essay grade level

• -s/-es for plural nouns (cat → cats, box → boxes)
• -s/-es for third-person singular verbs (he runs, she watches)
• -'s for possessive nouns (dog's bone, girl's book)
• -ed for regular past tense verbs (walk → walked)
• -ing for present participle/gerund (run → running)
• All Basic Inflections, plus:
• -ier to form the comparative degree of adjectives (happy → happier)
• -est to form the superlative degree of adjectives and adverbs (big → biggest)
• -er for comparative or derivational endings (tall → taller).
• -'ve, -n't, -'d: have → haven't; he → he'd, I → I've, etc .
• All Basic & Common Inflections, plus:
• - ance (perform → performance); - ly (happy → happily); - ment (adjust → adjustment); - less (fear → fearless); - ness (kind → kindness); - ers (play → players); - th (grow → growth); - able (love → lovable); - ied (apply → applied); - ism (capital → capitalism); - ary (vision → visionary); - ger (bag → bagger); - ful (joy → joyful); - tion (inform → information); - y (cloud → cloudy); - en (broad → broaden).

What are the six different essay lengths?

This is the second of three chapters about Essays . To complete this reader, read each chapter carefully and then unlock and complete our materials to check your understanding.   

– Discuss why essays might vary in length

– Outline the six major lengths of academic essay

– Provide defining features for each essay length

Chapter 1: What is an academic essay?

Chapter 2: What are the six different essay lengths?

Chapter 3: What are the seven different types of academic essay?

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The length of essay you’re assigned will likely depend on where you are exactly in your academic course. Generally, assignments at the start of a bachelor’s degree will be shorter than those required in a student’s final years, just like master’s  and doctoral-level essays will continue to increase in both length and difficulty.

1. The One-Paragraph Essay

Generally about 150 to 250 words in length, the one-paragraph essay may be assigned by academic tutors simply in order to practise the basic concepts of paragraph writing, or it may also be used for specific purposes such as to practise summarising an article that’s been read in class or to write an extended definition of a concept. Additionally, one-paragraph essays may also be used as a diagnostic to quickly determine the level of a student’s writing. Unlike other essay lengths, for the one-paragraph essay, you’ll need to include at least some introductory, body and conclusive elements within the same paragraph.    

2. The Three-Paragraph Essay

Usually around 500 words in length, the three-paragraph essay is generally used to introduce students to the concept that all essays should maintain an introduction , body section and conclusion if the writer wishes to produce cohesive and a logical writing. The introduction and conclusion will be the first and last paragraphs and tend to be a little shorter in length, while the central body paragraph will contain the essay’s content or argument. A simple table explaining the balance of content in a three-paragraph essay has been provided below:

3. The Five-Paragraph Essay

Around 1,000 words in length, the five-paragraph essay is generally set by tutors who are content that their students understand the introduction-body-conclusion essay  structure and wish to allow more freedom to expand the ideas and arguments presented by the writer in the body section of the essay. This length of essay still only dedicates one paragraph to the introduction and conclusion , but allows three paragraphs to be dedicated to the exploration of the theme in the essay’s body. At this length, certain essay types such as cause and effect essays or compare and contrast essays may now be utilised. The following is a simple diagram of the balance of paragraph lengths in a five-paragraph essay.

4. The Extended Essay

The extended essay is the most common type of essay that’s assigned during a bachelor’s or master’s degree , and it may be of any length – although it’s unusual for such essays to be above 5,000 words. The most common lengths for an extended essay are 1,500, 3,000 and 5,000 words, with a word count allowance of plus or minus 10%. Such essay types will most certainly require research and referencing skills , and may also begin to follow more complex structures such as are found in dissertations and theses rather than simply following the introduction-body-conclusion structure of shorter essays.

5. The Dissertation

Generally assigned as the final project for both bachelor’s   and master’s degree , the typical length of an academic dissertation is 10,000 or 15,000 words. Unlike shorter essay types , dissertations have more complex structures and are almost always based around primary research (original research that the writer has conducted themselves). The following table demonstrates some of the key parts of a dissertation as well as the rough word count  percentages for each section:

6. The Thesis

Finally, the thesis is the longest academic essay type and the one that’s reserved for doctorate students studying PhDs. Generally between 40,000 and 60,000 words in length, the doctorate thesis may contain all the elements of a dissertation but in much more detail and with more careful investigation. Such essays  are almost certainly original and are based on primary research , with a larger focus on the accuracy of the literature review , data collection and data analysis . Many students will never encounter this essay type. 

