{marlowe_title} contains roughly {marlowe_word_count} words and {marlowe_sentence_count} sentences. The average length of a sentence in {marlowe_title} is {marlowe_average_sentence_length} words. (For a graph comparing your word count to that of bestsellers in your genre, see the Get started section.)

The histogram above shows how sentence lengths are distributed in your novel. The highlighted “sweet spot” represents the range where most of your sentences should ideally fall. This gives you a quick snapshot of whether your writing leans toward being overly wordy. While there’s no single perfect sentence length, popular fiction typically relies on sentences between two and 10 words long, and Marlowe has highlighted this range on the graph. Of course, many sentences will naturally fall outside this range, and that’s to be expected.

Sentences in your manuscript have an average complexity score of {marlowe_complexity_score}. For reference, most popular novels have an average complexity score between 2.0 and 3.0 with an average of 2.5. The most complex sentence in your book is the following:

{marlowe_most_complex_sentence}

📌 Reading grade level

Marlowe calculated that {marlowe_title} has a reading grade level of {marlowe_reading_grade_level}, which means that at minimum a reader needs to have the reading skills of a typical student in that grade to comprehend the average passage in your book.*

That does not mean your book is meant for students in that grade level. Rather, it means that the reading skills needed to comprehend your book align with the skills commonly expected of students in that grade. For example, Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James has a fourth grade reading level but the content is not at all appropriate for fourth-grade students. 

Reading grade levels of bestsellers

By way of comparison, here are the reading grade levels for some classic bestsellers and their reading grade levels:

• One Hundred Years of Solitude: 12
• Snow Crash: 12
• 1984: 8.1
• The Great Gatsby: 7
• The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo: 7
• The DaVinci Code: 7
• Pet Sematary: 5.7
• Gone Girl: 5.6
• The Hunger Games: 5.3
• Lord of the Flies: 5
• Beloved: 5
• For Whom the Bell Tolls: 4.8
• Fifty Shades of Grey: 4.7
• The Girl on the Train: 4.7
• The Catcher in the Rye: 4.5

As with many aspects of the writing process, the goal is to find a balance between making sure your writing is accessible to a broad audience without sacrificing the elements of word choice, syntax, and style that make your writing unique.

* Marlowe’s analysis is based on the American school system. To give you an idea of how these grade levels correspond to the education systems in other countries, first grade students typically start the school year at age 6, sixth grade students at age 11, and 12th grade students at age 17. The calculations are based on quantitative measures of text complexity such as the average sentence length, the average length of each word, and the percentage of words considered complex (usually those with three or more syllables), though these aren’t the only factors that determine text complexity. 

Here are the 10 longest sentences Marlowe found in your manuscript. Consider whether they work as intended or if they should be rewritten: 

{lengthy_sentences}