1. Counting the number of letters in each word of the text.
2. Adding up the total number of letters.
3. Dividing the total number of letters by the total number of words.
Example:
Let's say we have the following sentence: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."
* We count the letters in each word: 3, 5, 5, 3, 5, 4, 3, 4, 3.
* We add up the total number of letters: 3 + 5 + 5 + 3 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 4 + 3 = 35.
* We divide the total number of letters by the number of words (9): 35 / 9 = 3.89.
Therefore, the mean word length of this sentence is 3.89 letters.
Uses of Mean Word Length:
* Assessing readability: Shorter words generally make text easier to read.
* Analyzing writing style: Different authors or genres may have different average word lengths.
* Comparing texts: Comparing the mean word length of two texts can give you an idea of their relative complexity.
It's important to note that mean word length is just one factor in readability. Other factors like sentence length, vocabulary, and sentence structure also play a significant role.