When you’re writing for the general public, there’s one rule that matters more than almost anything else: keep it simple. Specifically, you should aim for a sixth to eighth grade reading level. This might sound like dumbing things down, but it’s actually the opposite. It’s about respecting your readers’ time and making sure your message actually gets through.
The average American reads at about an eighth grade level. That’s not because people aren’t smart or educated. It’s because when we’re reading casually, especially online or on our phones, we’re skimming. We’re tired. We’re distracted. We’re doing three other things at the same time. Even highly educated professionals with advanced degrees prefer simple, clear writing when they’re just trying to get information quickly.
Think about it this way: a doctor who reads dense medical journals all day doesn’t want to work that hard when they’re reading a newsletter about their neighborhood or trying to figure out how to reset their password. A lawyer who parses complex contracts for a living just wants straightforward instructions when they’re learning how to use a new app. Reading comprehension isn’t just about ability. It’s about cognitive load, and everyone has a limited supply of mental energy.
Writing at a sixth to eighth grade level doesn’t mean you have to talk down to people or avoid complex ideas. It just means you express those ideas clearly. You use shorter sentences. You choose familiar words over fancy ones when they mean the same thing. You explain jargon when you have to use it. You break up long paragraphs so the page doesn’t look like an intimidating wall of text.
Some of the best communicators in history understood this instinctively. Ernest Hemingway wrote at about a fifth grade level, and he won the Nobel Prize for Literature. The King James Bible, which shaped centuries of English prose, sits around an eighth grade level. Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, one of the most powerful speeches in American history, uses simple, concrete words that anyone could understand.
When you write simply, you’re being inclusive. You’re making sure that people with different educational backgrounds, people who speak English as a second language, people with learning differences, and people who are just plain busy can all access your message. You’re not excluding anyone, and that’s especially important if you’re communicating something that affects people’s lives, like health information, legal notices, or instructions for important services.
There’s also a practical benefit: simple writing is more persuasive. When people understand you easily, they trust you more. Complexity can feel like you’re hiding something or showing off. Clarity feels honest. If you want people to actually do something after reading what you wrote, whether that’s signing up for a service or changing a behavior or supporting a cause, you need them to understand you first.
Testing your writing for reading level is easy. There are free online tools that will analyze your text and give you a grade level score. Microsoft Word has a built-in readability checker. These tools look at things like average sentence length and syllables per word. If your score is higher than eighth grade, you can usually bring it down by breaking up long sentences and swapping out complex words for simpler alternatives.
Of course, there are exceptions. If you’re writing for a specialized audience, like publishing in an academic journal or creating documentation for experts in a technical field, then you can assume more background knowledge and use more specialized vocabulary. But even then, clarity still matters. Even experts appreciate writing that doesn’t waste their time or make them work harder than necessary.
The bottom line is this: if you want to communicate effectively with the general public, you need to meet people where they are. That means writing at a sixth to eighth grade level. It’s not about underestimating anyone’s intelligence. It’s about overestimating how much energy they have to decode your message. Choose clarity over cleverness, and more people will actually hear what you have to say.