Once you can recognise which essay length you’ve been assigned, the next question covered in Chapter 3 is about determining the type of essay you have to write. This is because each essay type will require particular styles, structures, foci and language.

To reference this reader:

Academic Marker (2022) Essays . Available at: https://academicmarker.com/academic-guidance/assignments/essays/ (Accessed: Date Month Year).

• Harvard Writing Center
• Leeds University Library
• Purdue Online Writing Lab

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• Flesch Reading Ease and the Flesch Kincaid Grade Level

Flesch readability scores are the most popular and are the most widely tested and used. We'll explain what the Flesch and Flesch-Kincaid readability scores are and how to interpret and use them.

Home > Readability > Readability Formulas > Flesch Reading Ease and the Flesch Kincaid Grade Level

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• The Coleman Liau Index
• The Fry Readability Graph
• The Lix and Rix Readability Formulas
• The Lensear Write Readability Formula
• The FORCAST Readability Formula

What is the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level?

The Flesch Kincaid Grade Level is a widely used readability formula that assesses the approximate reading grade level of a text, based on average sentence length and word complexity. It produces scores corresponding to US grade levels:

It was developed by the US Navy who worked with the Flesch Reading Ease. Previously, the Flesch Reading Ease score had to be converted via a table to translate to the reading grade level. The amended version was developed in the 1970s to make it easier to use. The Navy utilised it for their technical manuals used in training. 

Now it’s used for a much wider variety of applications. If a text has a Flesch Kincaid level of 8, this means the reader needs a grade 8 level of reading or above to understand it. Even if they’re an advanced reader, it means the content is less time-consuming to read. 

What is a Flesch Reading Ease score?

The Flesch Reading Ease gives a text a score between 1 and 100, with 100 being the highest readability score. Scoring between 70 to 80 is equivalent to school grade level 8. This means text should be fairly easy for the average adult to read.

The formula was developed in the 1940s by  Rudolf Flesch . He was a consultant with the Associated Press, developing methods for improving the readability of newspapers.

Now, over 70 years later, the Flesch Reading Ease is used by marketers, research communicators and policy writers, amongst many others. All use it to help them assess the ease by which a piece of text will be understood and engaged with.

How do Flesch tests work?

Flesch readability tests work by analysing sentence lengths and word complexity. The mathematical formula underlying the two tests look like this:

At first glance, the formulas for the readability scores may not seem to make sense. But, the building bricks that make up both Flesch scores are straightforward and based on two factors:

• Sentence length . As judged by the average number of words in a sentence
• Word length . As judged by the average number of syllables in a word

Sentences that contain a lot of words are more difficult to follow than shorter sentences.

Many of the classics of English Literature were written in the 18th and 19th centuries. During this time, the average sentence was a lot longer than it is now. 

You could have a long paragraph which was one long sentence; strings of clauses connected with peppered semicolons were the norm. However, because the average length of a sentence has decreased with time, so has our attention span. We no longer have the tolerance for lengthy, meandering prose. 

Similarly, words that contain a lot of syllables are harder to read than words that use fewer syllables. For example, “it was a lackadaisical attempt” is more difficult to read than “it was a lazy attempt”.

What do the Flesch scores mean? 

Both Flesch scores reflect how readable a piece of content is. The Flesch Reading Ease score is between 1 and 100, and the Flesch Kincaid Grade Level reflects the US education system. They are both calculated with the same units, but the weightings for these units are different between the two tests, resulting in different readability scores.

Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease

The higher the reading score, the easier a piece of text is to read.

Note that this differs from the majority of readability scores where a lower score is easier.

For example, a reading score of 60 to 70 is equivalent to a grade level of 8-9 so a text with this score should be understood by 13 to 15-year-olds.

To make sense of a Reading Ease score, a conversion table is needed. This translates the score into a grade level. 

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level

The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level is equivalent to the US grade level of education. It shows the required education to be able to understand a text.

Text intended for readership by the general public should aim for a grade level of around 8, schooling age 13 to 14.

When is Flesch-Kincaid most useful?

Flesch Kincaid is ideal for:

• Writing copy for your website
• Advertising your product
• Producing terms and conditions that don’t confuse
• Boosting your SEO performance
• Choosing textbooks for a class or training program
• Editing your novel
• Communicating your research to a non-specialist audience

Readability scores can give you valuable insights into how easy your text is to understand. This has a direct impact on the extent people engage with and take on your message.

Content with a higher engagement rate has many benefits, including:

• Decreasing bounce rate
• Increasing time on site
• Content delivers for the reader
• Readers want to share your content
• Readers go further into your site
• Click on CTAs
• Add products to their shopping carts
• Spend money with you
• Keep on coming back

Having a readable website with engaging content is a boost for any business or organization.

