needed to understand a text on first reading. It considers average sentence length and the percentage of complex words (words with three or more syllables).

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the Gunning Fog formula:

Where:

• \( words \) — Total number of words in the text
• \( sentences \) — Total number of sentences
• \( complex words \) — Number of words with three or more syllables

Explanation: The index combines sentence length (words per sentence) with lexical complexity (percentage of complex words) to estimate readability.

3. Importance of Readability Scores

Details: Readability scores help writers tailor their content to specific audiences, ensure comprehension, and improve communication effectiveness.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Count all words, sentences, and complex words (with 3+ syllables) in your text. Enter these values to get the Gunning Fog Index.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What is a good Gunning Fog score?
A: Scores typically range from 6 (easy) to 17 (very difficult). For general audiences, aim for 7-10.

Q2: How is this different from Flesch-Kincaid?
A: Both measure readability but use different formulas. Gunning Fog emphasizes complex words more heavily.

Q3: What counts as a complex word?
A: Any word with three or more syllables, except proper nouns, familiar jargon, or compound words.

Q4: Can I use this for non-English texts?
A: The formula was designed for English and may not be accurate for other languages.

Q5: How accurate is this calculator?
A: It provides a good estimate but manual counting of complex words may vary between individuals.