Notes:

• A sentence is defined as a string of words punctuated with a period, exclamation point, or question mark.
• Hyphenated words are considered one word.
• Numbers should be considered as if they were written out (i.e. both "25" and "twenty-five" should be considered to have 3 or more syllables).
• Proper nouns should be considered.
• Abbreviations should be considered in their unabbreviated form.

Reading level of this material:  th grade (± 1.5 grades).

Simplified Measure of Gobbledygoop (SMOG):
McLaughlin, G., SMOG grading: A new readability formula. Journal of Reading, 1969. 12(8): p. 639-646.

Reading Level Reference:
Readability testing in cancer communications : methods, examples, and resources for improving the readability of cancer messages and materials, National Cancer Institute (U.S.). Office of Caner Communications, Bethesda MD. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, 1979.

National Cancer Institute, Making health communication programs work. NIH Publication No. 02-5145 ed. 2001, Rockville, Maryland: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Fry Method of Readability Assessment:
Fry, E., Fry's readability graph: clarifications, validity, and extensions to level 17. Journal of Reading, 1977. 21: p. 242-252.

Fry, E., Elementary reading instruction. 1977: McGraw-Hill Companies.

Doak, C.C., L.G. Doak, J.H. Root, Teaching patients with low literacy skills. 2nd ed. 1996, Philadelphia: Lippincott Company.