How do the Flesch tests compare to other readability formulas?

The Flesch tests are the most well-established in use cases ranging from marketing to government. 

Whereas some formulas are more specialist, Flesch Kincaid comes the most recommended for all sectors and disciplines. 

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• The four main types of essay | Quick guide with examples

The Four Main Types of Essay | Quick Guide with Examples

Published on September 4, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

An essay is a focused piece of writing designed to inform or persuade. There are many different types of essay, but they are often defined in four categories: argumentative, expository, narrative, and descriptive essays.

Argumentative and expository essays are focused on conveying information and making clear points, while narrative and descriptive essays are about exercising creativity and writing in an interesting way. At university level, argumentative essays are the most common type. 

In high school and college, you will also often have to write textual analysis essays, which test your skills in close reading and interpretation.

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Table of contents

Argumentative essays, expository essays, narrative essays, descriptive essays, textual analysis essays, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about types of essays.

An argumentative essay presents an extended, evidence-based argument. It requires a strong thesis statement —a clearly defined stance on your topic. Your aim is to convince the reader of your thesis using evidence (such as quotations ) and analysis.

Argumentative essays test your ability to research and present your own position on a topic. This is the most common type of essay at college level—most papers you write will involve some kind of argumentation.

The essay is divided into an introduction, body, and conclusion:

• The introduction provides your topic and thesis statement
• The body presents your evidence and arguments
• The conclusion summarizes your argument and emphasizes its importance

The example below is a paragraph from the body of an argumentative essay about the effects of the internet on education. Mouse over it to learn more.

A common frustration for teachers is students’ use of Wikipedia as a source in their writing. Its prevalence among students is not exaggerated; a survey found that the vast majority of the students surveyed used Wikipedia (Head & Eisenberg, 2010). An article in The Guardian stresses a common objection to its use: “a reliance on Wikipedia can discourage students from engaging with genuine academic writing” (Coomer, 2013). Teachers are clearly not mistaken in viewing Wikipedia usage as ubiquitous among their students; but the claim that it discourages engagement with academic sources requires further investigation. This point is treated as self-evident by many teachers, but Wikipedia itself explicitly encourages students to look into other sources. Its articles often provide references to academic publications and include warning notes where citations are missing; the site’s own guidelines for research make clear that it should be used as a starting point, emphasizing that users should always “read the references and check whether they really do support what the article says” (“Wikipedia:Researching with Wikipedia,” 2020). Indeed, for many students, Wikipedia is their first encounter with the concepts of citation and referencing. The use of Wikipedia therefore has a positive side that merits deeper consideration than it often receives.

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An expository essay provides a clear, focused explanation of a topic. It doesn’t require an original argument, just a balanced and well-organized view of the topic.

Expository essays test your familiarity with a topic and your ability to organize and convey information. They are commonly assigned at high school or in exam questions at college level.

The introduction of an expository essay states your topic and provides some general background, the body presents the details, and the conclusion summarizes the information presented.

A typical body paragraph from an expository essay about the invention of the printing press is shown below. Mouse over it to learn more.

The invention of the printing press in 1440 changed this situation dramatically. Johannes Gutenberg, who had worked as a goldsmith, used his knowledge of metals in the design of the press. He made his type from an alloy of lead, tin, and antimony, whose durability allowed for the reliable production of high-quality books. This new technology allowed texts to be reproduced and disseminated on a much larger scale than was previously possible. The Gutenberg Bible appeared in the 1450s, and a large number of printing presses sprang up across the continent in the following decades. Gutenberg’s invention rapidly transformed cultural production in Europe; among other things, it would lead to the Protestant Reformation.

A narrative essay is one that tells a story. This is usually a story about a personal experience you had, but it may also be an imaginative exploration of something you have not experienced.

Narrative essays test your ability to build up a narrative in an engaging, well-structured way. They are much more personal and creative than other kinds of academic writing . Writing a personal statement for an application requires the same skills as a narrative essay.

A narrative essay isn’t strictly divided into introduction, body, and conclusion, but it should still begin by setting up the narrative and finish by expressing the point of the story—what you learned from your experience, or why it made an impression on you.

Mouse over the example below, a short narrative essay responding to the prompt “Write about an experience where you learned something about yourself,” to explore its structure.

Since elementary school, I have always favored subjects like science and math over the humanities. My instinct was always to think of these subjects as more solid and serious than classes like English. If there was no right answer, I thought, why bother? But recently I had an experience that taught me my academic interests are more flexible than I had thought: I took my first philosophy class.

Before I entered the classroom, I was skeptical. I waited outside with the other students and wondered what exactly philosophy would involve—I really had no idea. I imagined something pretty abstract: long, stilted conversations pondering the meaning of life. But what I got was something quite different.

A young man in jeans, Mr. Jones—“but you can call me Rob”—was far from the white-haired, buttoned-up old man I had half-expected. And rather than pulling us into pedantic arguments about obscure philosophical points, Rob engaged us on our level. To talk free will, we looked at our own choices. To talk ethics, we looked at dilemmas we had faced ourselves. By the end of class, I’d discovered that questions with no right answer can turn out to be the most interesting ones.

The experience has taught me to look at things a little more “philosophically”—and not just because it was a philosophy class! I learned that if I let go of my preconceptions, I can actually get a lot out of subjects I was previously dismissive of. The class taught me—in more ways than one—to look at things with an open mind.

A descriptive essay provides a detailed sensory description of something. Like narrative essays, they allow you to be more creative than most academic writing, but they are more tightly focused than narrative essays. You might describe a specific place or object, rather than telling a whole story.

Descriptive essays test your ability to use language creatively, making striking word choices to convey a memorable picture of what you’re describing.

A descriptive essay can be quite loosely structured, though it should usually begin by introducing the object of your description and end by drawing an overall picture of it. The important thing is to use careful word choices and figurative language to create an original description of your object.

Mouse over the example below, a response to the prompt “Describe a place you love to spend time in,” to learn more about descriptive essays.

On Sunday afternoons I like to spend my time in the garden behind my house. The garden is narrow but long, a corridor of green extending from the back of the house, and I sit on a lawn chair at the far end to read and relax. I am in my small peaceful paradise: the shade of the tree, the feel of the grass on my feet, the gentle activity of the fish in the pond beside me.

My cat crosses the garden nimbly and leaps onto the fence to survey it from above. From his perch he can watch over his little kingdom and keep an eye on the neighbours. He does this until the barking of next door’s dog scares him from his post and he bolts for the cat flap to govern from the safety of the kitchen.

With that, I am left alone with the fish, whose whole world is the pond by my feet. The fish explore the pond every day as if for the first time, prodding and inspecting every stone. I sometimes feel the same about sitting here in the garden; I know the place better than anyone, but whenever I return I still feel compelled to pay attention to all its details and novelties—a new bird perched in the tree, the growth of the grass, and the movement of the insects it shelters…

Sitting out in the garden, I feel serene. I feel at home. And yet I always feel there is more to discover. The bounds of my garden may be small, but there is a whole world contained within it, and it is one I will never get tired of inhabiting.

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Though every essay type tests your writing skills, some essays also test your ability to read carefully and critically. In a textual analysis essay, you don’t just present information on a topic, but closely analyze a text to explain how it achieves certain effects.

Rhetorical analysis

A rhetorical analysis looks at a persuasive text (e.g. a speech, an essay, a political cartoon) in terms of the rhetorical devices it uses, and evaluates their effectiveness.

The goal is not to state whether you agree with the author’s argument but to look at how they have constructed it.

The introduction of a rhetorical analysis presents the text, some background information, and your thesis statement; the body comprises the analysis itself; and the conclusion wraps up your analysis of the text, emphasizing its relevance to broader concerns.

The example below is from a rhetorical analysis of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech . Mouse over it to learn more.

King’s speech is infused with prophetic language throughout. Even before the famous “dream” part of the speech, King’s language consistently strikes a prophetic tone. He refers to the Lincoln Memorial as a “hallowed spot” and speaks of rising “from the dark and desolate valley of segregation” to “make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” The assumption of this prophetic voice constitutes the text’s strongest ethical appeal; after linking himself with political figures like Lincoln and the Founding Fathers, King’s ethos adopts a distinctly religious tone, recalling Biblical prophets and preachers of change from across history. This adds significant force to his words; standing before an audience of hundreds of thousands, he states not just what the future should be, but what it will be: “The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.” This warning is almost apocalyptic in tone, though it concludes with the positive image of the “bright day of justice.” The power of King’s rhetoric thus stems not only from the pathos of his vision of a brighter future, but from the ethos of the prophetic voice he adopts in expressing this vision.

Literary analysis

A literary analysis essay presents a close reading of a work of literature—e.g. a poem or novel—to explore the choices made by the author and how they help to convey the text’s theme. It is not simply a book report or a review, but an in-depth interpretation of the text.

Literary analysis looks at things like setting, characters, themes, and figurative language. The goal is to closely analyze what the author conveys and how.

The introduction of a literary analysis essay presents the text and background, and provides your thesis statement; the body consists of close readings of the text with quotations and analysis in support of your argument; and the conclusion emphasizes what your approach tells us about the text.

Mouse over the example below, the introduction to a literary analysis essay on Frankenstein , to learn more.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often read as a crude cautionary tale about the dangers of scientific advancement unrestrained by ethical considerations. In this reading, protagonist Victor Frankenstein is a stable representation of the callous ambition of modern science throughout the novel. This essay, however, argues that far from providing a stable image of the character, Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to portray Frankenstein in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as. This essay begins by exploring the positive portrayal of Frankenstein in the first volume, then moves on to the creature’s perception of him, and finally discusses the third volume’s narrative shift toward viewing Frankenstein as the creature views him.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
• Post hoc fallacy
• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
• Sunk cost fallacy

College essays

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• Comparing and Contrasting in an Essay

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At high school and in composition classes at university, you’ll often be told to write a specific type of essay , but you might also just be given prompts.

Look for keywords in these prompts that suggest a certain approach: The word “explain” suggests you should write an expository essay , while the word “describe” implies a descriptive essay . An argumentative essay might be prompted with the word “assess” or “argue.”

The vast majority of essays written at university are some sort of argumentative essay . Almost all academic writing involves building up an argument, though other types of essay might be assigned in composition classes.

Essays can present arguments about all kinds of different topics. For example:

• In a literary analysis essay, you might make an argument for a specific interpretation of a text
• In a history essay, you might present an argument for the importance of a particular event
• In a politics essay, you might argue for the validity of a certain political theory

An argumentative essay tends to be a longer essay involving independent research, and aims to make an original argument about a topic. Its thesis statement makes a contentious claim that must be supported in an objective, evidence-based way.

An expository essay also aims to be objective, but it doesn’t have to make an original argument. Rather, it aims to explain something (e.g., a process or idea) in a clear, concise way. Expository essays are often shorter assignments and rely less on research.

The key difference is that a narrative essay is designed to tell a complete story, while a descriptive essay is meant to convey an intense description of a particular place, object, or concept.

Narrative and descriptive essays both allow you to write more personally and creatively than other kinds of essays , and similar writing skills can apply to both.

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This tab displays per-paragraph readability statistics to help you better understand what may be effecting the overall readability of the complete text you provide, as well as how readability may be changing over the course of the document. See our tips below for improving readability.

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About the Readability Analyzer

What is Readability? Readability refers to the ease in which a passage of written text can be understood. It is often used in assessing the suitability of a text for an audience. Some states even have requirements that legal documents and health care documents must met strict readability thresholds in order to be accessible to a wide audience. If you want to get your ideas across to the largest audience possible, it is worth spending some time thinking about readability.

Readability metrics, such as the Flesch-Kincaid and Gunning Fog index, are algorithmic heuristics used for estimating readability. Many work by counting words, sentences and syllables while others use lists of already scored words.

Keep in mind that readability is not a measure of writing quality and that these heuristics are only estimates of a passages readability.

This Readability Analyzer estimates the readability of a passage of text using the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease , Gunning Fog Index , Kincaid Grade Level , SMOG formula and Dale–Chall Score and Fry Reading Graph metrics. Which one's right for you? That will depend partially on your domain and writing style. Different readability metrics flag difficult words in different manners. For example, the Fog index considers words with more than three syllables difficult, where Dale-Chall has a list of easily recognizable words. We suggest using a few different samples of text and going with the metrics that more closely align with human evaluations.

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Improving Readability. We recommend focusing on the passage as a whole, rather than individual sentences when looking to improve readability. Be careful when iteratively tweaking a passage not to fall into the trap of writing for the formula. Writing to the formula could lead passages that contain shorter, choppy sentences that are actually more difficult to read despite receiving a better score.

We have provided two tools to aid rewriting a passage. The Difficult and Extraneous Word Finder can be used to explore vocabulary. It identifies rare words, and long polysyllabic words with more than three syllables which may be harder for an audience to understand. The Difficult and Extraneous Word finder also finds extraneous words, such as adverbs and double hedge words which may make a sentence needlessly longer. Passive Voice Detector identifies sentences with passive structure. Passive voice is common in the scientific literature because it places the emphasis on the object being investigated rather than the author doing the investigation. Sentences with passive voice construction, however, tend to be longer, and harder to read.

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